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Black Hills Family Vacation

gunrunr

gunrunr

Life Member
Trying to plan a family trip to the Black Hills area in about a month or less with wife and kids (7 & 10 years old) I know it is hard to book hotels and stuff with such short notice so thought I would check here to see if anyone knew of any really neat gems we could stay at or things we need to see and do in the area.

Anyone have experience in the area with great places to stay or awesome things to see and do?
 
Just did 3,000 miles in 8 days. Badlands, Yellowstone, to Deadwood and everything in between. Beautiful country man. Stayed at a campground on backside of Rushmore in that area.... you really cant go wrong if you can actually find vacancy. Check out 16A.... crazy cool road. Watched a 70 year old dude jump off the mountain and paraglide for an hour off one of the mountains in that area.

My wife planned the trip 9 months in advance and took what we could get so you may have issues this late.
 
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I will warn you the closer you get to the heads the harder it will be to find a place. Camp ground or hotel. Sturges will be starting to fire up in about a month!
 
Just a FYI: August 8-14 is Sturgis Bike Week this year. Hotels, motels, restaurants & bars will be JAM PACKED anywhere within 3-400 miles of there for those dates as well as a couple days either side of those dates. Not at all dangerous but REALLY crowded! Otherwise, great country! Have fun!
 
HorseDoctor said:
Just a FYI: August 8-14 is Sturgis Bike Week this year. Hotels, motels, restaurants & bars will be JAM PACKED anywhere within 3-400 miles of there for those dates as well as a couple days either side of those dates. Not at all dangerous but REALLY crowded! Otherwise, great country! Have fun!
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Lol just don't stay at Buffalo Chip Campground during The Sturgis Rally unless your wanting to educate the kids to the party life.
 
Do Custer State Park as many times as you can. Go early morning or later evenings for the best wildlife viewing. We saw Elk, bison, deer,Pronghorn, big horn sheep, Turkeys, and more. Take plenty of crackers to feed the Begging Borrows, a huge hit for the kids!

Cosmos is strange and made us feel odd the rest of the day. Do bear country USA early or late in the day otherwise the animals will all be bedded up mid day. Do reptile gardens early in the week because your ticket is good all week, or at least it was 4 or 5 years ago. You can see Mr. Rushmore from the road if you don't want to pay to get in. Crazy Horse was only worth it because when we were there you also got into a rodeo on the grounds for free. The rodeo was low end but tons of morbid excitement as at least 4 or 5 riders were taken by ambulance. Needles highway is cool and be ready for photo opps when you can see Mt. Rushmore through some of the tunnels. We stayed in a cabin in Custer. A bit of a drive from some destinations but right by Custer State Park which allowed us to drive through when we wanted. Have fun!
 
A few fun things we've done in that area over the years...

1. Ditto on Custer State Park. Plan 1 full day minimum.

2. Saloon #10 is a historic and fun place in downtown Deadwood.

3. Mount Rushmore has a night viewing (not sure how often or what days of the week) that is really cool!!

4. A bit further away, but for a great family fun day check out the natural hot springs water park; Evans Plunge...link below.

http://www.evansplunge.com/#home

Have fun...beautiful area for sure!

NWBuck
 
I'd highly suggest the sunset viewing at Rushmore, it's very patriotic and well worth it. My kids enjoyed doing a Chuckwagon dinner and show, kindly cheesy but they liked it. They also liked Bear Country USA. We hit the Badlands on the way home, they were awesome.
 
If you want a little exercise, I would suggest the hike up to Harney Peak. My wife and I did that over 10 yrs ago and really enjoyed that AM of exercise. Got started just after daylight and were back down to the trail head before noon. At a little over 7,200 ft, it's the highest point east of the Rockies. Get a clear sky morning and enjoy the fantastic views from the tower atop the peak.
 
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There are many campground in the area if you are camping. For Motels you need to be booking now. On the way out go through the Badlands then stop at Wall Drug it's over rated but the kids will like it. Spend lots of time at Mount Rushmore plus go to the evening ceremony it's a very patriotic ceremony. Drive on the Iron Mountain road which leads to Custer State park spend lots of time there. Drive the Needles Highway which also leads to Sylvan lake. From there you can hike to Harney's Peak awesome view. Wind cave national park is good if you like caves. Another must do is visit Devils Tower. If you aren't into gambling Deadwood is a waste of time. I've been there three times and now you have me wanting to go again. Have fun!!
 
We have a small cabin with a kitchenette booked in a place kind of in the middle of it all. Keep up the suggestions of places to see and do - definitely making a list and looking into them all.
:)
 
The kids would probably get a kick out of the Wild Bill reenactments at deadwood. They do the poker shootout, a wild west street shootout, and the trial.
 
My wife and I just back from camping up in that area about a week ago. We stayed right next to Custer State Park. I never got to Deadwood but I've heard if you would like to get an Old West feel its a great place to go. I would also recommend Mt. Rushmore ($10 per vehicle entry) and Crazy Horse ($11 per person) if you've never seen them but if you have I would skip them. The Wildlife loop in Custer Park near dusk or dawn is pretty cool. Sylvan Lake is also really beautiful. Take a drive on Needles highway and like some have said the views inside Custer are beautiful. If you have time I would also recommend taking a drive through the Badlands (saw my first Bighorn Sheep Ram while driving through) but just avoid the southern portion through the Indian Reservation. I will be in the Knoxville area over the weekend if you wanted to see any pictures or I could try to post some if you really wanted to see them.
 
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I'd steer clear of the northern black hills right now, they are battling a pretty bad fire up near Spearfish and as of last night is only 15% contained. Deadwood is OK, but that is usually more of an "adult night life" kind of place. There are a few things for kids to do, and some history there... but gambling/night life is #1 up there.

Sylvan lake and Sheridan lake are both really cool. Highway 16A from Keystone to Custer State Park is awesome, just take your time. Needles Highway also has some great views. Stop in Keystone for a bit, lots of shops with nick-nacks and SD gifts. Kids usually like that.

I would absolutely suggest the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park in the evening.
 
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