Going to Mt. Rushmore-- WE'RE BACK! Day 5 is up!! page 10 Final Day!

[mdrob214]

Weather in western SD is a mystery. It can be cold and rainy or hot and dry. You just never know. Bring clothes like jeans & sweatshirts and tank tops * shorts and you'll be covered! Just a couple years ago they had snow in June. Last May (day after Memorial Day) as we were headed home there was snow on the ground. You seriously never can predict whether it will be 100 or 60 for a high.

 

[merrily]

Has anyone done the chuckwagon dinner offered by Palmer Gulch Stables? It takes you out to the dinner site by covered wagon/horses and dinner by campfire. Sounded maybe more fun than a chuckwagon inside a building. Not sure though- when I google I get the same 2 or 3... Circle B, something called the T House or some such and another. I'm wondering if there are a couple better than most that I could look into.

We were in the area June 2008. We went to the Circle B chuckwagon. It is about 1/2 hour outside of Rapid City. I called about 3 hours before dinner and was able to get 4 tickets for that night. The food was good and the atmosphere was fun.

You have gotten lots of great ideas and advice. Definitely go to Mt. Rushmore during the day and at night. You pay $10 to park but the pass is good for the year. We stayed a few nights in Custer and a few nights in Rapid City.

Have a great trip!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) We did Rushmore when we went to Sturgis (Yep, Harley nut.)
2) It was really kewl.
3) It is SOOOOOOO huge.
4) I wanted to climb a face.
5) Of course, it it not allowed.

 

[Maddie2]

Hi there! I also live in South Dakota -- 7 hours away from the Black Hills, but I spent lots of time there as a child. My grandparents had a cabin in Spearfish Canyon, which is between Lead and Deadwood, so I am partial to that part of the hills. We usually spent 2-3 weeks there every summer.

The recommendations from other posters have been great, here are more that I would add:

If you prefer a more rustic stay, I would suggest:http://www.rimrocklodge.com

We stayed in the Ponderosa cabin a few years ago and it was a great base camp. We had family in some of the other cabins, but our cabin seemed to be the place most gravitated to as we had the kitchen -- or truly more of a "kitchenette". Rim Rock is near Bridal Veil falls and a great area to explore by foot.

Deadwood has changed through the years. When I was a kid it was all about the Wild West. Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok. The saloon where WBH was shot, Mt. Moriah cemetary where they are buried etc. Did you also know there once was a Chinatown in Deadwood? It's true! Lots of rich history, etc. Some of that is still there, but it has turned into a mecca of gambling now too. Just something to be aware of with your children.

Rapid City is a small city with all the trappings of chain restaurants, hotels, etc. Great if that is what you are looking for. Mt. Rushmore is as fabulous as ever, even more so, really.

The alpine slides in Keystone are really fun, as is the Black Hills Maze not too far from there. There is also a waterpark in that area.

http://www.rushmorealpineslide.com/

http://www.blackhillsmaze.com/

http://www.rushmorewaterslide.com/

In the southern hills (less than an hour from Mt. Rushmore), we've always enjoyed:

(In Hot Springs)....
If your kids are into dinosaurs -- http://www.mammothsite.com/

For naturally warm water swimming .... (yes, really) --http://www.evansplunge.com/

Also, in Hill City, there is the Black Hlls Museum of Natural History, which includes a great dinosaur exhibit .... dinosaurs found in SD....
http://www.bhmnh.org/


And, near Custer ....

http://www.flintstonesbedrockcity.com/index.html (a bit hokey, but very charming!)

Be aware that some places are only open seasonally. Did I read that you are going in October? That may not be the best time to go if you want to have the full Black Hills experience ... sorry to say. Black Hills is more of a Memorial Day to Labor Day vacation destination.

Weather -- summers - warm during the day/cooler in evening/occasional evening showers.

Also, if you are arriving via I-90 from the east, be sure to stop in Chamberlain (just over the Missouri River bridge) as Al's Oasis for dinner. They serve buffalo burgers, have a nice salad bar and lots of other good food.

Also, as others have noted, a SD vacation is incomplete without a stop at Wall Drug in Wall, SD.

I'm sure there are lots of other great places to go to as well, but this mostly covers all of our traditional family favorites.

