Who knew South Dakota was so beautiful!?
Well, obviously not me. I was so surprised by how much we really loved it. I highly recommend visiting.
In addition to our amazing stay at the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota, we stayed in the Black Hills area for a week and never ran out of things to do.
Mount Rushmore
While there were a few in my family slightly underwhelmed with Mt. Rushmore (expecting it to be bigger), I still found it really amazing. We went in the evening and seeing the monument at sunset was quite beautiful.
Each President commemorated on the monument was chosen for a specific purpose.
Washington represents the birth of the US.
Jefferson represents the growth of the US.
Lincoln represents the preservation of the US.
Teddy Roosevelt represents the development of the US.
You can find more information about the significance of these presidents and why they were chosen on their website.
(Admission to this National Park is free, but there is a fee for parking.)
Custer State Park
I think the best way to start a visit to any state or national park is the visitor center. They always give a great overview of what to expect and the best places to see. And while we have experienced many visitors centers closed due to Covid, the one at Custer State Park was open.
The Wildlife Loop Road took us on a 18-mile drive where we encountered a herd of wild buffalo.
They are beautiful animals to see up close (although they are aggressive so don’t get out of your car). They would walk around the vehicles in the road and then stop wherever they wanted. We didn’t necessarily plan to stay with them as long as we did, but when they stop in the middle of the road, there is no moving them until they are good and ready. I must say, there is nothing quite like sitting amongst a herd of wild animals.
We drove Needles Highway and squeezed through Needles Eye Tunnel, which is chiseled straight through solid granite. It is part of the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway, named in honor of South Dakotas former Senator and Governor who envisioned this road. Norbeck walked and horse-backed the future highway and planned out a route that many thought was impossible. When asking if his vision could be executed, his engineer responded, “If you can furnish me enough dynamite.” It took 150,000 pounds of explosives to carve the road through the granite. Our dually truck barely fit through the tunnels and anything bigger would scrape the sides, and probably the top. But it is quite a fantastic thing to see.
On this drive we also stopped at Sylvan Lake and walked around it. Sunset is definitely the time to be here, making it rather peaceful and not crowded at all.
Hart Ranch Camping Resort
I have heard camping inside Custer State Park is pretty spectacular, but we stayed at Hart Ranch closer to Grand Rapids because of the RPI discount through our Thousand Trails membership.
It was really a great experience. It was the first campground we have visited where the pool was actually open, which was fantastic because it was hot.
And the very best thing about Hart Ranch? Every Wednesday night in the summer they host a rodeo. I wasn’t expecting much considering it was at an RV campground. But in the same manner that South Dakota greatly exceeded my expectations, the rodeo was exceptional.
While the bull riding and other events were highly entertaining, one of the things that struck me most was how patriotic the event was. There were touches throughout the whole evening of deep reverence for our great nation, respect for our flag, honoring our military… I hadn’t realized until I was sitting there that it had been a long time since I had found myself in an environment where people so deeply loved and respected our country. I am grateful my kids could experience this.
Maybe when this full-time Rving adventure is over we’ll move to South Dakota, buy a ranch, and become cowboys.
At least for the summer months.
I never expected to enjoy South Dakota as much as I did. I love being pleasantly surprised by new places, don’t you?
