Longest and Last homestead gold mine in Lead, South Dakota (near Deadwood)…read more Everyone should check this gigantic hole out for themselves. The history is interesting, except for the fact that wealthy entrepreneurs exploited the common folks during the 1929 depression and bought their gold claims/homestead for less than market value. The museum was informative and had incredible exhibits but lacked a feature movie to chronically narrate its evolution.

This was not in my itinerary to go here. It was recommended by our friends who are residence of…read moreDeadwood. For sure make a quick stop here in Lead if you're on your way to Deadwood. Pretty cool to learn and see the mine from above ground. It was active until 1998. There are tours available.

I had a ton of fun visiting this state park! There is lots of great nature and wild life to be…read moreseen, along with a variety of hiking trails for various fitness levels, or even just nature drives if you're not feeling a hike. My personal favorite spots were Legion Lake (both for the easy hike, and the Dockside Grill), and the Wildlife Loop (for the amazing Buffalo photo opportunities). I would definitely recommend checking out Custer!

I had an amazing opportunity on our previous trip to take the whole family to see this awesome park…read morelocated just a few miles away from Mount Rushmore. one of the things that really excited my family and I was the wildlife road that you could take got to see some amazing animals freely grazing right on the sides of roads. It was a great experience I was told that if you want to see even more come earlier and you will thoroughly enjoy how much our life is out and about we went about 1 o'clock and still having to enjoy the time seeing lots of wildlife This wildlife road definitely can take you about two hours to drive on so be prepared for that if you take the wildlife road After that, we continued on to see the eye of the needle and many other amazing places they had inside the park. After driving around, we stopped by the lake. They have some beautiful deck seating for you if you decide to either go in get some food and eat on the deck area outside or take it to go either way it is a great atmosphere inside the gift shop plenty of smiling faces and Nice People working in this area. Oh, I definitely think that it was a world park and every person we encountered whether it was a park range or a worker they were very nice and courteous easy to talk to and we definitely just enjoyed our time there

Black Hills National Forest is so beautiful! We hiked the 7.1 mile hike to Black Elk Peak starting…read morefrom Sylvan Lake. The views are spectacular and we even got lucky and saw a mountain goat at the top. If you do this hike, I would recommend hiking shoes, a hat, and a water pack to stay hydrated.

Beautiful natural landscapes! Gorgeous views! Got to take lots of beautiful photography!!read more

There's a whole hidden world under the prairie. The Garden of Eden Tour took us deep underground…read morethrough narrow passageways and into rooms full of rare boxwork formations and delicate honeycomb patterns that make this cave so special. Down there, everything feels slower. It's quiet, cool, and feels almost untouched. Then you step back outside and it's a complete contrast. Open skies, rolling hills, and bison grazing in the distance like something straight out of a movie. Two totally different worlds in one park.

It's getting really depressing to be on a National Parks road trip through the US during a…read moregovernment shutdown. Wind Cave National park was really nice and convenient and had a few interesting things to see. Unfortunately the visitors center and all the restrooms were closed even though there was a park ranger sitting in his running truck in the parking lot trying to avoid the visitors that walked up to him. I can't blame the park for the shutdown and I did really like the ease of navigating the simple beauty here. We caught a glimpsenof a buffalo and saw some prairie dogs (I love prairie dogs!) but I doubt I will ever be back to see it when it is fully operational.

A must visit in the area! Friendly staff, easily accessible and loads of information for whatever…read moreyou want to get into in the area.

From the owner: The Black Hills Visitor Information Center, located on Interstate 90 at exit 61 in Rapid City, is…read morethe unofficial east entrance for the Black Hills region. We'll make sure to welcome you to the area and our friendly and knowledgeable staff is ready to help with an array of free services like: * expert trip planning * free wi-fi * clean bathrooms * ATV and forest recreation passes * free maps, brochures and travel guides designed to smooth your way and max your vacation fun in the Black Hills & Badlands * reservations * weather reports and road conditions Or stop in our gift shop to pickup exclusive Black Hills Road Trip gear, local coupons or other great South Dakota-made products and souvenirs. We are open year-round, summer hours are 8 a.m.-6 p.m., seven days a week.

So happy we stopped in for some local information. The staff were super friendly. There was lots of…read moregood information. A gift shop was inside along with information displays. And cute area for kids to discover bones while digging. Very clean washrooms too.

