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

[Simba's Mom]

Subscribing!

 

[disneybound31]

I would make the Badlands a higher priority on your list! It would be a shame to get so close and not see it. They are so incredibly different from the Black Hills. I think it should be about an hour or so from Rapid City to the exit to the Badlands (can't remember the exit number). If you have any desire to see Wall Drug do it on the same day you see the Badlands. They are relatively close to each other. Wall Drug is essentially a super-sized souvenier shop. However, there are lots of things for the kids to do at Wall Drug- fountains to run through, props to have pictures taken on, gem-panning (not gold) for an extra fee, arcade for extra fee, etc. etc.

How old are your kids?

We did not do the lighting ceremony at either Rushmore or Crazy Horse. Quite frankly, we were TIRED by that time.

Do you know what routes the Tour Bus takes? The most important scenic drives, IMHO, are:

Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park
Iron Mountain Road on the way TO Mt. Rushmore
Needles Highway
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Drive

and of course the Badlands Loop.

Check into the Ft. Hayes Show. It might have its own shootout. (Unless you really wanted to see the Deadwood one.) We did not visit Deadwood or Keystone - not enough time. Ft. Hayes may also have gold-panning.

The visitor center across from State Game Lodge in Custer State Park had gold-panning - I think maybe at 11 a.m. (Call to see if time has changed.) I regret not doing it there - they said they actually show you how to pan in the stream (not a trough - sp?).

Just keep in mind that most drives will take you longer than you think. The map shows Needles Highway as being 14 miles longer. It took us close to an HOUR to drive it!! (Not because of traffic, but because of the narrow turns.)
We went in mid-June and thankfully the roads were not crowded at all.

Hope that helps...

Thanks for your reply. The Badlands are a definite priority, just can't see where to fit them in unless we skip Deadwood and the WIld Bill Shootout. That Fort Hayes all day tour has every stop and scenic drive you mentioned... Needles Hwy and lunch at the State Game lodge.

The main reason for thsi trip is Rushmore and so I know we need to fit in the lighting at night on soem night- I jsut wonder if a weeknight would be better than a Sat or Sun due to crowds? Ifeel like I just HAVE to see the Badlands.... and Custer, but the bus tour should take care of Custer.
Can anyone tell me the approx. drive time from airport to Powderhouse cabins? I have tried to use my map key to do the distance and maybe will Mapquest later...

 

[SleepyMom]

OP here--

Okay- I am back with our itinerary... we leave on the 18th and I wondered if I could get a critique of our plan from some of you who have posted or done this trip. Is it do-able? Too much? There is so much I want to see and do and the kids want to see and do, but we do have the grandparents who can't move at our semi-commando speed and my somewhat fickle sister who can be easily irritated, but I am not going to stress over her-- she asked to be added to this trip so I figure she can go with the flow.

Day 1-
travel day- arrive Rapid City 3pm... get rental and find our way to Powderhouse cabins.
Dinner at Powderhouse or Rushmore concession. Go to Mt. Rushmore lighting on arrival night (is a saturday???- mistake? too crowded?)
call it a night..

Day 2- Sunday

*Storybook Island
*Norwegian Church- near Storybook
*Memorial Park to see Berlin Wall monument
*Reptile Gardens
*Dinosaur Park?

anything I should add to this day since we are back in this area? how far away will we be at this point from the Badlands Natl. Park? Would love to see them at sunset, but not sure of drive times and if that makes for too long a day. Think we have decided not to do Bear Country. Unless someone thinks we have enough time and it is a can't miss attraction. I think we are more reptile than bear oriented in a time crunch.

Day 3- Monday

*Fort Hayes bus tour all day

This is booked. Breakfast included, major sites and Custer State Park, lunch at Custer, Sylvan Lake, etc... chuckwagon dinner at Ft. Hayes.

Day 4- Tuesday

*Deadwood and Keystone day
*Presidential Wax Museum and putt-putt nearby (we are HUGE putt-putters!)
*maybe throw in a little gold-panning action for the kids
*Deadwood- explore, mini-bus tour to cemetary, dinner (?- suggestions, please), evening shootout re-enactment

I need lunch and dinner suggestion for this day if anyone has some. TIA!

Day 5- Wednesday

*departure day
*Mt. Rushmore Cave possibly?
*can we get to Badlands Natl. and then to airport by 1pm if we can't fit it in earlier?

This is a quick trip and there is so much to see/do. We will prob skip Wall Drug and other major tourist things unless ends up exactly on our way to another must see on our list. I want to see and appreciate the terrain and beauty so anything I should knock out feel free to suggest.

