(7/18 – 7/27/2026)
This was another one of our “national park stamp collecting trips.” Rei and I have been to South Dakota, but it was many years ago. Moreover, we were not into “stamp collecting” at the time.
Our Bay Area In-Laws joined us on this trip.
Day 1: Rapid City, South Dakota
Our flight from the Bay Area to Rapid City, South Dakota had a layover in Denver. The flight was on time. Denver airport was huge! It took us more than 20 minutes to reach the gate of the second flight.
The second flight was also on time. It was on a smaller plane with only 4 seats in a row. The flight was bumpy. Moreover, they announced that there was no water, so coffee and tea wouldn’t be served, and you also couldn’t wash hands in the bathrooms! Foutunately, it was a short flight!
Rapid City airport was small. We had no problems with luggage or rental car. Our hotel was only about 10 miles away. We checked into the hotel around 5pm.
After a short break, we went to the downtown for a quick sightseeing and dinner. Rapid City had a charming downtown.
The place was called the city of presidents. There were statues of all US presidents from Washington to Trump in the downtown area. We took photos of several presidents.
Today was Saturday. Downtown restaurants were all very busy. The first restaurant we went had an hour waiting time. We were told in the second restaurant that they were completely full. Finally, we were able to have dinner at Firehouse Brewing Co., which was located inside the original Rapid City Firehouse. We ordered BBQ, gumbo an fish tacos. The food was delicious.
Afterwards, we went to a Safeway supermarket to do some grocery shopping before returning to the hotel.
Day 2: Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park
After a simple breakfast at the hotel, we started sightseeing around 8am. The weather forcast said today’s temperature would reach 100 degrees, so we wanted to start early.
Rei and I have been to Mount Rushmore a long time ago, but this was In-Laws’ first visit. The place was very different from the time we were there. (Of course, we didn’t quite remember because it was so long ago.)
After parking the car inside the very new and huge parking lot, we climbed two stories to the entrance. The famous Mount Rushmore sculptures were clearly visible. There were a lot of visitors though it was still early. The weather was cloudy, so it’s not very hot. There was a bust statue of Gutzon Borglum, the famous Mount Rushmore sculptor.
We walked through Avenue of Flags, where there displayed the flags of all the US states. The view of the giant sculptures of four presidents were magnificent! Many visitors gathered at the Amphitheater to watch a performance by three talented Native Americans.
Rei was eager to get national park stamps as usual, so we went to the visitor center. We were amused to find that there were giant picture frames for visitors to take “postcard-like” pictures. Of course we borrowed a couple to take photos in front of the presidents’ sculptures.
Afterwards, In-Laws stayed inside the Visitor Center to watch a movie about Mount Rushmore, while Rei and I went out to walk the Presential Trail. The trail was less than 1 mile, and it was a walk on a pretty new route with boards, rails and stairs. The walk offered views of different angles, and there were information boards everywhere. This was a very popular trail. Because it’s summer now, we saw many families with young children.
The trail led to Sculptor’s Studio. When we arrived, we were just in time to listen to a presentation. Ranger Mark regaled us with the fasnating history of Mount Rushmore. We learned that the Jefferson sculpture was originally at the other side of the Washington sculpture. Due to a mistake, they had to destroy that sculpture to make a new Jefferson sculpture on the other side of Washington. It was a relief to hear that no workers died during the construction.
We met with the In-Laws to walk the Nature Trail to return. We stopped by the big gift shop, because Cutie asked for Mount Rushmore magnets.
Crazy Horse Memorial was only a short drive away. We had to pay $35 to enter, which we considered as a sponsorship. Lakota leader and warrior Crazy Horse was chosen because he has never signed a treaty.
Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski started the work in 1948 per request by Chief Standing Bear, who wished the world to know that Indians also had great heroes. The sculpture was still a work in progress with only the face and the right hand of Crazy Horse completed. Even though Korczak passed away in 1982, the Ziolkowski family continued the work, because Crazy Horse Memorial was “the promise of a white man that would not be broken.”
The Visitor Complex included a theater (where we watched the introductory movie), a gift shop, Indian Museum of North America, and a restaurant among others. We stayed there until around 1:30pm and took many photos.
