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I've been visiting the Black Hills for the motorcycle rally in August for decades and there are still things I haven't seen or done. That train ride from Hill City to Keystone is on my list and I hope to finally do it this year. There should be a lot of wildflowers growing right now to make it extra beautiful. And Keystone is a fun place to hang out and people watch. Ice cream stop!
You can take a helicopter ride over Mt. Rushmore from Keystone which is pretty awesome. Our pilot took us up on a loop which was nearly like riding a roller coaster. He checked with us first. Whee.
Hill City is my favorite little town out there. It's the oldest town in Pennington county nestled into a wildflower meadow.
And it's the perfect starting point to begin your ride on the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain road. If you miss this work of beauty you'll miss one of the prettiest and most creative rides in the country.
I think it was commissioned during the Depression. They carved three tunnels through the rock which all perfectly frame the faces on Mt. Rushmore and, towards the end, added three unique pig-tail bridges to bring you down the mountain rapidly in a small amount of space. Fun!
You'll drive through rocks glittering with pink quartz and mica, through fragrant pine forests, meadows and by cold little streams which will have white flowers growing in them this time of year.
You used to be able to buy Danish aebleskiver for breakfast in a restaurant in Hill City on the main street. Kind of like a round donut. Not sure if they are still there.
Deadwood has a nightly reenactment of "The Trial of Jack McCall" that begins with the shooting of Wild Bill Hickock in the Number 10 Saloon and proceeds down the street to the "courthouse." On the east side of Deadwood is the Mt. Moriah Cemetery where you can see the graves of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. If you are eating indoors yet the historic Franklin Hotel has an elegant atmosphere.
Ft. Sturgis, east of the town of Sturgis, has a very interesting Civil War era military museum and Gen. George Custer memorabilia.
Rapid City has a museum of geology and a dinosaur museum, both interesting. South of the city is the Reptile Gardens, an enormous and beautiful reptile zoo.
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