Thanks for any and all help/ suggestions!

We will be there during the last part of your trip, we get out there a lot to see family.

I prefer Bear Country to Reptile Gardens, but that is because I am not a reptile person If you do decide to visit Bear Country, go early in the day while the animals are most active.

Day 4 will be busy, but I think you can do it if you keep moving. There will be many places to eat in Deadwood, I can never remember the names, but there are lots of steak places and buffets. Keystone has less to choose from, but you will find something there.

Seeing the Badlands on the day you leave would be cutting it close, maybe you could switch some of the activities with Day 2? On the morning you leave you could easily hit Dinasaur Park, Memorial Park, Chapel in the Hills and then an hour or two at StoryBook Island. Those are all right in Rapid City, so you could head for the airport at any time.

Day 2 you could start at Reptile Gardens and then make the drive to the Badlands in the afternoon, that way you could see them later in the day.

I don't know about the crowds for the lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore, haven't been for years. Your Day 3 plans should give you a great look at the beauty of the Hills, especially if it includes a drive on the Needles Highway. Have your kids watch National Treasure 2 before you go, so they can be looking for places in the movie. Have fun!

 

[Inigo]

I'm such a dork. Right after I posted this, about the maze in Rapid City, I thought the topic sounded familiar here on the DIS. I just realized I already posted this stuff back when the thread was new.

 

[leahjade]

Disneybound, where your tickets outrageous flying into Rapid City? We were going to do this trip this year but the airfare ruined it for us. Maybe next year - it sounds great!

 

[Simba's Mom]

We're in the early stages of planning a trip to Badlands and the Black Hills next summer. DH really wants to see Mt Rushmore, but I know I'm gonna be like Sparky Griswold at the Grand Canyon. We're just two adults, no kids, so we're not interested in any "busy" type things. But we are really interested in wildlife, bird watching. We're thinking of Badlands, staying at Cedar Pass, and the Black Hills, staying inside Custer State Park. Any insight into which of the 4 lodges (we're looking at cabins there) is best for us? And we're thinking of going to Wind Cave, but only above ground to see the nature, no cave tours since we're both claustrophobic. Any tips? How far ahead should we book?

 

[disneybound31]

We will be there during the last part of your trip, we get out there a lot to see family.

I prefer Bear Country to Reptile Gardens, but that is because I am not a reptile person If you do decide to visit Bear Country, go early in the day while the animals are most active.

Day 4 will be busy, but I think you can do it if you keep moving. There will be many places to eat in Deadwood, I can never remember the names, but there are lots of steak places and buffets. Keystone has less to choose from, but you will find something there.

Seeing the Badlands on the day you leave would be cutting it close, maybe you could switch some of the activities with Day 2? On the morning you leave you could easily hit Dinasaur Park, Memorial Park, Chapel in the Hills and then an hour or two at StoryBook Island. Those are all right in Rapid City, so you could head for the airport at any time.

Day 2 you could start at Reptile Gardens and then make the drive to the Badlands in the afternoon, that way you could see them later in the day.

I don't know about the crowds for the lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore, haven't been for years. Your Day 3 plans should give you a great look at the beauty of the Hills, especially if it includes a drive on the Needles Highway. Have your kids watch National Treasure 2 before you go, so they can be looking for places in the movie. Have fun!

Your post is a godsend! You are so right about switching some of our plans and by doing that I think we have an even better and calmer plan. What, in your opinion, will make our Deadwood day so busy? I thought that seemed like the lesser of busy days... I kindof figured that Deadwood being a gaming town now (and none of being gamblers- and having 2 kids along) we would, at most, do the town bus tour/talk, eat dinner, see the courthouse/museum, and sightsee the historic buildings for a bit. The gold panning is truly optional- Are Deadwood and Keystone very far apart? We will be staying right by Keystone at the Powderhouse.

Do you think we could do Bear Country then Reptile Gardens then Badlands? Too much? How much time could/should be spent at the first two?

 

[disneybound31]

Disneybound, where your tickets outrageous flying into Rapid City? We were going to do this trip this year but the airfare ruined it for us. Maybe next year - it sounds great!

Yes.

 

[disneybound31]

leahjade-
those tickets just about made me pass out... I searched for months over the winter for decent airfares ($400 or less per person) and just could never find any. Finally settled on soem with great flying in and out times for around $500 and after booking them through Expedia they raised them (I was livid and still wonder if that is kosher) to a bit over $600 per ticket. That broke the bank for DH, me and DS10 and DD7 to go so my parents generously paid the difference for us. That few hundrend $ really made the difference for us (and to add we cancelled our October trip to the World to do this trip, but it's all good).

