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We just got back home from a few days in the Black Hills of western South Dakota. They are our very own claim to fame. In a state of mostly farmland, actual mountains are a big deal! Here is what we did while there.

First things first, of course. This is the air BnB we stayed at. It was perfect for the four of us. Two bedroom, one bath. Ourdoor eating/grilling area. A place for a fire.

Located in the beautiful Black Hills National Forest, our cabin has two cozy bedrooms featuring queen-sized beds, a fully furnished bathroom and kitchen, a spacious living room furnished with two reclining loveseats and a reclining chair, a comforting gas fireplace, and a generous deck offering ample space to unwind and soak up the serene surroundings. Close to atv/utv trails, Pactola Lake and Mt Rushmore.

Catch the excitement at Rushmore Tramway Adventures, the ultimate family-fun adventure park offering exhilarating experiences and unforgettable memories. De-stress with a relaxing ride on our scenic chairlift, feel the rush as you race down our alpine slide at top speed, harness up and glide along our ziplines, try some downhill tubing or visit our new Aerial Park for a crash course in rope climbing available for all skill levels.  We only did the alpine slide here, but there’s plenty more fun to be had.

For a little excitement on the road, I downloaded the License Plate Mania app and we looked at plates. The app makes it easy to keep track of which states you have seen plates from. Here is what our map looked like after three days in the Hills.

Slate Creek Dam was the destination one morning. We took a back road which was 17 miles and took us an hour and a half. It was a gorgeous drive which took us into the back of beyond. It was fun seeing mountain meadows with streams open up beside us. Cows with calves munched grass and occaisionally you caught a glimpse of something wilder in the underbrush. We stopped at an old miner’s cabin and snooped around. Once we got to Slate Creek, we spent most of our time picking up pieces of slate to bring home. This is a standard part of a trip to the Black Hills for us. Soon we will have a big collection of slate!

If you don’t want to take the back road (and I can’t even tell you how to get to it) you can get there much more quickly from Hill City. You will be traveling on Trail #530 which runs from China Gulch Road (Trail #249) and Mystic Road. You can access the dam from either side since all of the trails here are two-way. Coming in from the China Gulch side, you will pass the remains of an old cabin. The trail from Mystic Road would be rated an easy 2 most of the time, depending on past rainfall. The dam holds back the water to make a 7-acre pond, which is home to geese, ducks, and many fish. The slate mountain behind the pond is huge, making the perfect backdrop. As with other trails in the Black Hills, this area is closed in the winter.

Seeing animals on a screen? That’s okay. Seeing them from your car? Yeah, that’s way better. If you’re looking for wildlife, Custer State Park‘s 18-mile Wildlife Loop State Scenic Byway is the place to see South Dakota’s most majestic animals — bighorn sheep, pronghorn, deer, elk, coyote, prairie dogs, wild turkey, burros and a herd of 
1,300 bison. 

The Wildlife Loop Scenic Byway stretches 18 miles inside Custer State Park (in a U-shape), from the park’s east entrance to the Blue Bell entrance on the western side. Plan on a minimum of 1.5 to 2 hours to drive this route. It varies depending on how much time you spend enjoying the buffalo herd or making friends with burros, but allow at least 1.5 hours to drive the Wildlife Loop State Scenic Byway.

The full loop adds 12 miles (for a 30-mile total) and approximately 30 minutes (for 2 to 2.5 hours total) with few stops.

Reptile Gardens took up a good share of one of our days. It is a great place to see all kinds of, you guessed it, reptiles! If snakes and gators make you queasy, this place is not for you! Truly, though, it’s worth the time and money! Here’s some history about it from the website.

It all began in 1935, when 19-year-old Earl Brockelsby discovered people’s innate interest in snakes. As a young tour guide at a local Rapid City attraction, this fearless snake enthusiast would often end his tours by removing his hat and revealing a live rattlesnake coiled on top of his head!

He took special note of the visitors’ reactions – they were always excited and thrilled to see a live rattlesnake close-up.

Wanting to explore people’s fascination with snakes, Earl enlisted the aid of some friends and built an 18 by 24 foot building at the top of a long hill about 3 miles south of Rapid City, and put a handful of specimens on display – the location was carefully chosen because in those days, cars would often overheat as they reached the top of a long hill. The idea was for them to stop in Reptile Gardens’ parking lot to cool their radiators and maybe stay to see the Gardens.

On June 3, 1937, the doors were opened, and the Black Hills Reptile Gardens was officially in business. Admission was 10¢ for adults and 5¢ for children to see the exhibit. That first day of operation Reptile Gardens took in $3.85. For the next two days, no one visited and on the following two days it took in only 40 cents and 50 cents respectively. Fortunately business improved; by 1941, the business had 15 employees and was showing a profit.

In 1965, Reptile Gardens was forced to move due to the construction of a new highway. Moving to its current location – six miles south of Rapid City in Spring Creek valley – the new and improved park featured a new Sky Dome with a Safari Room. This large enclosed area gave visitors the rare opportunity to walk amongst free-roaming reptiles and birds. Although this kind of exhibit has become common at zoos, Earl was among the first to envision and create one in the US.

Looking for some fun and a little bit of mystery? Look no further than the Cosmos. It’s weird and unbelievable and I think it’s all sleight of hand, but who really knows?

The Cosmos of the Black Hills was discovered by two college boys looking for a place to build a summer cabin. When they entered this area, they discovered something was off. The boys decided to camp out while investigating the odd phenomena. They came to a conclusion that there was something of interest to the general public, so they began to fix the cabin to make it safe, resulting in the demonstrations you will soon see!

I think the Mount Coolidge Lookout Tower was my favorite part of the trip. We came across it by accident, after leaving the Custer Wildlife Loop. It gave me the willies to drive up to the top, but it was very worth it! It’s about a mile up the side of the mountain with spectaular views, if you have the nerve to look.

The Mount Coolidge Lookout and Fire Tower was one of the last projects completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s. Built of local stone, the tower rests atop a 6,023-foot peak on the way to Blue Bell Lodge and is still used today as a fire lookout and dispatch center. As the highest point in central Custer State Park, it offers breathtaking 360-degree views from the top of the fire tower. On a clear day, you can see the Badlands nearly 60 miles away in the east.

Our very last stop was in the Badlands. That is east of Rapid City, so we were on our way home. There is road just off the interstate that takes you right through the Badlands and it isn’t even very far out of the way. They are a spectacular sight, especially on a day that is 103* F. It was blazing and indeed, the looked very bad that day. Not a place you would want to get stuck in, for sure. Take a look:

And now we are back home, looking forward to the next time! It is fun to explore your home state and see sights that are new and exciting. What do you have in your state that is worth seeing? Have you been to the Black Hills? If so, what did you do there? Let us know in the comments!

-Eva