Our One-Day Adventure in the Badlands

Today was easily our favorite outing in South Dakota! If you are in the Rapid City area and only have time for one sight, we would recommend the Badlands. And while you could spend days here enjoying its beauty, it's completely doable as a one-day adventure, which is what we did. 

Ben Reifel Visitor Center

Like most parks, we started at the visitor center. There are two visiter centers, but Ben Reifel is the main facility. We would definitely recommend this visitor center for families. In addition to having park rangers to talk with, there was a small museum exhibit to learn more about the Badlands and their geographical structures, a fossil preparation lab, and, of course, a gift shop. 

We've made it a habit to stop at visitor centers when attractions have one. When it comes to visiting parks, it's always good to start with talking with the park rangers for advise. We got some advise on which trails to try and which overlooks to check out. One of the best tips was how to pick an overlook to see for a sunset. The map that they share actually took that into consideration, and you can tell which overlooks are facing the west. Once we felt more informed, we head out to start our first hike.

Cliff Shelf Nature Trail

• Distance: 0.5 miles loop
• Difficulty: Moderate (due to stairs)
• Duration: 1 hour
• Parking: Lot at start of trail
• Note: No pets allowed on hiking trail.

We kind of stumbled onto this trail. We had actually just stopped in the parking lot to get some photos, and then we saw the trail. Since we liked the view from the parking lot, we figured the trial would be even better.

The trail itself is both boardwalk and dirt trail. There's also a stair case on one side of the loop, making the trail a little more strenuous than easy. But since it's a loop, you could avoid the stair case by walking on the other side of the trail. 

The hike was very pleasant, and there are several benches to rest at along the way if you need to. We chose to eat our packed lunch at the top of the loop, where we could enjoy the view. It was definitely a great way to start the day!

Notch Trail

• Distance: 1.5 miles out and back
• Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous
• Duration: 1-2 hours
• Parking: Lot at start of trail
• Note: No pets allowed on hiking trail.

Before we traveled to the Badlands, we did some research on the hiking trails. And the overall opinion is that the Notch Trail was one of the best options. In fact, All Trails ranks it as the #1 out of 10 trails for the Badlands. Once we saw the views, we understood why. 

The path starts quite easy and flat. You'll probably spend most of this part of the hike looking up at all the rocks towering above you. The photos of these white rocks cannot do it justice. 

Then you get to the part that makes this trail strenuous: the ladder. This rope ladder requires only the most committed to climb it. It flaps around as you climb, and you usually have to climb with a small crowd watching you as they wait for their turn. While it didn't scare all hikers away, we did witness some turn around and head back after failing to climb it. Piece of advise: wearing good hiking shoes for this one.

Once you make it to the top of the ladder, you'll start to see some gorgeous views. You'll want to head to the right, where you'll be climbing along the rocks with little to no trail markers. There are several parts of the trail where you'll be glad to have those sturdy hiking shoes!

There are two different overlooks to watch out for. Again, the trail is not marked well, so you'll have to use your hiking instincts or just follow the other hikers. Both overlooks have no guardrails or handles, so those who are wary of heights, beware. Plus, the wind is mighty strong up there, too, so hold onto your hats. But if you can brave it, it's worth it! 

Once you've seen the two overlooks, you'll start to head back the way you came. And just to warn you, going down the ladder is much worse than going up!

Door Trail

• Distance: 0.25 of marked trail + 0.5 miles out and back
• Difficulty: Easy
• Duration: 0.5 - 1 hours
• Parking: Lot at start of trail
• Note: No pets allowed on hiking trail.

The parking lot for the Notch Trail is also the parking lot for three other trails: Castle Trail, Window Trail, and Door Trail. Since the Door Trail said it was short, we decided to try that one. 

This trail has two parts. The first part is super easy as it is a quarter-mile boardwalk. The second part is through the break in the Badlands Wall, called "the door," and the maintained trail ends, allowing you to walk about the rock formations. At this point, we were ready to do the driving portion of this trip, so we headed back to the truck. But if you enjoy more freedom with your exploration, this is a great hike for that!

Loop Road (Highway 240)

After hiking for the past several hours, we were ready to see the Badlands from the comfort of our truck, and the Loop Road was perfect for just that. To get to the Loop Road, we had to backtrack a little, back towards the visitor center. 

The Loop Road is a two-lane winding, paved road with 12 overlooks, where you can park and see multiple angles of the Badlands. We mostly went with the flow and just picked overlooks that sparked our interest as we were driving. These are the three overlooks we stopped at: 

• White River Valley Overlook
• Panorama Point Overlook
• Conata Basin Overlook

Be sure to stay alert while on the Loop Road because wildlife is common along the road, which we witnessed firsthand with some rams holding up traffic!

