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Our trip to South Dakota was so amazing that I just had to write one more post about it! I thought I would compile some more of the information about our trip that you may be curious about. None of the below information is sponsored in any way; we just genuinely enjoyed the below places and I wanted to share them with my readers!
Where to stay:
Rushmore Shadows Resort
I first heard about Rushmore Shadows through a program called Tents to Troops that provides free camping spots to active-duty military and their families. The best way I could describe Rushmore Shadows would be a time-share for camping. Thankfully, since we were doing the Tents for Troops program, we didn’t have to sit through a 90 minute presentation on why we should buy a timeshare there! 😉 We didn’t get to spend much time at the resort since our weekend was so short and jammed with activities, but it was really nice!
Badlands National Park
Camping in the Badlands is totally free! Andy and I didn’t have a chance to do this, but we hope to actually camp and hike there this upcoming summer! Just make sure you’re actually on the Badlands land and not a private rancher’s land!
Where to eat:
Black Hills Burger & Bun Co in Custer, SD
We drove from Crazy Horse Memorial to Custer, SD in search of some food. On the way, we passed a billboard that said something about the Best Burger Joint in America being nearby. Naturally, I pointed it out to Andy and he decided we must go there for lunch. We got there right at opening and it was crowded– there was a line waiting outside the door! So crowded, in fact, they were sitting strangers at tables together (a nightmare for introverts like us.) Nonetheless, it was so yummy! Being the picky eater I am, I had a plain hamburger minus the bun and fries, while Andy tried their specialty called The Hot Granny. It combined beef with bacon, cream cheese, and jalapeno sauce, which sounds like a weird combination, but Andy said it was delicious.
Red Rock Restaurant in Wall, SD
After our horseback ride through the Badlands, we asked our tour guide, Marshall, where we could grab some dinner. He mentioned Wall Drug as being the “tourist trap” of the area, and suggested instead we go to the Red Rock Restaurant. It was so yummy! Andy had a steak from South Dakota beef, and I had a hamburger steak.
Things to Do & Places to See:
Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial
Horseback riding through the Badlands with Hurley Butte Horseback Riding
Custer State Park & Needles Highway
Reptile Gardens
South Dakota Air & Space Museum
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little Town on the Prairie” in De Smet
Wall Drug in Wall, SD
When we first told Andy’s dad we were going to South Dakota, he said we needed to stop and see Wall Drug. Literally for hundreds of miles (while we were still in Minnesota!) we saw signs advertising for Wall Drug. It was basically a strip mall of dozens of stores, all owned by the same company…. everything from the original drug store, to a book store, to a tavern, to a chapel, and everything in between. Over 2 million visitors a year visit Wall Drug, with as many as 20,000 on a day in the middle of tourist season! We didn’t have a ton of time to explore Wall Drug, since we were there late on a Sunday evening, but it was pretty neat nonetheless! 😛
South Dakota was such a fun (albeit, short!) vacation. It is so amazing to me that we are just an 8 hour car ride away from South Dakota’s gems now that we live in north Iowa.
You’ll think Heaven’s doors have opened; You’ll understand why God made those flyover states.
-Flyover States by Jason Aldean
Have you ever been to South Dakota?
