Explore South Dakota in 5 days! There is so much to do in and around the Black Hills of South Dakota. Below is most certainly not an exhaustive list of activities but some of the things that I found the most fun while visiting.

Day 1:

Fly into Rapid City Regional airport.
- Car rentals are available however I cannot make recommendations. I was fortunate enough to have a good buddy of mine living in the area and drove us around and let me crash at his place. Thanks again!
Drive to and check into hotel. Even though I did not stay in a hotel, I would recommend staying in Custer, South Dakota. There are many great restaurants and bars in the area and is also centrally located to most activities.
- Be sure to pay attention while driving into Custer. You will be able to see Crazy Horse and Black Elk Peak (Harney Peak) from the road!
Hike Sunday Gulch Trail if you arrive early enough. This is a fantastically fun trail to hike. You climb over boulders and streams and are rewarded with amazing views of the Cathedral Spires. You ultimately follow the river back to the trailhead (depending on if you climb the “staircase” at the end of the hike). This section is incredibly peaceful and relaxing. This is one of the most famous hikes in the area and is deservingly so.
Dinner at Mount Rushmore Brewing Company. Lots of fun local beers to try and food is great!

Day 2:

Wake up early and drive the Wildlife loop. The animals will be much more active in the morning (told this by some locals) and you will have a better chance at spotting more variety of animals. Later in the day, the animals will retreat to the tree cover and be hard to see.
Visit Mount Rushmore. An iconic and classic must visit! There is a hike that makes a big loop around the park and is well worth it. There are a fair amount of steps however. Nothing to be afraid of but simply to be aware of. Go take a look at Gutzon Borglum’s (the Sculptor) mock version of Mount Rushmore and get the story on how the creation came to life. Make sure to check out the museum. The informational video is worth watching even though is seems as if it is from an old tape. In fact, I found it added to the experience!
Get lunch at Ruby House in Keystone. Great food and fun atmosphere. The town itself is a tourist trap but can be fun to walk around in if looking for a souvenir.
Hike Little Devil Tower trail. This is a fantastic hike! It starts fairly mellow and ends with using all fours to climb up some rock to the top of Little Devil’s Tower. The views of the Cathedral Spires, Black Elk Peak, and surrounding mountains are incredible! Be sure to bring a camera to capture the sunset. You won’t regret it. Also be sure to take a close look at the Cathedral Spires. If you’re lucky enough, you will see climbers on the Spires!

Day 3:

Drive to Spearfish Canyon and check out the 3 different waterfalls in the area. Roughlock Falls was my personal favorite but Spearfish falls is an extremely close second. Both have a short and easy but fun hike to get to them. If you are into fishing, there are loads of Trout in the creeks and lakes along the trail to Roughlock Falls that is open to fishing. Bridal Viel Falls was just a trickle of water while we were there and was by far the least impressive. However, if there has been some heavy rainfall or snowmelt, then this would probably be much more neat to see.
Stop at Wicked Expresso for some great coffee
Drive through Deadwood
Head to cool off at Sylvan lake. Sylvan lake is a fantastic place to swim and relax in the afternoon heat! Water is clean and cool, and the rock formations make for great views and things to climb around on. There is also a small store to get some ice-cream of shirts or even rent a kayak and paddleboard.
Go to The Custer Beacon for drinks and to play some pool.

Day 4:

Wake up early and drive to Badlands National Park. Stop at Wall Drug on your way in or out if you want some good pie or are into super cheap, ultra touristy knick knacks.
- It is about a 2 hour drive to the Badlands from Custer, SD. We left around 8am and stopped at Wall Drug on the way in for snacks before hiking in the Park. We found we had ample time to see many different things inside the Park and managed to capture sunset as well.
Drive the park and stop at all the overlooks.
- There is tons of wildlife on this drive. Everything from Buffalo all over the park (especially near the entrance it seems) to Bighorn Sheep to Rattle Snakes.
- Each overlook boasts something slightly different about the unearthly feel the Badlands is known for.
Stop and check out the Visitor’s Center.
- There is a good video that you can watch that helps explain the park and the challenges they face. Highly recommend it.
Stop and Hike and hike along the way. There are many hikes in the Park and the capability to do them in different ways. But the list below are the hikes that I found the most fun. (Use cation. Weather is very hot here so plan accordingly as needed.)
- Door Trail
  - This trail makes you feel like you have left Earth and are walking on Mars more than any other. If you continue hiking off the wooden platform nd follow the signs, it truly is one of the strangest feeling hikes simply because of the terrain. It isn’t hard or long and doesn’t even boast big vistas. But it makes you feel like a wanderer on a foreign planet which is a blast in itself.
- Window Trail
  - This is an extremely short hike from the parking lot. But it has amazing views of “The Wall” and Pinnacle spires that is definitely worth seeing.
- The Notch Trail
  - This is the best hike we did while there. The views are absolutely amazing of the classic Badlands spires as well as some of the prairies surrounding the Park. You also get to climb up and down a fun ladder to get to the upper section of the trail. An absolute must hit hike.
Stick around for sunset. We went to Panorama point and had a great time watching it happen.
Drive back to Custer, SD.

Day 5:

Have a relaxing morning drinking coffee and enjoying the crisp air once again.
Go off-roading using one of the many rentals in the area. We used my buddies Ranger and had a blast exploring some of the fire roads in the area. There are tons of these trails located all over so it is easy t shoot down one and see where you end up.
Get lunch at Begging Burrito in Custer.
Hike Black Elk Peak (aka Harney Peak)
- This is the highest point east of the Rockies. It boasts the best views in the area because of this as well. At the top is an old Fire tower that you are able to go inside and explore a bit. Watching sunset from up there is a great time as well (bring a headlamp to hike back down if this is your plan however)!
- This is a must do hike as well! The trail itself is in great condition and has many different view points and simply beautiful sections that keep you entertained the entire way. It isn’t very steep either, so it is a fairly easy hike all things considered.
Head home and have a fire and beer and take in the stars.

Happy Migrations Everyone!

Custer South Dakota/ Badlands National Park