Wall Drug

At this point, we decided we wanted to grab a quick dinner at Wall Drug, which is about 10 minutes away from the parks exit, with the hope of returning to the park in time to see the sunset. 

If you've ever traveled near this part of the country, you've undoubtably seen one of their obscure and eccentric billboards, advertising anything from their free water and 5 cents coffee to leather goods or art. Since we were close, we figured now is as good as ever to check it out. 

Unfortunately, we were a little disappointed. Wall Drug advertises as being open until 7:00 p.m. We had gotten there just a little after 6:00, hoping to walk around and get a quick bite to eat. But what we hadn't realized is that Wall Drug is like a mall with multiple stores inside, most of which had closed or were closing as we arrived, including the diner. So we walked around for 15 minutes just to see what's what before deciding to just grab a quick meal from Dairy Queen down the road and head back to the Badlands.

This location, in theory, would be great for a quick stop for food during a day at the Badlands. So if you're better planners than us, we would recommend stopping here for dinner, just make sure you're earlier than 6:00 p.m.

Sunset at Pinnacle Overlook

Pinnacle Overlook was one of the overlooks near the road returning to the park from Wall Drug. Based on the rangers advise, it was one the west-facing overlooks, perfect for sunset views. 

So we closed our evening with some beautiful sunset views before ending our adventure and heading back to the camper. 

Black Hills in One Day

Today was jam-packed with South Dakota adventure. We started the day, planning to just see the Jewel Caves and the Wind Caves, but we ended up visiting Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore. If you have the stamina, this is a pretty doable day for most if planned right.

Wind Cave National Park

We started our day at Wind Cave National Park. Visiting the actual caves requires a guided tour; you are not able to visit the caves on your own. We had learned that getting tickets to any of the tours are sold on a first-come, first-serve on the day of, and they sell out quickly. So we wanted to get to the Wind Cave as close to opening as possible.

The Visitor Center opened at 8:00 a.m., and we got there about 8:30 a.m. It was a good thing we didn't get there much later because most of the tours were sold out already. Before going, we had researched about the different tours they offered, and we decided to try the Natural Entrance Tour. We were a little nervous about the 300 stairs, but it turned out the worry was in vain. We bought our tickets, and killed time shopping in the gift shop and walking around the Visitor Center. By the time it was time for our tour, we noticed that all the tours were sold out for the day.

The Natural Entrance Tour:

• Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Distance: 2/3 mile (1 kilometer)
• Total stairs: 300
• Difficulty: Moderate. Paths are uneven, and stairs can be slippery, steep and dimly lit. Bending and stooping required.
• Description: See boxwork and cave popcorn along this route.

The Natural Entrance Tour started at the natural opening to the Wind Cave, which is the largest, natural opening to the cave. You come to see that the opening is barely big enough to drop your hat in. The tour guide shares the Lakota emergence story, as the natural opening is the site of the emersion story:

People at that time lived underground in the Tunkan Tipi, the spirit lodge, and were waiting as the earth was prepared for them to live upon it. There were two spirits who lived on the surface of the earth: Iktomi and Anog-Ite. Iktomi, the spider, was the trickster spirit. Anog-Ite, the double face woman, had two faces on her head. The two spirits worked together to tricked some humans to come to the surface before the earth was ready, defying the Creator's instructions to stay underground. Upon leaving the underground, the humans found life on the surface too difficult. However, when they tried to return through the hole they emerged, it was covered, and they were trapped on the surface. 

When the Creator heard their cries, the Creator was upset that they had disobeyed. As punishment, the Creator turned those humans into great, wild beasts, which was the first herd of bison. Once the surface was ready, the Creator instructed the remaining human that were underground to leave the caves and come to the surface. The Creator told the people to follow the bison, as everything they needed to survive on the earth could come from the bison. Once the humans had left the cave, the Creator shrunk the hole, making it too small for people to enter.

The Natural Entrance tour then starts by entering the cave through a man-made entrance and journey into the middle level of the cave. We enjoyed the Wind Cave's famous boxwork, composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs, which is abundant throughout this trip, along with “popcorn” formations, which are small, knobby growths of calcite on the cave walls. The tour guided also talked about the history of the Wind Cave becoming accessible to the public.

The tour ended at an elevator to return to the surface. We left the park and started heading to the Jewel Cave, grabbing a quick bite to eat on the way.

Jewel Cave National Monument

We arrived at the Jewel Cave National Monument about mid-afternoon. Similar to the Wind Cave, there are only guided tours. You are able to purchase tickets in advance during the summer months (May-September), which is what we did. There were two tour options: Discovery Tour or Scenic Tour. We opted for the Discovery Tour.

