Ross, the Black Hills are amazing. There are many things to do with very little cost, just driving around the area is with the trip. Seniors can or used to be able to get into Rushmore for free, the evening show is not to be missed. The city of Keystone is a blast to walk thru and buy trinkets. Deadwood, Custer State Park, the Badlands are all just a short drive away. Even Custer's Last Stand Monument is not that far away.
We stay there every summer and enjoy every part of it
CH-47C Driver wrote: Ross, the Black Hills are amazing. There are many things to do with very little cost, just driving around the area is with the trip. Seniors can or used to be able to get into Rushmore for free, the evening show is not to be missed. The city of Keystone is a blast to walk thru and buy trinkets. Deadwood, Custer State Park, the Badlands are all just a short drive away. Even Custer's Last Stand Monument is not that far away.
We stay there every summer and enjoy every part of it
Good comments but two minor corrections to the info. Entry into Rushmore is free for everyone, there is a charge for everyone to park a vehicle. Custer's Last Stand Monument, unless there is another one, is at The Little Big Horn, some 244 miles away.
Harry
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If they go to the Badlands, I'd encourage them to drive the loop at sunrise or sunset for the most spectacular colors. The colors tend to wash out in the midday sun. KOA in Interior worked well as a base for us in the Badlands.
We stayed at Custer Gulch in 2006 and liked it very well. There's also a KOA where we've stayed adjacent to the Crazy Horse memorial. As others have mentioned, Rafter Bar J and Custer State Park always get high marks.
If they don't already have it, look into the National Parks Pass for them. If over 60, they can get free or very inexpensive (they've just changed the program, and I don't remember the details) admission to all of the national parks, national monuments, and many other spots.
(Oh, and would you also call my kids and tell them what a great idea this is? Thanks! )
PotKorn wrote: If they go to the Badlands, I'd encourage them to drive the loop at sunrise or sunset for the most spectacular colors. The colors tend to wash out in the midday sun. KOA in Interior worked well as a base for us in the Badlands.
We stayed at Custer Gulch in 2006 and liked it very well. There's also a KOA where we've stayed adjacent to the Crazy Horse memorial. As others have mentioned, Rafter Bar J and Custer State Park always get high marks.
If they don't already have it, look into the National Parks Pass for them. If over 60 62, they can get free or very inexpensive (they've just changed the program, and I don't remember the details) admission to all of the national parks, national monuments, and many other spots.
(Oh, and would you also call my kids and tell them what a great idea this is? Thanks! )
We spent a couple of nights at the KOA at Interior so we could see the Badlands before moving on to Custer. We stayed at Big Pine just outside of Custer. We've also stayed at Beaver Lake. We would stay at either one again, but Big Pine is my first choice. I like having fhu's and both of these have that. There is so much to do and see in that area. In addition to what others have mentioned we enjoyed the Mammoth Site at Hot Springs.
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We are in mid-sixties and did the Badlands, Wall Drug, Corn Palace, Rafter J's, Mount Rushmore, Keystone last year and loved every minute of it. I do not how they will travel into S. D. but we stayed in Mitchell one night. Saw Corn Palace and headed out next day, short time at Wall Drug and arrived at Rafter's late afternoon. We then planned to stay a week at Rafters but had such a great time made it 9 days and based out of there. On way back home we did the Badlands loop and took our time about 2 hours was enough. It is a fantastic trip with much to see and do. Alpine Lodge in Hill City is a gooood place to have a meal. Great and reasonable steaks and yummy desserts. Pancake Breakfast at Rafter's cannot be beat for good P/Cakes and price. Hope they will have a wonderful time.
Great ideas and I very much appreciate all the comments. I'll keep checking this as we get more and more ideas to have them do while they are there. I think this will work out very well.
Question...since I think the time frames for travel are fairly open, when are good times to visit this area? I think we are going to avoid the first week of August Sturgis traffic for sure, but what about weather? Is July too hot? Should they shoot for May or June? They can both handle hot and won't be afraid to get out in the heat, but I definitely want to pick a better time of year for them to go if I can!
The end of July will be hot. We're going the end of June through the 4th of July. June should have some nice mild temps. May could be a little cool, we've had a cold spring so far, don't know what that could spell for the begining of summer.
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Evidently they'd be going or coming through Nebraska. A worthwhile stopover would be Ft. Robinson State Park just west of Crawford, NE. Fort Rob goes back to the middle to late 1800s when it was a Cavalry outpost (the Indian chief Crazy Horse was killed while imprisoned here). Over the years it served as a center to train horses for the army, also dogs for the military. During WW2 it was a German prisoner of war camp. Its now one of the finer state parks in Nebraska. There is a museum detailing the history of the fort & the area. You can do jeep or horseback rides into the nearby bluffs overlooking the park. There are evening outdoor buffalo stew feeds with entertainment. Or you can attend mellodrama plays presented by nearby Chadron State College. You can have full meals served in the park lodge which once served as living quarters for the enlisted soldiers stationed at the fort. The campgound there is quite adequate. If folks enjoy history at all, this would be a great stop.
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