Because of the high airfare 5 days in S. Dakota is costing quite a bit more than 10 days in WDW WITH airfare. BTW, we live in East Tn where it is high to fly anyway- we are going out of Nashville which is usually 1/3 to 1/2 cheaper than out of Knoxville where we live.

How much were your airfares going to run?

 

[SleepyMom]

Your post is a godsend! You are so right about switching some of our plans and by doing that I think we have an even better and calmer plan. What, in your opinion, will make our Deadwood day so busy? I thought that seemed like the lesser of busy days... I kindof figured that Deadwood being a gaming town now (and none of being gamblers- and having 2 kids along) we would, at most, do the town bus tour/talk, eat dinner, see the courthouse/museum, and sightsee the historic buildings for a bit. The gold panning is truly optional- Are Deadwood and Keystone very far apart? We will be staying right by Keystone at the Powderhouse.

Do you think we could do Bear Country then Reptile Gardens then Badlands? Too much? How much time could/should be spent at the first two?

I was thinking the Deadwood/Keystone day would be busier because of what you had planned for the Keystone part... puttputt golf and the Presidents museum, plus walking around Keystone and lunch, then the drive to Deadwood. But like I said, you should be able to fit it all in, if you keep moving. I tend to get distracted and spend more time in places than I should, so maybe it would just be me having trouble fitting it all in

If you decide to do both, they are right on the same road you will be taking from Keystone to Rapid. Bear Country will be first and then Reptile Gardens, both on the left side about a mile or so apart.

Bear Country is a drive thru park, with a place to stop and walk around at the end to see young animals. Depending on traffic, and if the animals are making people stop the driving part isn't too bad, but you can really get caught up watching the little bears play at the end. I suppose you could do both in the morning and be to the Badlands by early afternoon. You could have a late lunch in Wall Drug and then tour the Badlands for the afternoon/evening (since you wanted to be there at sunset). Just remember it will be over an hour drive back to Rapid (maybe more depending on where you exit the Badlands) and then the short trip up to the Keystone area.

For your departure day, hit Dinasaur Park and Memorial Park first. There is a gift shop at Dinasaur Park that will have hours to follow, but the area to see the dinasaurs will be open no matter what time you get there, same with Memorial Park. It seems like there is a gate closing off Chapel in the Hills overnight, and I am not sure what time they open it in the morning, which is why I would hit the other two first. StoryBook Island also has an opening time, I would think it should be open though by 10 at the latest.

There is a back road coming off the road from Keystone to Dinasaur Park. Wish I could remember the name, it is right at the top of the hill as you leave Rapid and there is a cemetary right there. That road will wind along the entire top of that hill, you get some great views of Rapid and the surrounding area going that way. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[SleepyMom]

Airline tix out of Rapid usually are outrageous, my family that lives there usually drives to Sioux Falls (5 hour trip straight across I-90) and flies from there. Since you would be renting a car anyways, try that route and then you can see the Corn Palace (very corny ) and the Badlands on the drive to Rapid.

 

[disneybound31]

Not that I mind TOO much- but when did we get moved over to the Community Board?

 

[disneybound31]

Just wanted to say a big Thank You to everyone who helped provide info- our trip starts Saturday and we are so excited!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Just wanted to say a big Thank You to everyone who helped provide info- our trip starts Saturday and we are so excited!

Trip report/brief comments about what's good and bad-pretty please

 

[disneybound31]

Trip report/brief comments about what's good and bad-pretty please

Sure thing!

 

[disneybound31]

Ah, we're back. It was a WONDERFUL trip and we learned and saw so much. I will have to do this in daily installments as we did so many things.

Day One- We flew into Rapid City mid-afternoon and had no problems getting there or getting our rental van- surprising for us as we always have issues anytime we travel.

Our first endeavor was to find our way to the Powderhouse Lodge in Keystone approximately 40 minutes outside Rapid City. I had been told to ask about the bypass which I did at the rental counter. This cut our drive time in half. I would definately recommend getting bypass directions (very easy) and avoiding Rapid City. We eventually did some neat things there, but more on that later.

First, the scenary and weather was just beautiful and we had driven only two miles down the road. We were awed by the most beautiful arched wooden bridge and could tell this was going to be a special trip. The Powderhouse is easily found right on the main road (16a) and maybe 15-20 minutes from the airport. We passed Reptile Gardens (did not do), Bear Country banana and the Fort Hayes/Dances with Wolves film location where we would go in a few days for an all day bus tour. The maps make it seem like there will be alot of driving to get to these locations, but that is not the case at all.