We had a hiking boot failure in the Badlands. It was hot, and the boots were old, the soles…read moreliterally popped off at the same time on our hike. We needed a new pair of boots, because we have a lot more hiking and camping to do before we get back to California. A billboard for Cabela's drew us in. After a prolonged hiking boot search, some fudge, some gawking at the taxidermy, an elk sandwich, and some gawking at guns we were on our way. But we weren't quite sure where we were going. And so my honey suggested the Black Hills Visitor Information Center, which is located right where Google maps says Cabela's is. A wonderful woman gave us loads of brochures for unique hotels and B&Bs in the area, as well as a few restaurant recommendations. Lots of information for weary travelers. Lots of stuf for us to look at as well, there was a large landscape with lights to show places of interest and where we were in relation to those places. That was about all we had the energy for. We called The Hotel Alex Johnson first, and that is where we are staying. It's great, we've reviewed it as well. Another tip for you if you are traveling: www.hotelcoupons.com. Offers reduced rates for lots of hotels in the area.

I definitely recommend putting this on something you go and visit in your lifetime. It is a very…read moreamazing monument from the time you walk up through the main gate you can start to see the monument and it's just amazing at the work that was put into it they have lined the pathway with the flags from all 50 states and it just kinda gives you this amazing walk up experience and that if you haven't seen you early enjoy. My family and I spent about an hour and a half there which is a great amount of time you can walk up get some great photos plenty of park Rangers around to talk to get directions and tell you a little bit more about the park They do offer videos certain times of the day that are very informative. They have a full-blown theater at the foot of the mountain, which is really amazing when people can perform and things like that which I had no idea that was there until later. And then they have this amazing easy to travel trail. You can do about 50% of it with the stroller and get close up to the monument and take a great photo but then there comes an area where it says I have almost 450 steps so we stopped right there and turned back, but it does do a loop around the whole area with spectacular views. I definitely think that this is a great place to go and visit really peaceful place well-maintained. They do have restaurants and gift shops there so if you're ever in South Dakota, go and give this place a visit

It's always fun to visit Mount Rushmore!…read more This time around I got to listen to a great presentation given by one of the staff. It was about the battle in Baltimore Maryland in 1814. He talked about the Poem "The Star Spangled Banner" that originated from the site of that battle and how it later became the national anthem. It was a very interesting and educational program that I appreciated experiencing. That paired with the usual amenities of the site really made for a fun part of the day! There is some confusing messaging about how to pay for parking that I think should be smoothed out, but I appreciate that the staff work to create a good experience even when there are uncertainties.

Jewel Cave is a must see if you're passing through Custer, SD. It is so amazing and wonderful site…read moreto see and experience the creation our planet's gives us. Such a rich historical site in geological formations; will leave you in awe. The cave is so big and such a mystery leaving you with so many questions that go unanswered. The guides give you a good explanation on how things formed and happened in the cave but it still makes you question the answers they give. The planet offers so much beauty and this cave is one of the beauties it offer. Stop by and experience the underground mystery at Jewel cave.

I love caves, and I loved the Scenic Tour I went on! This cave is one of the world's longest caves,…read morewith passages still being explored and mapped out to this day. I thought the tour was very well done, and I saw a lot of calcite crystals (and other formations) which gave the cave its name. Be warned though, you have to bundle up for the tour as the inside is 49°F / 9°C year-round, and you must wear closed-toe shoes. The Scenic Tour itself is a guided tour that has over 700 steps and covers 1/2 miles underground. Some of the pathway's ceilings are low, so if you're tall be sure to duck when the ranger tells you. There is lighting all the way so you can see when the low sections are coming. I learned a lot about the cave, its history, and how it's currently being maintained. The steel walkways have catch trays for lint and other stuff that falls off of guests, and when they clean it annually it has around 17 lb of "stuff". They really try to balance cave preservation with accessibility to the public. I highly recommend this tour.

Trump was indoors here. Looks to of brochures & Don was a wealth of information. We were given a…read moremap of all the locations of the presidents & more. The visitors center had an adorable children's corner.

Loved this area and enjoyed the solitude, the hike, the lake and the trails. Definitely recommend.read more

Fabulous! Great little store inside, and some history too. Books and a few gift items available…read more Be respectful and do not take pictures of their holy items. Kind people running it. Answered a question I had about snakes. I love learning and they teach you what you need to learn. God bless.