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If you have a more detailed information request on any of the entries here, please follow the relevant e-mail link. Please be as specific as possible with questions as it is exceedingly hard to answer vague or general questions.
If the place you are interested in is not listed, e-mail a question and I will try to answer you.
Follow the links below for more South Dakota information.
Some general South Dakota information
South Dakota is a landlocked state bordered by North Dakota to the north, Minnesota and Iowa to the east, Nebraska to the South, with Wyoming and Montana to the west.
South Dakota has about 1.5 times the land area of England with only 0.7 million inhabitants (England has 50 million). South Dakota is one of the great plains states with the mighty Missouri River cutting across it from the middle of the state in the north to the south eastern corner. The reason that this state is such a wonderful fly drive destination is the geographical feature at its western side, where the Granite Black Hills of South Dakota rise majestically from the plains.
To visit South Dakota and the Black Hills in particular is to be exposed to the dramatic history of the westward spread of european settlers and their clash with the Plains Indians when gold was dicovered in 'them thar hills!".
To the
east and south of the Black Hills are the vast farms growing endless mile upon mile of corn and grain, to the west
is the great flat bowl of eastern Wyoming. It was Mount Rushmore that tweaked our curiosity to
go, but there is an aweful lot more to see in this area. The Black Hills are rich in gold which attracted prospectors into these hills sacred to the Lakota Sioux. The ensuing wars with the Indians lead to the Battle of the Little Big Horn just northwest of this area. This a place rich in old west history.
You have a couple of choices if you are planning to visit.
a) Stay somewhere central like Rapid City and visit all the sites on day trips. This can easily
be done as the area is geographically small by american standards. or
b) Move around and stay in the many small towns in the area. This is the option I would recommend
as it allows you to see more of the small towns which for me is a big part of touring the USA.
Whichever you choose, I'm sure you'll enjoy a trip here.
We drove up from Denver, overnighting in northern Nebraska before visiting the Badlands National Park.
We then stayed in Wall before moving on to Deadwood to stay. We then drove to Devils Tower (of
'Close Encouters of the Third Kind' fame) before staying in Spearfish. We then moved down to stay at
Custer followed by Hot Springs and finally leaving south again heading back to Denver via Cheyanne.
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South Dakota cities, towns and attraction information
Learn more about individual South Dakota destinations by choosing from the list of links below or by going to the interactive state map.
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