Custer State Park was the last destination of the day. The large state park cost $25 for a 7-day pass and had many attractions. We first visited Sylvan Lake; the lake was surprisingly beautiful! We walked around the lake and took many photos. There were a lot of people on site, walking, fishing, swimming, kayaking, etc. The lake was calm and broad. Even terrible kayakers like Rei and I would be able to kayak there if we had more time.
Needles Highway awarded visitors with spectacular views of the surrounding needle-like rock formations. The scenery looked very similar to Pinnacles National Park. Needles Highway was narrow and twisty. We also needed to go through narrow passages like Needles Eye Tunnel (you got the ideas from the name). Some drivers of very large vehicles managed to pass the tunnel with their amazing driving skills!
Then we continued onto Wildlife Loop Road for wildlife spotting. There were two large herds of bison grazing on the grasslands very close to the road. Drivers all stopped their cars to take photos.
There were also some prairie dogs on the ground. We spotted several very large ones!
In addition, there were also wild burros along the way. They were gentle animals. Many visitors tried to pet the burros, including some people in our group 🙂
We have seen all these animals previously, but it was In-Laws’ first. They were very excited. We didn’t see any bighorn sheep today, but Rei got some tips from a state park worker at Bison Center. We will try to spot them the next few days.
Since we still had a lot of leftover food, and our room included a small kitchen, we ate in tonight.
Day 3: Wind Cave National Park
Breakfast at the hotel was the same as yesterday’s sans caffinated coffee, because the machine was out of order. So, we had decaf instead.
I booked the 12:20 pm Natural Entrance Tour for 4 persons at Wind Cave National Park for today’s sightseeing. (I couldn’t get an earlier tour for 4 persons.) We left the hotel around 8am to go to Custer State Park for possible wildlife viewing.
We arrived at the visitor center before 9am. The visitor center looked very new and was in pristine condition. The roads inside the state park were also in great conditions. We learned that Custer State Park was the largest state park in the US. There was a proposal to turn it into a national park, but South Dakota didn’t want to give up the park ownership.
We watched a 20-minute introductory movie in the auditorium. It was very informative. The movie showed an annual buffalo roundup. It was impressive! We all wondered whether we should visit the park in the future to watch the buffalo roundup. (It’s in September.)
Then we stopped by Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center, a potential bighorn sheep viewing site. The place was quiet, so we continued driving to Wind Cave National Park.
On the way, there were several bison on the road, and drivers all had to stop the vehicles and waited. However, everyone loved the additional photo opportunity and no one complained.
Further ahead, I saw a pronghorn sitting on the meadow and called out. We stopped the car by the roadside to take photos. Rei and I have seen pronghorns before, but this was In-Laws’ first. Later, we saw more pronghorns on the way.
We drove past another area that was said to be a bighorn sheep viewing area, but we still didn’t see any bighorn sheep. However, when we were inside Wind Cave National Park, we spotted many herds of bison grazing on the grassland.
After arriving at Wind Cave NP visitor center, we first claimed our tour tickets and then went into the store to get stamps. It was fortunate that we reserved the tour online beforehand, because today’s tours have already completely sold out.
We still had an hour of free time before the tour, so we had a quick lunch of homemade sandwiches and watched another short movie at the auditorium.
While waiting for the tour to start, we spotted a Western Yellow Warbler and a deer near the cave tour starting point.
Ranger Alexis led the tour. She told us that Wind Cave was the 7th national park and the first cave national park. Ranger Alexis first took us to the original cave entrance, which was a very small hole. We were told that the place was one of the seven sacred sites for the Lakota people. There were some colorful scarves left by the worshipers.
Then the cave tour started. We walked down a long and dimly lit path with many stairs to reach a broad area with the famous Boxwork structures on the cave ceiling. Wind Cave was a dry cave, and the boxwork was its trademark.
Another long walk took us to the Cathedral and the Model Room. The path was narrow with low ceilings. Rei bumped his head twice on the way. The Model Room had a broad walkway, and it served as a major photo site for tourists since the early time.
The tour ended at the spacious Assembly Room. The place was filled with many interesting formations. We had time to walk around and take pictures. The place was bright enough that I could take a photo of Rei. Then, we took elevators to return to the ground level.