Discovery Tour

• Duration: 20 minutes
• Distance: 37 feet
• Total stairs: 15
• Difficulty: Easy
• Description: See two types of calcite crystals commonly named nailhead spar and dogtooth spar.

To be honest, we were a little surprised by the ease of this tour. It's really just walking into one giant cave and learning about the cave formations found there, along with some history of the discovery of this cave.

We had picked this tour because the other tour available was the Scenic Tour, which had 734 stairs (the equivalent to 40 flights of stairs), and we were nervous about being able to complete it. But hindsight, we kind of wish we had done the other tour instead. Regardless, we still enjoyed the quick tour of the "Target Room" as it was interesting, and we got to see several types of cave formations.

Crazy Horse Memorial

• Duration: 1-2 hours with no guided tour (depending on your reading time in museums)
• Walking Difficulty: Easy with no guided tour
• Cost: $24 per vehicle (for 2 people)

Our original plan had been to head home after visiting both caves, but we had noticed we can see Crazy Horse Memorial from the road as we were traveling to the caves. When we could see it again on the drive back, we decided to go ahead and check it out since it was on our agenda for next weekend anyways. 

Crazy Horse Memorial was more expensive than the other sights, but it is not a government funded memorial. The memorial is privately funded by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. They first started the massive carving in 1948, and they estimate finishing it by 2037. 

The memorial depicts a 563 foot sculpture of Crazy Horse (c. 1840–1877), a revered Oglala Lakota war leader who famously resisted U.S. government encroachment, playing a key role in the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn. Additionally, "it honors all Indigenous people, remembering the importance of reconciliation, respecting differences, embracing diversity, striving for unity, and appreciating life’s deeper meaning as it has always been represented in Native American cultural values." The memorial also includes a museum, where you can learn more about the history of the memorial as well as the Indigenous people.

There are guided tours options that take you closer to the sight, but we were satisfied with the views available with admission ticket. 

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

• Duration: 1 hour
• Walking Difficulty: Easy (some stairs leading in)
• Cost: $10 parking pass

Once we left the Crazy Horse Memorial, we were still excited from all we've seen. So we honed that energy and headed to Mount Rushmore. Coming from Crazy Horse Memorial took us from US Highway 16 to SD 244. The drive on 244 was beautiful, with lots of cliffside overlooks and mountainous boulders towering over us.

To get into Mount Rushmore, you only have to pay to park your car, and the parking pass is for a whole year. There's multiple parking garages, and then some stairs taking you into the entrance. 

We had read that many travelers had suggested that Mount Rushmore in the morning is best, but we found that arriving in the late afternoon/evening definitely had its benefits. (1) The sun is not as hot, so it was more pleasant weather. (2) Less crowded. There were more people leaving than coming in. And it wasn't so crowded that it was difficult to move around. (3) The low sun made fewer shadows, making for better photos. 

Overall, Mount Rushmore was a rather short visit. There wasn't much to do besides visit the gift shop and the monument itself. But there was an ice cream parlor, so we grab a scoop, and sat to enjoy the majestic carving.

There is a lighting ceremony offered in the evenings, but we didn't stay as we were satisfied with what we had seen. So we head back to our camper, enjoying the last bit of the scenic drive through the Black Hills. 

Why Die?

As we were driving to Deadwood over the weekend, we noticed a lot of road signs that said, "THINK," along with a red X saying "X marks the spot." We mostly ignored them until we started to notice some that said, "WHY DIE?" This definitely caught our eye!

So we looked it up and learned that South Dakota campaigns against dangerous driving by placing these signs at the sight of fatal car crashes as a reminder to drivers to pay attention to their surroundings and drive carefully. It also reminds motorists of dangerous behaviors such as driving under the influence, not wearing seat belts, speeding, and distracted driving.

Once we learned this, it gives a new perspective for the sections of road when you see half a dozen THINK signs in a concentrated area.

Destination: Deadwood

The weekend is here, and we're ready to spend the day in the Wild West! So we're off to Deadwood, SD!

Information Center

Deadwood is ready for tourists! They have so many activities and programs going on at different locations throughout town, and the information center is the place to start to learn about the activities you can participate in. 

Even though Deadwood is open all year long, many of the tourist events and locations are seasonal, only open May-September. Since we came in September, we're here at the end of the season, which means some locations or events are starting to come to an end.

So we made sure to start our day at the information center to learn what still open, today's specific programs, and to learn how to participate in two of the challenges. 

#WildBillMe Challenge

The first challenge was the #WildBillMe challenge. Wild Bill is a legendary figure of the American Old West who was shot and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, making him Deadwood’s most famous resident, even though he was only in town a few short weeks. So you'll find his likeness all over Historic Deadwood. 

