Badlands/Custer State park worth it in late April? (Rapid City: spring break, hotels)
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Interesting question. I've spent plenty of time in the Hills during the "shoulder seasons" from May to early October, but never that early. One thing that surprised me in the past was that many attractions, and even restaurants, hotels, etc.... do slow rollouts, according to the tourist traffic. This may lead to a few campgrounds, eateries, and such that are not open yet, or have limited hours. The upside is that being in the hills, while the weather is tolerable, and the tourists are not there yet, is pretty magical. Have fun. Black Hills weather is something you can gauge by looking at historical average data, but I have been in western South Dakota when it was desert hot in spring and fall, and barely above freezing in August, so it's anything but predictable,
There should be no problem finding bison, antelope, deer, wild burros, various birds and possibly bighorn sheep and/or mountain goats... IF the weather cooperates. Whether it cooperates or not is the question. I'd say probably, as in the odds are better than 50-50. Barely. Late April is also a prime time for big snow storms to blow in, hang around for a day or two, then blow out leaving lots of snow behind.
I helped a young lady with her "senior project" in 2000 -- wildlife photography. She had interned with me for a week the summer before, then came back for a week the following March (spring break) to build a portfolio and a small website. Most of the photography was done in Custer State Park over a period of two days. Weather wasn't bad, but you'll see that some of the photos had a little fresh snow. Her motel room had a door that didn't close too tightly, and she had a foot-tall snow drift in her room when she awoke in the morning of the second day. (The geese weren't photographed in Custer State Park but everything else was.
Custer State Park is in the southern Black Hills, Devils Tower is in the northern Black Hills. If you drove straight through from Custer, SD (to Sundance, then Devils Tower) it would take about 2 hours. If you're on vacation, it'll probably take longer as you stop to see the sights.
Again, there's really no way to know this far ahead what the weather will be. My experience in nearly 50 years in the area is that after May 1, snow is unlikely; before May 1 it's not unusual. Some of the biggest blizzards to the area come towards the end of April. Be prepared for any kind of weather if you come in April.
Thanks for this feedback. So I did some research and it looks like the dates I am going to be there, historically in the last 10 years it's only snowed once.
Been looking at the weather (10 day forecast) and tomorrow I should get an idea on how it will be. So far it looks good as of now! I hope it stays that way.
Thanks for this feedback. So I did some research and it looks like the dates I am going to be there, historically in the last 10 years it's only snowed once.
Been looking at the weather (10 day forecast) and tomorrow I should get an idea on how it will be. So far it looks good as of now! I hope it stays that way.
Big time snowstorm forecast across SD on Wednesday and Thursday. Be glad you're not out there this week. South Central South Dakota could see over 18" of SNOW. I'm not sure what the badlands is supposed to get, but they're not far from the 18" area.
The Badlands didn't interest me much. Free fwiw opinion: I'd cut that to 4, 2 or zero hours.
Or Deadwood Saturday night, whether you change anything else or not.
Maybe a museum on Sunday morning if open.
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