Area Attractions & Things to Do

South Dakota Favorites

Mount Rushmore

Towering 60-foot sculptures of early American presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln cut right into the huge granite rock-face. A must-do South Dakota attraction.

Crazy Horse Memorial

The Crazy Horse memorial features the Crazy Horse mountain carving now in progress which will be the world’s largest sculpture (563' high, 641' long, carved in the round). The huge visitor complex also includes the beautiful Indian Museum, Educational and Cultural Center, the sculptor’s studio-home and workshop, and more.

Badlands National Park

The Badlands Wilderness Area covers 64,000 acres and is the site of the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret, the most endangered land mammal in North America. The Stronghold Unit is co-managed with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and includes sites of 1890s Ghost Dances.

Wall Drug

Wall Drug is a very popular stop for tourists in South Dakota. It can get busy, but it’s a great place to have a bite to eat, look at all the memorabilia, enjoy the art gallery, shop till you drop, and have fun with the kids in the big Back Yard.

History Buffs

Four Mile Old West Town

Four Mile Old West Town offers hayride tours which allow visitors to travel through the town site while the guide narrates the way of life your ancestors lived, from the mid 1800’s into the early 1900’s, during the time the when the Black Hills were settled. Walking self-guided tours are also available.

Mammoth Site Museum

Travel back to the time when Ice Age mammoth, camel, and giant short-faced bear roamed the Great Plains of South Dakota.

The Journey Museum

The Journey Museum brings together four major prehistoric and historic collections to tell the complete story of the Western Great Plains - from the perspective of the Lakota people and the pioneers who shaped its past, to the scientists who now study it.

Grand River Museum

The Grand River Museum maintains collections devoted to paleontological and cultural aspects of the Grand River region of South Dakota and their goal is to become a regional center of paleontologic and ethnographic studies.

High plains Heritage Center Museum

The center is a five state regional museum founded to honor the old west pioneers and the Native Americans of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska. View fantastic exhibits of Western art, artifacts and memorabilia including the original Spearfish to Deadwood stagecoach, outdoor log cabin, school house, sod house, blacksmith shop and more.

Adams Museum & House

The Adams Museum in Deadwood is the oldest history museum in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Pioneer businessman W.E. Adams built the museum in 1930 as a memorial to his family and to honor the early pioneers that settled the Black Hills. The Adams House, built in 1892, is an elegant Victorian mansion which became the Adams House Museum on July 1, 2000.

Chapel in the Hills

Nestled at the foot of the Black Hills, on the western edge of Rapid City, SD, the Chapel in the Hills is a quiet retreat open to all visitors. The chapel itself is an exact reproduction of the famous Borgund Stavkirke of Laerdal, Norway.

Unique Stops

National Museum of Woodcarving

Visit One of the Most Unique Museums in America! Educational, Entertaining and Unique Works for Everyone. Visitors can enjoy The Wooden Nickel Theater, Over 30 scenes created by an original animator of Disneyland, a Carving Studio, display of many nationally recognized woodcarvers National Museum Gallery, gift shop, snack bar and lots more.

Kid Favorites

Bear Country USA

Bear Country U.S.A. features the world's largest private collection of North American Black Bear. You will also encounter wolves, mountain lions, elk, buffalo, deer, bighorn and dall sheep, Rocky Mountain goats and much more… all roaming free in their natural habitat.

Reptile Gardens

Exhibiting the World's Largest Reptile Collection living among rare and beautiful minerals, fossils, and sculptures. The Sky Dome features the nation's first walk-through jungle filled with lizards, crocodiles, harmless snakes, parrots, and hundreds of stunning orchids and tropical plants.

Flintstone’s Bedrock City

Bedrock comes alive in this modern Stone-Age setting of fun-filled buildings and play areas. Tour Fred's Bedrock City. Ride the Flintmobile and Iron Horse Train. See Mt. Rockmore and enjoy the new Flintstone Trio Show. Then romp on the playground's Slideasaurus. A Gift Shop, Drive-in and Campground are also located within the facility.

Mammoth Site

The Mammoth Site Boasts the largest concentration of mammoths in the world. They offer guided tours, summer educational programs, and an enhanced educational experience with a gaming app. You can tour the active dig site, and view Ice Age Fossils.

Adventures & Excursions

1880 Train / Black Hills Central Railroad

The 1880 TRAIN is beyond imagination. Located near Mt. Rushmore National Monument and Crazy Horse Memorial, the locomotive offers a western experience like no other. Feel the power. Hear the bellow of the engine and the whine of the whistle as it winds it's way through the scenic hills between Hill City and Keystone... and back again.

Wind Cave National Park

One of the world's longest and most complex caves and 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest, and associated wildlife are the main features of the park. The cave is well known for its outstanding display of boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs. The park's mixed grass prairie is one of the few remaining and is home to native wildlife such as bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, and prairie dogs.

Jewel Cave National Monument

With more than 122 miles surveyed, Jewel Cave is recognized as the third longest cave in the world. Airflow within its passages indicates a vast area yet to be explored. Cave tours provide opportunities for viewing this pristine cave system and its wide variety of speleothems including stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, frostwork, flowstone, boxwork and hydromagnesite balloons. The cave is an important hibernaculum for several species of bats.

Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns

Experience a world unlike any other. Knowledgeable and friendly guides lead you through subterranean, crystalline passages in the Paha Sapa limestone. Marvel at the world's most extensive display of dog-tooth spar crystal. Peer into the still, clear water of Diamond Lake. Visit the famous French Chandelier room, Crystal Palace, and Rainbow Arch.

Beautiful Rushmore Cave

Beautiful Rushmore Cave is the area's largest stalactite cave and the closest cave to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. The one hour tour winds through a series of rooms and passages, the most stunning of which is the BIG ROOM. This legendary room contains thousands of salactites, stalagmites, ribbons, helectites, columns and other breathtaking cave formations.

Black Hills Caverns

Black Hills Caverns is a huge cave, with a fantastic variety of formations including Logomites, Stalagmites, Stalactites, Helictites, Rare Frost Crystal, Purple Amethyst, Flowstone, Dogtooth Spar Crystal, Boxwork, Cave Flower, Soda Straw Stalactites, Columns, Draperies, Popcorn Crystal, Nailhead Spar Crystal and many more!

Rushmore Tramway

Ride up to a beautiful alpine landscape: get off on top to see impressive rock formations, waterfalls, flowers, and panoramic views. Have a cold drink or a bite to eat as you take in the unique view of Mt. Rushmore from this scenic mountain top setting. Breathe in the fragrance of the pines as you take a relaxing stroll through this beautiful Black Hills mountain-garden setting.

Rush Mountain Adventure Park

You will find fun on all levels in the Black Hills of South Dakota at Rush Mountain Adventure Park! Explore the closest cave to Mount Rushmore, Rushmore Cave on a tour, cruise down the Mountain on the Rushmore Coaster. There is so much to do at Rush Mountain Adventure Park.