I saw some birds in the area and wanted to take a short walk. The rest of the group complained about the high temperature and just wanted to stay inside the air-conditioned visitor center. During my short walk near the visitor center, I managed to take some photos of Western Wood-Pewees and Northern House Wrens. (Check my amazing Bird List!)
We drove past Custer State Park on our way back to the hotel. We still didn’t spot any bighorn sheep. But there was a pronghorn grazing very close to the road that allowed us to take great photos. We also saw more bison on the way. It seemed that if you drive through Custer State Park, especially the wildlife loop, you are guaranteed to see bison.
We were tired, so we simply went to a ramen store closed to the hotel to have dinner.
Day 4: Badlands National Park
Today’s main destination was Badlands National Park. Since Minuteman Missile National Historic Site was very close, we decided to go there first. The site was one of the US major nuclear missile sites during the Cold War. It was very important for the US defense against the Soviet Union.
When we arrived around 9:30am, we were just in time to watch an introductory film. It was very educational, because none of us knew there was a missile site near Rapid City, South Dakota.
After the film, we collected the stamps and browsed the display onsite. There was a special program at 1pm, but we wouldn’t have time for that. When we were about to leave, we saw many vehicles entering the parking lot, so this was a popular site too.
Badland National Park was a very short drive away. Not long after we passed the entrance station, we saw some very impressive and colorful rock formations — it’s the Door Trail. Originally I planned to stop at the visitor center first, but the In-Laws were very excited and wanted to start sightseeing right away.
This was their first visit, thouth Rei and I have been to Badlands NP before. They never heard of this place until today. So, we stopped the car to walk on the short and paved Door Trail and took many photos. The weather was good today, and the Badland landscape looked fantastic!
The Window Trail and the Notch Trail also had trailheads at the same parking lot. I saw the Notch Trail on a South Dakota travel guide. The trail involved climbing on some logs and looked very interesting, so I suggested hiking this trail.
Notch Trail was 0.62 mi one way. We first walked on a flat dirt trail. There was a traffic jam when we reached the log section. This part was like an obstacle course. Many kids and teenagers were having lots of fun on this trail.
After we reached the top of the log section, we had to walk on some uneven and narrow path to reach an opening with panoramic view. We saw several people coming from another path, and were told that the other path would reach “the Real Notch”! So, we had to walk on that path too. The last section to reach the notch was steep and slippery that required skills and caution. The view from the notch was of course magnificent!
It was already past noon when we returned to the parking lot, so we drove to the visitor center picnic area to eat our packed lunch. We also collected the national park stamps, and Rei purchased another patch for his jacket.
There were many more trailheads and viewpoints along the Badlands Loop Road. We stopped at Saddle Pass Trailhead to take more photos, but we didn’t walk the trail.
“Too hot!” said Rei.
Rei was determined to see bighorn sheep. He googled to find potential places where people reported sightings previously. We didn’t find any sheep at Panorama Point and Burns Basin Overlook, but we saw a couple of Western Meadowlarks and were able to take several pictures.
At Homestead Overlook, we finally spotted a bighorn sheep far away outside of a small cave! The sheep disappeared shortly, but I managed to take a photo using my camera.
Yellow Mounds Overlook was the most colorful site of the Badlands. The lower hills were colored yellow, while the higher hills were purple and green. The place was splendid and photogenic!
In-Laws wanted to visit Roberts Prairie Dog Town. We expected to see many prairie dogs there, but we only saw one! It was disappointing!
However, after we left the parking lot, I saw several prairie dogs on the grassland. Soon others also saw more prairie dogs. This was the “real” prairie dog town! We probably saw close to 50 prairie dogs in total.
After we left Badlands National Park, we drove past Wall. Wall Drug Store was a cheesy destination, but it was conidered a must-see for those visiting South Dakota. Wall Drug Store started as a drug store but later turned into a large shopping complex with a restaurant.
We had an early dinner of burgers there and had ice cream as dessert. The hot coffee only cost 5 cents!
In addition to shops and restaurant, there was also a courtyard with a Jack-a-Lope (rabbit with antlers) statue and a wagon. Rei and I both posed for pictures riding the Jack-a-Lope. It was fun!
Then, we returned to the hotel to take a shower and to do laundry.
