What's Happenin in Rapid City in March? (Spearfish, Lead: appointed, hotel)

[SCGranny]

My daughter and I are flying out to Rapid City to meet her brother (whom she hasn't seen in 10 years!) and his wife. We are arriving late Friday on the 21st, and are spending the (Easter) weekend together. We will be tourists before we separate; brother and wife to go back home (they are in school) and dau and I to go house hunting for two weeks. (Whoo hoo!)

We want to see Mt Rushmore, and maybe explore some of the mines around there. We will probably check out the Mammoth museum if it is open. But what else is there to do in/around Rapid City? We liked the idea of riding the train but it apparently doesn't open until May... as a matter of fact, a lot of the tourist attractions don't seem to open until May. What is there to do in the area in our brief time together? What should we check out? What should we avoid? We don't want to spend our time at chain restaurants or in the motel room!

Thanks for all of your help!

[DannyBanany]

Hey Granny! Glad you're planning on taking time to see Rapid City during your stay. March doesn't offer as many activities as May and the summer months, but nonetheless there is a lot to do and see. You could try the Rapid City Star Tour which will take you around town to all the points of interest.

Rapid City's Historic Districts and City Tour - Overview
Star Tour

The Star Tour will take you to museums, parks, and to my favorite: Dinosaur Hill. If you have kids they will love the life-size dinosaur statues on top of Skyline Drive. You will also love the dramatic view over all of Rapid City and the distant mountains. I also recommend driving on Skyline Drive at night because the city lights are breathtaking.

I recommend restaurants downtown if you want to avoid chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Outback. The restaurants downtown are all really good and have just about every flavor you could imagine. I recommend Botticelli's for Italian, Sanford's for the family, Firehouse for steaks and beers, The Corn Exchange for a bistro, and the Enigma for black tie. The 445 Club in the Radisson Hotel would be the place to go for a nightcap and some drinks.

I am sure you will go to Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Deadwood, and Custer State Park but also make a stop at Cosmos. It is my favorite tourist trap in the Black Hills and you won't be disappointed!

Have a great trip!

[Jammie]

SC, have a wonderful trip. You'll love it in the Hills area. Guess Danny about covered it except I'd go through Spearfish Canyon. It's beautiful there.

Homestake is the only mine that I can think of and I don't know if they have tours for it. Are you thinking about touring the caves and caverns?

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Jammie

SC, have a wonderful trip. You'll love it in the Hills area. Guess Danny about covered it except I'd go through Spearfish Canyon. It's beautiful there.

Homestake is the only mine that I can think of and I don't know if they have tours for it. Are you thinking about touring the caves and caverns?

Jammie, there are mines all over the Black Hills. But you have to get off the beaten trail and in some cases, hike a ways. Old mines that are no longer operational, but still there. I could probably show you 50 of them. Lot's of history with them too.

[DannyBanany]

The most popular mine to tour would probably be Broken Boot Mine just between Deadwood and Lead. I am not sure if there are tours in March but you could always find out if you're up in Deadwood anyway. We used to go to Broken Boot in elementary school for field trips. Also stopped by Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood. That's where Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Potato Creek Johnny are buried.

[prairierose]

The Journey Museum in Rapid City is very worthwhile.

[Jammie]

Sorry, guys. I stand corrected. We have never taken a tour of an old mine and I didn't realize they had some out there. One of my "DUH" moments.

[sdgoldpanner]

SCGranny,
You mentioned visiting some mines. Are you looking for old abandoned mines from the gold days? If so, I have directions to several of them.
Bob

[traveler73]

There is a fine dinning restaurant directly across from the Firehouse, can't remember the name but it's good!

Above anything else, the absolute must see is Mt Rushmore of course.

Since you will be in the Rushmore area, you have to take a drive on Iron Mountain Road. It's about a mile directly East of Mt Rushmore at the junction of Hwy 244 and Hwy 16A. It has incredible views of Rushmore with Pigtail bridges, switchbacks and tunnels. You'll find it easily if you do a Mapquest of the area.

[SCGranny]

Wow. Thanks to everyone for the answers!

Yup, we are real big on exploring off the beaten trail. We will stop the car and walk down a dirt path as long as it doesn't have a chain or gate across it! We have over 300 acres (not our own) that backs up to our house; it is an old tree farm. Our kids grew up playing back there, exploring and climbing trees and tracking wildlife. They are unafraid of anything, and know woodslore enough to avoid our local snakes, panthers, alligators, and coyotes. We used to go to the Smokies and spelunk a little. When we saw the maps online near Mt Rushmore that showed some old gold rush excavations, we got tickled.

If it isn't raining or snowing, we'll be out and about, getting filthy!

I am pretty excited. <dance dance dance> Could you tell?