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Presidents Park itself is dull, but they rent bikes there so that you can ride all the way into Deadwood. We did this bike trip two summers ago with a wide age range of family members (from 6 to 68) and everyone loved it. The majority of the trip is downhill and goes through beautiful scenery. If you are planning a summer visit, I would highly recommend it. At the end, they'll pick you up and shuttle you back to get your car.
The nice thing about going along I-90 and through the Black Hills is that there are plenty of places to pick and choose from when stopping. Normally if I am on I-90, I am usually in a hurry to get to my destination.
Our rest areas along the interstate have tipi replicas and many of the rest areas have helpful tourist information and visitor guides for additional ideas.
I took my family all through SD this summer, starting in Sioux Falls and going west over to Deadwood. I have to say we loved Presidents park, yes it was kind of slow, you just walk around a bunch of statues, but it was really neat to see them and it is a really pretty area. I recommend seeing it.
i like bear butte,sylvan lake,the cemetery in dead wood and the badlands, and the national cemetery.
I always forget about Bear Butte!
Are you allowed to hike it anymore? When I was little we'd hike it all the time until I saw a rattler up there. Part of the butte burned a few years back too.
i think they have designated trails at bear butte,the place is really nice ,they have primitive camping which is great. sylvan lake has great trails and fishing ,plus day camps where you can picnic and swim in a beautiful lake
It would not hurt to check out Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park. If you are into nature and have a little time to burn, these places would be good places to stop by and see.
Murdo Auto Show in Murdo (about dead center of the state on I-90) is one of my favorite places to rummage through things over 100 years old and take a look at the technology of the 1800's. I'd go there every time I'm in that area.
Nobody mentioned the Black Hills Maze, but if you are on your way to Mount Rushmore/Crazy Horse from Rapid City, it's a fun break and cheap too. I've been through it many times and I love it every time. Last summer, we took our nephew with us to the black hills and that was one of his favorite things.
Of course you'll want to see Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse so i won't say much there. But DON'T miss Custer State Park. Sylvan Lake on the Needles Highway is one of the most breath taking places I've ever been. Don't just drive by the lake on the way to Needles either, be sure to stop and walk all the way around the lake, you'll be so glad you did. Later, if you see a herd of Buffalo wandering through a nice pasture, you'll feel like it was 150 years ago.
The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs is very cool too. I'm sure you can find information on it on the net. If you are into fossils, you'll love the Mammoth Site, The Badlands, and also the Black Hills Institute Museum in Hill City.
If you are going that way, you'll want to stop at the Devil's Tower in Wyoming. I had some posts with many pictures and hotel info from my trip last year going back about 5 months. If you find them, you may want to see them.
Here are a few threads with some pictures from our trip last summer. I forgot to mention the 1880 train in Hill City. I've been to the black hills many many times and never took the train ride until this last trip. I was very glad I did. The scenery was just amazing.
We hiked around Sylvan Lake when we were there a few years ago -- well worth the time spent. We thought we'd just hike the trail around the lake (30-45 minutes right?) NOPE - we spent over 2 hours on that trail and then hubby talked us into going up Harney Peak - WOW -- can't even articulate that one. I'm more of a sitter than a hiker, complained all the way to the top, but the views were phenomenal and we met a pack of munchie-hungry chipmunks at the top that spent half an hour running in and out of our backpacks looking for snacks. Seems like you can see forever from the top and the fire tower at the top is very cool.
Also, Sylvan Lake is the one from the movie National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets. They're on the top of some of the rocks around the lake near the end of the movie when they find the entrance to the city of gold.
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