My girlfriend and I will be in the Black Hills area for 2 days at the end of October and I know of the general sightseeing areas and thinking of making a loop around Sturgis, Deadwood, Hill City with a pretty open itinerary. We plan to see Mt Rushmore, Needles and the large sights but was curious if anyone had any suggestions additionally that we should check out. We also are interested in fishing the area, not for anything large but just for fun and was wondering if that area is worth trying. Thank you!

I recently took a trip to spearfish canyon, I drove the scenic bypass. One thing that stuck out to me was the private property, so many nice houses and properties. I gotta know what are the owners doing for work, I want that life so bad

We’re in CO and will be driving to South Dakota tomorrow for the weekend. It’ll be the first time my family and I have been to the state. We’re staying at a place called Black Hills Health Retreat in Hermosa that we found on Airbnb. Have you heard of that place? It was cheap so can’t complain about the price. It’ll be 6 and half hour drive each way. We’re planning on leaving around 6:30AM tomorrow morning and leave time so we can get there before dark. I have a few questions and would appreciate your help:

1-What is there that we can see tomorrow if we have time before it gets dark? Like if we made good timing on the drive and get there around 2ish (give or take potty breaks, find a place for breakfast and lunch etc)Is there enough time to see Mt Rushmore, Custer Badlands etc.? We had planned on visiting Badlands on Sunday morning on our drive back home to CO.

2-What time does it get dark since SD is north of CO and it’s almost daylight savings time?

3-Any recommendations for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Keystone and Hermosa?

4-We have the entire day of Saturday to do the tourist stuff. How long would you give Mt Rushmore? Custer? What places would be so neat to see wild animals?

5-I looked at the Rushmore amusement park. Is it worth going there on Saturday early evening? Kids are 17 and 12.

6-Anything cool that we should stop at on our drive up there/back down? We know about Buc-Ed’s in Johnstown 😉and will plan on stopping there since they have clean bathrooms ha.

Many thanks! This was decided last night actually. I’m usually well prepared every time we travel-months in advance but last night kids said they were bored-they’re on break now-so we decided to take advantage of the cool weather and go up to SD.

We decided at the last minute to take kids to SD tomorrow morning. We’ll be driving up from CO-6 and half hours not including stops. We’re staying at Black Hills Health Retreat that I found on Airbnb. Have you heard of that place? It was cheap so that’s why we picked that place rather than a Holiday Inn etc.

1-since SD is north of CO and its almost daylight savings time-what time does it start getting dark?

2-If we leave by 6:30AM tomorrow morning and arrive around 2PM-ish after stops, is there something that we can see before it gets dark. Mt. Rushmore? Badlands? Custer? Anywhere else? We had thought about doing Mt Rushmore on Saturday and Badlands on Sunday on our drive back home to CO.

3-Is there anywhere cool to see/eat/visit on the highway between CO and Hermosa that we should stop by for a break? We know about Buccee’s and it’s already on the agenda since they have clean bathrooms ha.

4-Recommendations for good places to eat in the Mt Rushmore/Keystone/Hermosa?

5-How much time should I give it at Mt Rushmore, Custer, Badlands etc.?

6-I thought about taking kids to Rushmore Amusement Park on Saturday early evening. Kids are 12 and 17. Is it worth it?

Thank you kindly for your suggestions. I usually book trip months in advance/plan ahead but we just decided last night to do this.

We decided at the last minute to take kids to SD tomorrow morning. We’ll be driving up from CO-6 and half hours not including stops. We’re staying at Black Hills Health Retreat that I found on Airbnb. Have you heard of that place? It was cheap so that’s why we picked that place rather than a Holiday Inn etc.

1-since SD is north of CO and its almost daylight savings time-what time does it start getting dark?

2-If we leave by 6:30AM tomorrow morning and arrive around 2PM-ish after stops, is there something that we can see before it gets dark. Mt. Rushmore? Badlands? Custer? Anywhere else? We had thought about doing Mt Rushmore on Saturday and Badlands on Sunday on our drive back home to CO.

3-Is there anywhere cool to see/eat/visit on the highway between CO and Hermosa that we should stop by for a break? We know about Buccee’s and it’s already on the agenda since they have clean bathrooms ha.

4-Recommendations for good places to eat in the Mt Rushmore/Keystone/Hermosa?

5-How much time should I give it at Mt Rushmore, Custer, Badlands etc.?

6-I thought about taking kids to Rushmore Amusement Park on Saturday early evening. Kids are 12 and 17. Is it worth it?

Thank you kindly for your suggestions. I usually book trip months in advance/plan ahead but we just decided last night to do this.

What issues in Lead/Deadwood or the area do you think deserve more attention or you feel should be fixed? (stole question from Rapid City sub)

When we visited in May, it was cool to get to see this film site of the final winter camp scene in Dances With Wolves movie not to far from Roughlock Falls and Spearfish Falls.https://youtu.be/CyqFxh79cKk

I took some fun pictures at Spearfish Canyon on Oct 1

Going to be in the hot springs, windcave, Custer state park, argyle area. So far I have been very unimpressed with the food here 😕.
Would love to find a good Italian place. Would also like a good brewery WITH good food. But send any good recs

We visited in May. I finally got this video up on Spearfish Falls. I would have to say this is one of the coolest looking waterfalls I have seen so far with it splitting up into muliple streams. Definitely a must see when you visit the Black Hills area.

https://youtu.be/UNfqGhKJ3ok

Does anyone have friends, family, or a connection that's located close, or even in the Black Hills? Just wanted to see if there are any Black Hills residents that know local photographers.

Boy I hope y’all don’t get pissed off and talk shit about this one like y’all did my last one about Harney Peak.
I was so happy to get up there and explore but sadly y’all didn’t think so. Thanks for ruinin a guys vacation.

What an awesome and beautiful hike! My second time up there, ain’t a bad view from anywhere.

This is a complete shot in the dark as it’s a distant memory but my family and I have been talking about it and I’m too curious…

My mom remembers it looking like a nice place from the outside, maybe light blue and maybe two stories. She recalls it as a stand alone building that was not on Main Street and was on a side street of some sort.

Upon entering the vibe was genuinely insane. There were super bright colors all over, specifically teal. There were horses painted everywhere and it was very kitschy. We sat in a booth and the table I think was also wildly colored. We already had a weird feeling then the server came up an unreasonable amount of time later and he had no teeth and my parents decided we should leave. We went to a different restaurant that was nearby.

If anyone has any clue at all what restaurant this could have been please do share!

I know that this (Sep 26) is the weekend of the big Buffalo Roundup at Custer SP. We will be in the area exactly a week later, Oct 3-4. Will the buffalo be back to ranging freely around the park, or will we have to see them only in one specific area?

FWIW, just a few days earlier we'll be at TR Natl Park so I'm pretty sure we won't entirely miss out on seeing them.

Hello everyone! My name is Nadia, and I live in Rapid City. I’ve always loved art and am looking for places to work on murals. I plan to make this my career, and I’m looking for anyone willing to let me do a mural to get practice and build my portfolio. I will charge little since I’m just starting, and I'm willing to commute and work with you to make sure you love it. For pricing, I charge a small hourly fee. Let me know if you know anyone, or if you're looking for one yourself! I’m specifically looking for small businesses, as I feel that will help me move forward. Thank you!