We are planning a trip to Mt. Rushmore, leaving thru Oklahoma City, Ok. I would appreciate your opinions on the following:
1. Sites to visit on the way
2. Places to tour at Mt.Rushmore and the surrounding area
3. Campgrounds
We own a 5th wheeland are planning a two week vacation in Sept.
base camp at Rafter J then check out;
Mount Rushmore, Crazy horse monument, badlands nat'l park, Custer State Park, Devils Tower in Wyoming and just drive through the black hills very senic. Also if it intrests you sturgis isn't too far away.
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Attractions we enjoyed included Reptile World, Bear Country, Lead/Deadwood area: Homestake Goldmine Tour, the town of Sturgis, Needles Hwy., Badlands, and even the antique autos at Murdo. We spent some time at a few Prairie Dog towns, and must have used 27 rolls of film at Bear County. The Rapid City area has grown tremendously over the last 10 years....so I'm sure there's plenty to see and do. Devils Tower is not far and worth a day trip. I'm sure the campground will have plenty of tourist brochures!
As mentioned by sl4ever, Badlands NP. Its about an hour or so east of Rapid City. But I'll add that no trip to the area is complete without a stop at Wall Drug. http://www.walldrug.com/. Its just north of the entrace to Badlands. Wall Drug the epitome of cheesy road side attractions. The food is so-so, but the stuff to see is a hoot. The old photographs of SD, members of the Sioux tribe, and early settlers are an attraction unto themselves.
The city of Wal is a dump, but there are some interesting shops there. Do NOT eat at the buffet across the street from Wall Drug (Cactas Cafe?). The food and service is awful there. The best food we found was at Badlands Bar & Pizza.
Chuck D.
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Another vote for the Rafter J. The Island and Ranch Camp sections seem to be best. Beautiful place, centrally located in the Black Hills.
The Badlands is great - it can be hot in the summer (triple digits), so if you do stop, I'd recommend the KOA there, which is shadier (and much nicer) than the other CGs available in the area.
And who could ignore Wall Drug, which has " (x#) miles to Wall Drug" signs all over the world, not to mention all across SD? Worth an hour or two, max. And don't forget to ask for the free cup of water! (Their original claim to fame.)
Powderpuff, you will love that area of the country. The black hills are awesome. I would recommend staying at the Hill City KOA near Mt. Rushmore and using that as base camp. It is a very nice campground with a lot of things to do right in camp. When we were there on a weekend night they had a live band play and had a dutch oven dinner brought in. They have a lot of activities if traveling with younger kids.
Also, in the surrounding area make sure you go to Reptile Gardens and Bear World. The Bear World in SD is a lot bigger and has more animals than the one in ID hands down. Crazy Horse is a common attraction but a little overrated (don't know if I would go there again). Custer state park is best to take late in the afternoon or early evening and you can see a lot of wildlife, it is a beautiful drive. We considered going back there this year for our annual road trip but the in-laws wanted to go somewhere different so we will probably go there next year. Mike.
Mike & Chrystal (F315002)
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Worth an hour or two, max. And don't forget to ask for the free cup of water! (Their original claim to fame.)