Day 5: Jewel Cave National Monument
Rei set the alarm at 6:30am. When I woke up and went to the bathroom, I found out that there wasn’t running water! Rei called the front desk, but no one answered the phone, so he went downstairs to check what’s going on. They told him that we would have water in about 30 minutes.
We still didn’t have running water when it was almost 7:30am. I decided to apply our adventure travel experience to brush teeth using bottled water. When I was brushing my teeth, the water came, so I was able to finish my morning routine.
Due to the water issue, we didn’t leave the hotel until 9am. Luckily, our Jewel Cave tour was at 11:55am, and it would only took us less than 1.5 hours to arrive there.
When we arrived at the Jewel Cave National Monument, we still had time to watch an introductory movie, collect stamps, browse the exhibition and took a short walk. We also had enough time to check out the gift shop. I bought a new T-shirt. Rei and In-Laws bought some new mugs.
Jewel Cave has a very extensive underground cave network system. It was said to be the second largest in the US, only next to Mammoth Cave. It was also the first national monument dedicated to cave protection.
Since we’re traveling with In-Laws, I only booked the shortest 20-minute Discovery Tour. This tour would only visit the Target Room to see the famous “jewels,” which were calcite structures. From the introductory movie, we learned that Jewel Cave also had other impressive features like stalactites and stalagmites that we wouldn’t see. However, this was fine by us because we all have been to many other caves.
We rode an elevator to reach the underground Target Room. Ranger Britney pointed out the sparkling calcite crystals.
We were allowed to explore the upper and lower platforms and take photos. Then our time was up, and we had to return to the ground level by the same elevator. Rei commented that the tour was too short!
It was already past noon, so we ate our packed sandwiches at the picnic area. I wanted to take a longer walk, but they all vetoed my suggestion because the sky was gray and it’s likely to rain. So, instead of hiking to the historic area, we drove there.
The historic building was closed, but I saw several American Robins in the area and was able to take pictures.
Very soon after we left the parking lot, I saw a flock of sheep on the hills by the road. I informed them about my spotting, so we stopped the car to take pictures. Those turned out to be Bighorn Sheep, but none of them had the very big and fully curved horns. Regardless, we were still very excited about the spotting and took many photos.
We decided to stop by a couple of towns with a historic downtown on our way back. The first town was Custor. There was a Custer County 1881 Courthouse Museum. We decided to skip the $8 per person admission tickets and only view the outside display. There was a print house, a smith workshop, a coach stop and a few coaches.
We then explored the downtown area. We browsed several shops but didn’t find anything interesting to buy. There were several very colorful bison statues in the downtown.
The second town we visited, Keystone, was much smaller. Both sides of the main street were lined with souvenir shops and eateries. There was a historic train ride, but it was too expensive and would take a long time, so we didn’t go.
Rei has been eyeing steakhouses since we arrived in South Dakota. Since we would leave South Dakota tomorrow, I suggested that we should just go to a steakhouse tonight. Rei made a reservation at Dakotah Steakhouse. He ordered steak, and I ordered fish (walleye). Both dishes were very delicious. In-Laws also loved their burger and ribeye steak. The fried bread that came with soup and salad was excellent!
Day 6: Deadwood, SD
The adventage of staying in the same hotel was that we didn’t need to keep changing places. However, it also meant that we had the same free breakfast every morning. Fortunately, we were not very picky. Also, we would check out today after the breakfast.
I have never heard of Deadwood before. Rei said there’s a show with this name. (Yes, he watched too much TV.) I saw pictures of Deadwood in a tourist guide, and the place looked interesting. Luckily, we had extra free time today, so we decided to spend a few hours there on our way to North Dakota.
Deadwood was less than an hour’s drive from Rapid City. We first stopped by the Welcome Center, which was located at the start of the downtown Main Street. Deadwood had a vibrant downtown. It was definitely more interesting than the places we visited in the last couple days. Armed with a free map we got from the welcome center, we started to explore by foot.
Very soon after we passed the main street, we saw a statue of “Wild Bill” Hickok, a legendary Old West gunslinger and gambler. We all posed for photos beside the statue.
The old Saloon #10 where Hickok was shot and killed became a bar now. The bar welcomed visitors but asked for optional donations. So we put $1 in the donation box and went in to take photos.
