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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
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South Dakota: Mount Rushmore
The hubs and I are thinking of putting together a trip to South Dakota next year to visit Mount Rushmore. Anyone have any recommendations on where to stay and anything else to do? I'm a super nerd and definitely plan on visiting the Dinosaur Park.
TIA!
Re: South Dakota: Mount Rushmore
DH and I recently moved to South Dakota, and we are just starting to explore the Black Hills area. It is beautiful! We did a 3-day weekend where we did the following:
Mt. Rushmore - nice to see during the day when you can visit the museum and hike the short loop trail, but it's also really neat to see it lit up at night
Harney Peak - 7 mile hike up the tallest peak between the Rockies and French Pyrenees. It took us nearly a full day, but we also ate a picnic lunch at the top and definitely took our time going up and coming down. Definitely a fantastic view.
Wildlife Loop Rd in Custer State Park - can't remember how long it is, but it winds through the part of the park where you can see bison, pronghorn antelope, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, etc. Very cool!
Drive the Needles Highway through Custer State Park - very pretty drive
All of these things are in the southern part of the Black Hills. We haven't been there yet, but we've had multiple people recommend Spearfish Canyon in the northern part. Badlands Natl Park is also close by - may depend on which direction you will be coming from. For eating and lodging, I would highly recommend Jake's Bed and Breakfast in Custer. It's a small 3-bedroom B&B which is relatively new and very well maintained. The owner, Mark, is great. He makes a hearty breakfast. He will either recommend restaurants nearby or if you make arrangements in advance, he will cook dinner. We will stay there agin for sure. Last tip - we ate at an Italian restaurant, Botticelli, in Rapid City, which was really good. I'd be happy to help if you have other questions. Have a great trip!
I was there in September. Honestly, Mount Rushmore was super disappointing. I mean, it's cool to look at, but it's not worth spending more than an hour or two there. And the evening light show was not at all worth waiting around for.
The rest of the Black Hills was awesome though. We stayed in a cabin outside of Lead, in the northern Black Hills. We did a ton of hiking, visited Spearfish Canyon and Custer State Park to see the bison. It was a really great trip and I would love to go back.
Completely agree with this, so I am not a fan of Mt Rushmore but the Black Hills are beautiful and I think renting a cabin and enjoying this side of it would be very nice.
My mom and I did a road trip there last June from DE and loved it. We took around 2 weeks by choice. It could be shorter of a trip. Are you doing a road trip or flying? If you do a road trip, there are so many cool things to see along the way. Check out http://roadtripusa.com/ and other sites like this. We hit Carhenge, the tallest Totem pole, Albert the Bull, and many more sites.
Depending on how you go, I'd recommend checking out Wall Drug. It was fun to look around and take pictures.
Mt Rushmore was cool but not the highlight. Crazy Horse was ok but not worth paying the entry fee. You can see it fine from the road. We LOVED the drive-through zoo. I can't remember the name but it is between Mt Rushmore and the town. The wildlife loop through Custer Park was nice. We ate lunch there and it was peaceful. Unfortunately we hit a really really bad thunder/lightning/hail storm as we were leaving. It was pretty scary to be in the park. No where to pull over, no shelter,windy roads.
The highlight of our trip was def. the Badlands. Amazing place!
A) I love your dogs
I went to Mount Rushmore when I was about 11 with my parents. We made the horrible mistake of going during the Sturgis motorcycle without booking a hotel in advance. We got the last one for a million miles around. So be aware of that!
If you're going through other parts of SD hit up the Corn Palace. That I gotta see, even though I don't really "get" what it is. Plus Wall Drug, which I remember thinking "This is just a mall, WTF?" but it is a tourist attraction I guess.
If you are driving, I recommend a stop in the Badlands too.
As PP mentioned, don't come during the Sturgis motorcycle rally (the first full week of August). Not because the bikers aren't nice, but because there's no hotel rooms or campgrounds available for that week.
Besides that, I live here and LOVE the Black Hills. Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse are worth seeing once. Don't need to spend more than a couple hours at either. Badlands National Park is amazing; drive the scenic byway loop if you have time. It's right off of I-90.
Custer State Park (Needles Highway and the Wildlife loop) is a must-see. If you have time, Spearfish Canyon and Deadwood are worth the trip, too. Rapid City is the biggest city in the area, so offers the most conveniences, but each of the towns in the Black Hills have lots of nice places to stay.