The #WildBillMe challenge is a selfie treasure hunt to take as many pictures with Wild Bill likenesses around town. 10 selfies wins a #WildBillMe sticker; 15 and you’ll get a magnet; 25 Wild Bills and you’ll get a treasure bag with chocolate coins along with the first two prizes.

PastPort Booklet

The second challenge is to collect 6 stamps from the 8 participating locations in the PastPort booklet (2 complimentary locations were pre-stamped). Once you have collected 6 stamps, return your PastPort to a Deadwood Information Center to receive a prize. 

The 8 participating attractions are: 

1. Adams Museum
2. Broken Boot Gold Mine
3. Days of '76 Museum
4. Deadwood Visitor Information Locations
5. Deadwood Trolley
6. Historic Adams House
7. Mount Moriah Cemetery 
8. Trial of Jack McCall

The Information Locations and Trolley were already stamped. Because we were here at the end of the tourist season, the Broken Boot Gold Mine was already closed for the season. The Trial of Jack McCall was an evening event that happened after the Information Center closed. Since we were only there for the day, that meant we could only get stamps for the Adams Museum, Days of '76 Museum, Historic Adams House, and Mount Moriah Cemetery.

Unfortunately, since we here at the end of the season, both Information Centers had run out of PastPorts. They recommended checking one of the participating attractions to see if they have any copies left. So we headed to our first attraction, ready to spend the day running around Deadwood, collecting attraction stamps while taking lots of selfies with Wild Bill. 

Adams Museum

We started at the Adams Museum, which was right across the street from the Information Center. Luckily, they had a few copies of PastPorts. After collecting our PastPorts and our stamp for Adams Museum, we took the time to learn more about the history of Deadwood, including several natural history displays.

We managed to get many of our #WildBillMe selfies here.

Wild West Re-enactment

At this point, we needed to take a quick break for lunch and a Wild West re-enactment. We grabbed a quick lunch on Historic Main Street before heading over to the re-enactment location on Outlaw Square, across the street from the Franklin Hotel.

The re-enactments are true stories of a shooting with fictitious dialogue. All the actors are mic'd, so as long as you are on the street, you'll be able to hear the production.

Today's afternoon show was "The Strange Tale of David Lunt," who was accidentally shot in a Deadwood bar. Even though the bullet exited out the back of his head, he surprised everyone by getting up and walking away, as if uninjured. He continued to live for 2 more months before complaining of headaches and dying.

Mount Moriah Cemetery 

Next, we tried to go to the Historic Adams House. But we didn't realize they only offered scheduled tours. We had already missed the current tour, and the next one would start in about 50 minutes. We decided to try to fit in visiting the cemetery before the next tour, so we quickly went to grab our truck to head to the cemetery, which was a must. The hill going up to the cemetery was no joke. We grabbed our stamp at the entrance before heading in.

Mount Moriah is the final resting place of Deadwood's past residents, including western legends, murderers, madams, and pillars of Deadwood’s early economic development, such notables as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.

While the cemetery offered a piece of history by honoring its ancestors, it is situated on a mountainous plateau overlooking Deadwood Gulch, offering the best overview of the town.

Historic Adams House

We quickly got back in our car to make it back down to the Historic Adams House in time for their last tour of the day.

Even though this was the most expensive attraction, it was the most immersive as well. It was like stepping back in time as we walked through this 1892 house owned by one of Deadwood's affluential families. 

The tour guide was quiet knowledgable about both the Adams family and the time period of the house. 

Days of '76 Museum

We had to drive to the other side of town to make to the Days of '76 Museum before it closed. Apparently, this is where all the remaining PastPorts were.

The bottom floor was full of many kinds of carriages. We had no idea there were so many different kinds of carriages. There was also a firearms exhibit showing the history of guns used in the Black Hills.

As we were leaving, we saw some rams grazing at the museum's entrance. 

Collecting Our Prize

We ended our afternoon by heading back to the Information Center to show our #WildBillMe selfies and our completed PastPorts to collect our prizes. 

Our complete prize collection included: 2 #WildBillMe stickers, 2 #WildBillMe magnets, a bag of chocolate coins, a deck of Deadwood cards, and a chocolate bar from a local candy shop. 

Downtown Deadwood

After a busy day visiting those 4 attractions, we wanted a more relaxing evening. So we ended our night downtown.

We leisurely walked up and down the downtown area, stopping in a few shops along the way. And since Josh and I aren't big drinkers, we were excited when we came across a soda saloon.

As the busyness of the daytime events died down, the night life was just starting. With the street full of bars and casinos, we used that as our sign to start heading home, which was a beautiful scenic drive.