The bar had a vast display related to Wild Bill Hickok. When he was killed while playing poker, his cards included a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights. It was then called Dead Man’s Hand.
We saw a couple taking selfies in the the bar, and the bar worker carried a fake gun posing at the background for them.
The Main Street was lined with souvenir stores, bars, ice cream shops, restaurants and casinos. There were also statues and information boards explaining the history of Deadwood. We walked all the way to the Outlaw Square and bought some ice cream on the way. In front of the Outlaw Square, there’s a statue of Calamity Jane, another famous Old West figure.
Then we visited the famous Adams Museum, which focused on local history. The admission fee was $5 per person.
At the entrance, there’s display of a gold nugget discovered by Potato Creek Johnny. The nugget was one of the largest found in Black Hills. The museum had extensive displays of local clothing and Indian arts and artifacts. Many information boards described the South Dakota history and historic characters.
At the basement level, there’s a display of a plesiosaur fossil that looked very impressive. There’s also a big wall displaying many minerals, ores and rocks discovered in this area.
We spent about an hour in the museum before going to a restaurant to have a light lunch. Then, we returned to the car to drive to Mt Moriah Cemetery.
The cemetery was a well-known attraction because several celebrities were buried there. We had to pay $2 per person to enter. There was even a visitor center, with a gift shop! (We did not enter.)
After we paid the entrance fee, we beelined to Wild Bill Hickok’s grave. It was easy to find, because there were many other visitors. Calamity Jane’s grave was next by Hickok’s. It was said that Calamity Jane was infatuated with Wild Bill and requested to be buried next to him.
This concluded our sightseeing in Deadwood. It was good timing too, because a light rain started.
We had a long, 3-hour drive to reach Dickinson, North Dakota. The road passed flat grasslands first, but later there was a section of interesting rock formations.
The majority of the landscape was fields with hay bales. There were some corn and sunflower fields. It was monotonous. The “highlight” was when we almost reached New England, North Dakota, a large bird stroke our car and wrecked the left rear mirror! It was scary. (We wondered what happened to the bird and hoped that we didn’t kill any endangered species by accident.)
After we checked into tonight’s hotel, we went out to have dinner. Many local restaurants closed early. The Thai restaurant we went to was closed even though it was supposed to be their business hours. So, we decided to just go to Walmart for grocery shopping. We had instant noodles and sandwiches for dinner.
Day 7: Theodore Roosevelt National Park (South Unit)
This hotel’s free breakfast had more varieties than the last one. In-Laws were very satisfied with the selections.
We’re going to Theodore Roosevelt National Park today. The South Unit of the park was only about half an hour away. We first stopped at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.
The Painted Canyon Trail provided an excellent view of the colorful canyon and hills. The view was similar to Badlands, but unlike the barren Badlands, the hills here were dotted with trees and partially carpeted with grass. It’s more verdant here.
We got stamps at the visitor center. A ranger at the front desk recommended a few short trails. However the outside temperature was already at 94 degrees, and none of them wanted to hike, so we decided to just drive around.
We next stopped by the South Unit Visitor Center to collect more stamps and watched a short movie about President Theodore Roosevelt and the national park.
Most park visitors drove the 36-mile Scenic Loop Drive in the South Unit. There were several bison crossing the road in both directions, so all vehicles had to stop and wait. People were all taking photos. Though we have already seen many bison on this trip, we took more photos while waiting.
The park had several prairie dog towns. However, we’ve already seen enough prairie dogs on this trip. We spotted a coyote, but we didn’t manage to take any photos before it vanished into bushes.
Our first stop on the Scenic Loop Drive was Scoria Point Overlook. The rocks here had a distinctive bright red layer and looked spectacular. The area also had many yellow sunflowers bloomimg.
The next stop, Badlands Overlook, had hills with multi-colored bands. They looked like Bandlands National Park hills except that there were trees and bushes that made the hills looked greener.
In addition to the painted hills, Theodore Roosevelt National Park also had voodoo or mushroom-like rock formations. It’s unfortunate that the temperature was so high today, otherwise we would be able to hike on additional trails to explore the various rock formations.