Have fun planning and visiting! When I was really little, I thought that every state had these treasures .... imagine my surprise to find out they didn't!

 

[leahjade]

Thanks so much for this thread - I'm subscribing! We're going this summer and would like to rent a condo or timeshare - anyone have any recommendations! We have a party of 6! Thanks again!

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the info as well. DH and I are planning a massive road-trip out west this spring.

Anyone have any advice for Yellowstone?

 

[leahjade]

also wondering what's the most economical city to fly into from the east coast?

 

[Inigo]

I
To the poster who saw fireworks in Rapid City--from where did you watch them?

There's a park near downtown Rapid City where they have the whole 4th of July Carnival/festival, and we were there for the fireworks.

 

[Inigo]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the info as well. DH and I are planning a massive road-trip out west this spring.

Anyone have any advice for Yellowstone?

Jenny Lake at Grand Tetons NP is beautiful. We camped just a short walk from the edge of the lake. Take the ferry across the lake, and take a hike up. If you go far enough, you finally get to a beautiful hanging valley.

Grand Tetons and Yellowstone are attached, so if you go to one park, it's just a short drive to the other.

Yellowstone is beautiful, and you can spend forever walking and looking at one geyser after another. Some are puny, but others are spectacular. Don't just settle for old faithful, but go to the different types of geysers to see a variety of colors and formations.

 

[disneybound31]

Jenny Lake at Grand Tetons NP is beautiful. We camped just a short walk from the edge of the lake. Take the ferry across the lake, and take a hike up. If you go far enough, you finally get to a beautiful hanging valley.

Grand Tetons and Yellowstone are attached, so if you go to one park, it's just a short drive to the other.

Yellowstone is beautiful, and you can spend forever walking and looking at one geyser after another. Some are puny, but others are spectacular. Don't just settle for old faithful, but go to the different types of geysers to see a variety of colors and formations.

How far would you estimate the drive would be from the BlackHills/Mt. Rushmore area to the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone area?

 

[Inigo]

If I recall correctly, it's about 300 or so miles between Rapid City and Yellowstone, so maybe 6 hours or so. Most of roads were two-lane, but there wasn't much traffic.

 

[merrily]

also wondering what's the most economical city to fly into from the east coast?

We flew to Denver. We then rented a car and drove about 400 miles to Custer, SD. It was well worth it as tickets to Denver were so much cheaper than to Rapid City. The drive goes fast as the highway is straight and flat and the legal speed limit is about 75mph. However, we were also traveling in a big loop from South Dakota to Yellowstone then to Rocky Mountain National Park so this was the least expensive option for us.

 

[merrily]

How far would you estimate the drive would be from the BlackHills/Mt. Rushmore area to the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone area?

If I recall correctly, it's about 300 or so miles between Rapid City and Yellowstone, so maybe 6 hours or so. Most of roads were two-lane, but there wasn't much traffic.

Actually, I think it was more like 9+ hours. We went to Deadwood and Devil's Tower after leaving Rapid City and spent the night in Sheridan. The next day we continued on to Yellowstone. It was a lot of driving!

 

[dispor]

If you are looking for a place to stay in the Badlands, we stayed at a wonderful ranch/bed and breakfast that was very reasonable and just a wonderful place to stay. It's the Circle View Rance and it's right across from the Indian Reservation Land.

Check out my Flickr pics of the trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/minivanmafia/sets/72157605873113635/

Wow, those pictures are incredible! And the picture of your son in the cowboy hat - let's just say he's going to break more than a few hearts when he's older! LOL!

I've already emailed several questions to the ranch owners - and all were answered within 15 minutes!!! Sounds like a really great place. We just need to finalize our dates and get reservations made.

 

[disneybound31]

OP here-
Can anyone recommend a bus touring company for one of the one day excursions that takes you to all the major sites. Found one in a travel book for $69 per adult $34 per child- includes: Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Needles Hwy in Custer State Park, breakfast and dinner at the Fort Hayes Chuckwagon, Slyvan Lake and a few others...

We will have a rental to do our own exploring on other days, but the 'older' in our group of 4 adults, 2 kids think it may be nice to let someone else do the driving to some of the major attractions. And we wanted to fit in a chuckwagon dinner anyway so is that a decent one? Any opinions on the bus tour thing?

