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Rapid City, South Dakota, was our first big destination during our drive across the country and — surprisingly — it was one of my favorite places to visit!
In our short time there, we were able to see Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and Black Hills National Forest. We were blessed with some of the most breathtaking scenic drives, and that was one of the best parts about this trip.
BADLANDS
Badlands National Park is off of the main interstate, I-90. There is an entrance fee, but we used our America the Beautiful National Park Pass. This park pass is $80, but covers the entrance fee (one vehicle or four people) at most parks and is good for an entire year.
Though dogs are not allowed on any of the trails in this park, there is still plenty to see from the road, parking lots and overlooks.
I first have to say how kind and genuine the people we met on our trip were. From other travelers to park staff, it was always just a great experience. Not something you normally see in the busy rush of life. Heck, we even met someone from my hometown in Virginia all the way in the Badlands. It’s funny where the road takes you!
Driving into Badlands National Park still amazes me to think about. One minute you are in the prairie and the next thing you know, you are in this barren looking place with giant rock formations and canyons.
Shortly after entering the park, you’ll see a big parking lot where many of the trails start. Since we couldn’t take the dogs, we each took turns walking the trails. Heed the warning signs, though, and watch out for snakes and other critters!
After spending some time checking those out, we drove down the road and saw two bighorn sheep. They came right next to our car and started eating, not caring about us at all. The dogs loved it!
SHOP FOR YOUR TRIP
You’ll find a bunch of places to pull over and get out, so explore away! This little overlook in the picture above was one of my favorite views in the park.
Badlands Loop Road will take you right back up to I-90 and the town of Wall, where the famous Wall Drug Store is. Be sure to check that out, too!
CUSTER STATE PARK
For our only full day in South Dakota, we went to Custer State Park. This ended up being my absolute favorite place we visited of our entire cross country trip! There is a $20 entrance fee that gets you in for a week. You cannot use a National Park Pass here.
Custer is known for having an abundance of wildlife, beautiful scenic drives and thousands of acres for adventuring. It was early September when we visited and we were welcomed with the most gorgeous weather and scenery.
This park is dog friendly! As we first entered, we stopped at the visitor center, which has a beautiful park area with picnic tables.
Our first scenic drive of the day was along Wildlife Loop Road. We were greeted by deer, turkey, bighorn sheep and lots of bison! There are plenty of places to stop and view the wildlife and scenery!
Near the end of the loop we stopped for a picnic lunch at Legion Lake. We had it all to ourselves, which made it extra beautiful and relaxing.
After lunch, we headed onto Needles Highway. It is amazing how the landscape changes between prairies, hills, forests, lakes and granite formations as you drive through Custer. We really had a great time just taking it slow here.
You will also get the chance to drive through a few tunnels, with one of them being Needles Eye Tunnel. Only one car can fit through at a time and there are lots of people taking photos near them, too, so be cautious.
SHOP FOR YOUR TRIP
We hit Sylvan Lake towards the end of our day and it was the most popular stop we visited. Here we found a general store, food, bathrooms, picnic areas, a place to rent water equipment and more hiking trails.
Sylvan Lake is a gorgeous, picturesque lake with rock formations at the far end. There is an easy, paved walk along the left side of the lake that ends at a waterfall. From there you can go on a dirt trail that takes you around the back side and the rest of the way around the lake, but it is a little more strenuous.
As we continued on the trail, we were greeted with a much different hike. We found caves, a several mile hike to a gulch and some very large rocks that we had to climb up to keep going around the lake. It took us about an hour, but it was a great experience that we didn’t expect!
Iron Mountain Road is the other scenic road to take in Custer State Park. It is full of curves, switchbacks and tunnels. One of the tunnels even frames out Mount Rushmore for you! Make sure to drive slow and take in every part of this park!
There was so much to see and do in Custer we spent our entire day there! It is an extremely unique place. There are lots of trails, overlooks and spots to just explore! Make sure to get a map at the front gate, since there are several different paths for you to take through the park.
MOUNT RUSHMORE
Mount Rushmore was on the way back to Rapid City from Custer State Park, but we weren’t sure if we were going to stop to see it. There is a fee just to park and dogs are only allowed in the parking lot
SHOP FOR YOUR TRIP
As we sat at the light deciding to turn in and give it a go or not, we realized we could very clearly see Mount Rushmore from right there! So instead of paying to park and only being able to go that far, we pulled over and looked at it from the side of the road. I mean, it is on the side of the mountain and you can see it from pretty far away 🙂
Also, if you visit Custer State Park, you can see Mount Rushmore from Iron Mountain Road!
BLACK HILLS NATIONAL FOREST
We unfortunately didn’t have extra time to explore all of Black Hills National Forest, but this area has an abundance of trails for hiking with your dogs. It is first on our list for the next time we visit Rapid City!
We had such a good time in South Dakota and it turned out to be such an awesome, unexpected treat for us! Though we are sometimes limited to what we can do with our dogs, we always find a way to enjoy it and have a great time with them.
What places do you love to visit with and without your dogs? Share with us in the comments below!
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