The only hike we did today was at Buck Hill. A short 0.1 mile trail led us to the top of Buck Hill. From there, we had magnificent panoramic view. The weather was very hot. However, there was a strong wind on the top of the hill to cool down the temperature.
Boicourt Overlook was said to provide one of the best views in the park. The view here with multi-colored hills was indeed stunning. However, the temperature was already reaching 100 degrees, so we didn’t linger.
It’s well-known that if you see a car stopping in the middle of the road in a national park, you should scan the surroundings to see whether there’s any wildlife. This was how we spotted a mule deer under a tree. Other drivers also stopped their vehicles to take pictures.
It was already 1pm, so we stopped by the Cottonwood picnic area to have our packed lunch. Afterwards, we drove to the Little Missouri River bank to take more pictures. The water was shallow. There was a bison standing in the middle of the river drinking. I also spotted an Eastern Kingfish on a tree.
Maltese Cross Cabin was Roosevelt’s temporary lodging. Inside the cabin, there’s a trunk with his initial T.R. on top in the bedroom. The cabin also had a living area and a kitchen. Rei asked the ranger where the bathroom was (Rei asked interesting questions), but the ranger said she had no idea!
Our rental car’s left rear mirror was damaged by a large diving bird yesterday. The rental car company asked us to drive to Bismarck to get a replacement car. Therefore, we had to give up the North Unit of the national park to drive 2 hours to Bismarck.
Except for the “Geese in Flight” sculpture (more on this later), the drive was monotonous and boring. It was the same grasslands we saw yesterday.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. So we decided to do a bit of sightseeing in Bismarck after we got the replacement rental car. We went to the North Dakota State Capitol. The capitol was a modern tall building, not the traditional ones with a dome. The mall was huge, and there was a pioneer family statue in front. In front of the capitol building, there’s a statue of John Burke, who had an impressive career of being Governor of North Dakota, U.S. Treasure and State Supreme Court judge.
In-Laws wanted Thai food, so we went to a Thai restaurant called EAT Thai Cafe. The food was delicious but very spicy. Customers could specify the spicy level. I selected Level-2, so my pad thai was fine. In-Laws selected Level-3 and Level-4 and couldn’t finish their dishes.
After dinner, we drove to see Missouri River. We parked near the Northern Plains Nature Tunnel. The tunnel was beautifully painted, but we couldn’t see Missouri River from the trail. We could see the river only when we drove on the highway bridge later.
On the way back, we stopped by the “Geese in Flight” sculpture. This was the world’s largest scrap-metal sculpture. It was near sunset, and we were the only visitors there. There were 8 other sculptures on the Enchanted Highway. Though I was interested to see additional sculptures, no one else in the group wanted to go. They said it’s already 8pm, and we should return to the hotel.
Day 8: Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Unit)
We didn’t plan to visit the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP. However, a lady we met while riding the elevator last night told us that the North Unit was fabulous! So, we decided to check out early this morning to visit the North Unit.
We checked out around 8am and drove one hour to reach the North Unit. After collecting stamps and gathering information, we started driving the 28-mile Scenic Drive. There were less visitors to the North Unit than the South Unit.
The North Unit also had colorful painted hills but the shades were greener. There also seemed to be more trees on the hills. The most spectacular view was at the Cannonball Concretions Pullout. There were many “cannonballs” on the hills right by the parking lot. The rock formations were stunning! We all took and posed for many pictures. It’s worth visiting the North Unit just to see this site alone!
Next, we stopped by the River Bend Overlook. A short trail took us to the magnificent viewpoints of Little Missouri River. The panoramic views from the overlook were truly amazing.
Oxbow Overlook was at the end of the road. From here, we could see the Little Missouri River turned to form an “oxbow.” An information board onsite described the process. Besides the river, the hills in the area were splendid with multiple colored layers. We took more pictures.
It was already 11:15am when we returned to the visitor center. We would have to drive about 5 hours to reach tonight’s lodge, Devils Tower Lodge.
The landscrape was the same flat grasslands except when we reached Medicine Rocks State Park. There were many exquisite rock formations. Since we were short of time, we only took photos from the outside but didn’t pay the admission fee to enter.