We checked into Powderhouse and it was very nice. The front desk is in the restaurant lobby with a gift shop thrown in for good measure. Some great jewelry, souveniers and an ice cream freezer that made the kids so excited, but I now realize that we never got ice cream- not even once.

Our cabin was #54, a deluxe family cabin, it was farthest from the lodge and pool (which was not heated as advertised- but if that was our only problem...then we're lucky...and we were...because it was. Our only problem.)

A bit about the cabin. IT WAS CUTE. More than cute. Ample parking. Front porch with porch swing. Inside it was classic log cabin with stairs up to the 2 twin bed loft (DD7 and DS10 LOVED it) queen bedroom, one bath, mini kitchen (fridge, micro, additional sink). Had good sized living room with tv (also one in bedroom) with basic cable, but we weren't there for t.v. The couch pulled out into a sofa bed and there was a very cute table and chairs made from smaller logs. All the lamps were made from logs. And, importantly, it was super clean. I mean super clean. We fit just fine and we were a big group. Me, DH, DD, DS, Dsis, Dmom, Ddad. It said it slept 6, but we did 7 with no prob. Best of all it rented for $129 a night. And closest lodging to Mt. Rushmore -- besides some motels and a Holiday Inn maybe a mile closer. We were in the woods, it was quiet, right across from horse riding stables... it was great. There was a prairie dog sitting right out front to greet us. Deer would walk past our cabin in the morning. Lovely. I need to move forward...

The kids wanted to swim right off the bat and while the pool is nothing fancy it was clean and the kids had fun. It was NOT, however, heated. I checked. Not so important. That was our hottest day -mid 80's with very low humidity - so we never got another warm day to swim again anyhow.

Our plan was to eat dinner there at the Powderhouse restaurant as the menu in our cabin looked so yummy. And it was really enjoyable. I had a seafood alfredo with scallops and shrimp and crab that came with a simple, but really good salad with homemade dressing. The kids menu was typical, but well priced and the food was well cooked. Other things had at the table included a very rare buffalo steak (decidedly the worst meal, unfortunately- my dad was really looking forward to his first buffalo in SD) a great steak meal, french dip was good, one of us got the Wild Game Sampler which was interesting. Overall, a good meal. A bit pricey, but heck, it's vacation!

We were finished in plenty of time to get to the nightly lighting at Mt. Rushmore. The lodge office staff was always friendly and helpful with all our questions about how to get around the area and driving distances. We were literally 7 minutes from Rushmore. We got our first glimpse from the road. How beautiful it was. It almost brought my mom to tears. She told us how she had wanted to see it since she read about it in a book when she was 10. The age of our oldest.

It was still very light out when we arrived at the gates and paid our $10 entry fee - pass is good for a year, let me add. We got in some good pics and walked around a bit when we noticed people finding seats. There are bleachers on the upper verandah, but keep going down to the amphitheatre for better seats and closer access to the park ranger who gives a moving and funny talk before an even more moving short film and the lighting of the faces. Just beautiful. Afterward the ranger asked for anyone currently serving or having had previously served our country in any of the armed services and so many men and women came forward and stood on the stage while we clapped for them. There was one lone little girl escorted up by her mother ,I assume, and when she turned around she was holding a large sign with her daddy's face on it and he was in uniform. So touching- we assume he is currently overseas. The ranger went up to each and every person on that stage and gave them the opportunityto state their name and branch of service. It was very moving. Very young to extremely old and all ages in between- and when the little girl said her daddy's name...

Definately worth seeing in your lifetime. Inwardly I groaned at the masses of people heading for the parking garage, but I needn't have worried. It was so simple- everyone letting the other out in turn. Just made your heart smile.

We made it back to the cabin and put the kids to sleep- 2 time zones ahead so it was around 1 am to them. A fabulous first day.

Day 2 coming up tomorrow...

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

Can't wait to hear more! You are bringing back good memories - we went in 2006 and it is a very special trip.

 

[Liberty Belle]

My son just got back from Mt. Rushmore, too. He went with my parents. My dad, a veteran, went on the stage and gave his info. My mom said it was very touching.

 

[Simba's Mom]

This is great-can't wait to read more!

 

[disneybound31]

This is great-can't wait to read more!

Thanks! I will have Day 2 up this evening. Trying to get some pics on as well... any helpful hints?