Also, have been pricing flights from here (east coast- knoxville, tn area, possibly Nashville, usually cheaper) and am wondering about trying Priceline or other discount site? Have never done that before and would not want to get terrible flights even if cheaper. Opinions on that, as well? Currently the prices are running about $500 per person round trip in mid-July.

TIA!!

 

[disney dumbo]

Wonderful info here! I'm keeping this thread! Thanks to all posting!

 

[disneybound31]

Our cabin at Powder House had a kitchenette, so we ate breakfast there. Our two lunches were from Subway in Keystone. We wanted to eat dinner one night at MR, but all of the western state governors were there, so we ate at Powder House. Loved it SO much that we ate there two more nights. Great local food (Buffalo), plus other "american" standards: pasta, chicken, burgers, etc. I had a great chicken cesear salad-twice!

Just wanted to mention again how much we disliked "Bear Country"; you'll see most of these animals in their natural habitat at Cusker...for FREE!!!!

Oh, be sure to take some carrots or apples into Cusker...there is a herd of wild burrows that you can feed...you can't miss them, they come right up to the car. Kind of a nuisance, but the kids loved it. Park rangers said it was okay to feed them. We went in late June and the babies were SO cute!

You'll have a great trip. Can't remember when you are going, but in June it was hot by day, chilly at night. Plan accordingly!

Can you tell me more about Powder House? If you have any pics that would be great! The website is loading too slowly on my computer for me to see anything on their site. How is the location? To Mt. Rushmore, etc?

I see it having nice review like yours, but I had questions about the pool and cabin amenities, t.v, etc. Any additional info would be so wonderful to help us make our choice.
TIA!

 

[bethbuchall]

We drove from upstate NYS to Yellowstone last summer. We went to Mt. Rushmore on the way home.

We stayed at Rushmore Express in Keystone and thought it was beautiful. We did have an upgraded room, though, because of another person with a similar name who checked into our room ahead of us.

We loved Wind Cave and Mammoth Dig Site. I wish that I had booked us for much more time in the area, because we didn't see nearly enough of the Badlands.

I don't have time right now to type more, but I'll be back.

I started a trip report (link in my signature), but I haven't really done too much yet and haven't made it to Mt. Rushmore. I really do hope to finish that up some day.

Also, my sig picture (in honor of Presidents' Day) is from our trip.

 

[mdrob214]

OP here-
Can anyone recommend a bus touring company for one of the one day excursions that takes you to all the major sites. Found one in a travel book for $69 per adult $34 per child- includes: Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Needles Hwy in Custer State Park, breakfast and dinner at the Fort Hayes Chuckwagon, Slyvan Lake and a few others...

We will have a rental to do our own exploring on other days, but the 'older' in our group of 4 adults, 2 kids think it may be nice to let someone else do the driving to some of the major attractions. And we wanted to fit in a chuckwagon dinner anyway so is that a decent one? Any opinions on the bus tour thing?

Also, have been pricing flights from here (east coast- knoxville, tn area, possibly Nashville, usually cheaper) and am wondering about trying Priceline or other discount site? Have never done that before and would not want to get terrible flights even if cheaper. Opinions on that, as well? Currently the prices are running about $500 per person round trip in mid-July.

TIA!!

I'm from RC but I don't know any bus co. names. I'm sure there is someone who does that sort of thing, though. I would simply do the driving myself. And I think I'd stay away from the chuckwagon suppers, too. But that's just my opinion as a local (well, I don't live there anymore, but I did and my mom still does!) The PowderHouse is one place that locals often go to eat. There's another place up in the hills--just a small bar/grill type of place-- that's good but the names escapes me right now. I'll have to ask my mom.

 

[Binnie]

IMO, Mt. Rushmore looks like the pictures. We were bored and won't be going back. However, we loved the Badlands and Badland National Park.

That's how we felt. I mean it was OK, but we wouldn't go back. We were moving cross-country, and it wasn't too far out of the way, so I suppose it was worth it. There were all 50 state flags there. Of course, it was July and HOT, but that's another story.

I really enjoyed Wall Drug. I can't remember how far it was from Rushmore, but it was cool and kitschy. Another thing I don't think I'd go back for, but cool enough.