We were able to see Devils Tower from the road before arriving and were very excited. Our lodging tonight was just outside the park boundary, so we decided to check in first. On the way to the lodge, there was a parking lot with striking Devils Tower view. We stopped the car to take pictures before continuing to the lodge.
Devils Tower Lodge was a unique B&B. Each room in this lodge was unique. We had two nicely decorated rooms with unobstructed tower views!
Devils Tower National Monument Visitor Center would open until 6pm, so we decided to stop by to collect stamps and a map. Due to light and angle differences, Devils Tower view from the visitor center was different, so we took more photos.
Our room had a door connecting to the large open backyard where there were many trees. We had a wonderful Devils Tower view and could also see many birds, including Eastern Kingbird and Hairy Woodpecker.
Since we were in a remote place, we had dinner at the lodge. Tonight’s dinner was chicken with rice. The dessert was cherry pie a la mode. The food was very delicious. The lodge was a small B&B. All guests sat at a long dining table. A family of two parents and two kids sat across the table from us. We learned that the parents had climbed Devils Tower. They mentioned casually that the climbing “only” took a few hours!
Day 8: Devils Tower National Monument, Spearfish Canyon
Devils Tower National Monument was a dark sky destination, but the sky was very cloudy last night, so Rei set the alarm to wake us up at 2am. The sky was much clearer at 2am, and we saw many stars. However, we didn’t see the spectacular Milky Way that Rei hoped to see.
We agreed with In-Laws to go out hiking at 6am before breakfast, since today would be another hot day. We drove to the visitor center to hike the shorter Tower Trail. There were already some cars at the parking lot when we arrived.
Tower Trail was a paved trail circling Devils Tower, allowing us to view the tower from different angles. There were several squirrels and chipmunks in the area. We could hear many birds chirping while hiking. I spotted a magpie, a sparrow, several American Robins, a Red-Headed Woodpecker and a Rock Wren!
There were many information boards along the trail. One information board explained that the place was a praying ground. Prayers would tie a piece of prayer cloth on a tree. We saw many strips of cloths, ribbons, headbands, bandanas, bracelets, and even a sock! Another information board described how Devils Tower was formed.
From the trail, we also got a closer view of the Devils Tower. My favorite was a location that allowed us a clear view of large rocks gathered at the base of the tower.
They even provided binoculars for people to zoom in to check on climbers. We didn’t find any climbers, but we did hear voices. Instead, we spotted a cute cottontail munching on plants near us.
After more walking, we saw two climbers. They were still very close to the base, and that’s why we didn’t find them on the tower.
This trail was only about 1.6 miles, but it took us more than an hour, because we spent too much time taking pictures. Breakfast at the lodge started at 8am, so we didn’t linger more.
We had an excellent breakfast with scrambled eggs, cinnamon pastries, English muffins, yogurts and fruit. There were only 3 other guests at the dining table with our group. It was much quieter than last night. We had no idea where other guests were. A gentleman sitting across the table told us that he climbed the tower yesterday. During the conversation, he mentioned Spearfish Canyon and lamented that they didn’t have time to visit. We were already planning to visit Spearfish Canyon after leaving Devils Tower. It seemed that our plan was good.
Devils Tower National Monument was the first U.S. national monument. However, many people knew the tower as the alien landing place in the “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” movie. A trading post outside of the monument displayed several alien statues and related merchandise.
We checked out around 9am to drive to Spearfish. Today was Sunday, and the visitor information center in Spearfish was closed, so we had to rely on the internet. The connection was spotty, and it wasn’t easy to find the directions. (Rei suggested to download offline maps beforehand if you plan to visit.)
Spearfish Canyon has 3 waterfalls. We arrived at Bridal Veil Falls first. The waterfall, with insufficient water flow, was disappointing. We saw some people at the base of the waterfall. To reach the waterfall, one would have to cross a small creek. Since there were no bridges, other group members all refused to go.
So, we continued driving to Spearfish Falls. There’s a short hiking trail to reach the waterfall without any river crossing. This waterfall, with abundant water, was a lot more impressive! In fact, Spearfish Falls was the most beautiful waterfall in Spearfish Canyon.
When we arrived at the Roughlock Falls trailhead, it was already past noon, so we decided to have lunch first. The place had many picnic tables. We picked a partially shaded table to eat whatever food we still had (we’re going home tomorrow).
Another short hiking trail led us to the Roughlock Falls. There were 3 viewing areas. We could hardly see anything at the upper viewing area. The middle viewing area offered a view of the top half of the waterfall. The lower viewing area had a clear view of the lower falls, but the upper part of the waterfall was partially obstructed.
In addition to the falls, Spearfish Canyon also had beautiful rock formations. The place was full of visitors, especially families with children. We saw many people resting and playing in the small creek.
Then it was time to drive back to Rapid City. I suggested that we stay on major highways, but Rei insisted that we should follow his navigation app. Soon, the app pointed us to a bumpy dirt and gravel road.
“Why does the app tell us to drive on a dirt road?” questioned Rei.
(I was rolling my eyes.)
We were the only car on this route. After a long and bumpy ride, we saw several vehicles coming from the opposite direction — they were all ATVs!
“Well, we got a ‘free’ ATV adventure trip,” commented Rei.
Soon, we saw a sign on the road:
“Minimum Maintenance Road. Drive at Your Own Risk.”
Then, we heard GPS saying: “I am sorry…“
We all burst out laughing.
After more bumpy ride, we finally returned to a paved highway. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. This was the misadventure of the day.
It was almost 5pm after we checked into tonight’s hotel in Rapid City. We had a very delicious ramen dinner at Bokujo Ramen (better than the last ramen place we went), and then walked to the nearby Leones’ Creamery to have ice cream for dessert (excellent ice cream).
This ended the Dakota adventure trip.
Day 9: Flying Home
We were flying home from Rapid City Airport. I had to mention that the airport had some interesting sculptures:
- Siouxper Boy: a boy standing on a globe, wearing a cowboy hat and holding an airplane and a Sioux headdress (outside the airport)
- Sand Hill Crane: a scrap-metal flying crane (inside the airport)
Practical Information
We enjoyed this trip very much. All the national parks and monuments were splendid. Custer State Park was a pleasant surprise. I’ve never heard of this park until a few days before the trip. At the time, I only listed Custer State Park as a “nice-to-see” destination. It’s actually a “must-see” if you visit South Dakota!
Accommodation
There are many hotels in Rapid City. Because we would stay 5 nights there, I picked a hotel with a kitchenette and a large refrigerator. It’s very convenient to be able to use the facilities to make and store sandwiches. (See more on Food section.) We also used the guest laundry.
We also booked hotel rooms with a kitchenette in Dickinson, North Dakota. There’re lodges closer to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but they were a lot more expensive.
In Wyoming, we stayed at Devils Tower Lodge just outside the boundary of the national monument. It was a great choice. Staying at this lodge allowed us more time to enjoy Devils Tower National Monument. It’s also possible to view stars or even northern lights if you are lucky.
Food
Breakfast was included in every place we stayed. It’s also easy to find a place for dinner. However, lunch was a problem. All places we visited had great picnic areas, but food was usually unavailable. We did grocery shopping at a supermarket and made our own sandwiches.
I brought from home an insulated bag and put frozen bottled water inside to keep the food cool. You can also purchase a foam ice chest from a large supermarket.
Time to Visit
We thought that South Dakota and North Dakota would be cool because they are close to Canada, but that’s not the case. Temperature was close to or even above 100 degrees every day we were there! As a result, we couldn’t hike a lot.
I think it’s best to visit in late September when the weather is cooler. Moreover, you will be able to see the Custer State Park buffalo roundup (check the web for the dates) and even northern lights if you are lucky.
Cave Tours
It’s best to book the cave tours beforehand from Recreation.gov. There’s a surcharge of $1 per ticket, but it’s well worth the additional fee to reserve the tours you want.
We booked the 1.25-hour Natural Entrance Tour in Wind Cave National Park and thoroughly enjoyed it.
In Jewel Cave National Monument, we booked a short 20-minute Discovery Tour to see the Target Room only. In hindsight, the longer Scenic Tour can be better.
Wildlife Viewing
Bison and prairie dogs galore. It is also very likely for you to find pronghorns, deer and sheep. You just need to pay attention. There were also a lot of birds in the area.
Have your camera and phone ready to take pictures. Cameras are better for wildlife photos.
Amy 'n Rei 