Mount Rushmore.......just a big rock....but having lived up there for 23 years, i've seen it in more ways and places then any one person cares to see. To me Mount Rushemore is not number 1 on my list. There is a website where you can go see a live webcam of mount rushmore......thats good enough...do that before you leave home and then you'll have time to do other things while in the hills :lol: http://www.travelsd.com/website/webcam/rushmore.asp
Crazy Horse is coming along and might be worth seeing someday if they ever get it complete, but who wants to see it now when you can just barely make out a face and arm??? http://www.crazyhorse.org/
Lets see...reptile gardens for all you snake lovers. Last time I was there, I played tick-tac-toe with a chicken, and the chicken won! They train them critters (chicken and rabbits) to play games with the tourists and if the critter wins they get a small portion of food. I think the games are rigged tho, cause the critters nearly always win! haha. www.reptile-gardens.com
Bear country is neat, although i havent been there in years, but i imagine it is still the same...bears and wolves wandering around. http://www.bearcountryusa.com/
The bad lands are a sight to see for anyone who hasn't seen them...just drive that route down through Interior and you can see plenty, but there are places you can go to hike through em. http://www.nps.gov/badl/exp/home.htm
The state parks...Custer State Park is really pretty and covers about 71,000 acres, so there is plenty of room to roam in, just watch out for the buffalo...there not pets...seems every year some ole codger will take a horn to the guts trying to pet one or something. http://www.sdgfp.info/parks/Regions/Custer/
The Prairie Trading Post in Rapid City on 6th and Main is a pretty neat little shop to walk through....sell all sorts of Indian "stuff"....there are several little shops along 6th street. http://www.prairieedge.com/
The Sturgis motorcycle rally is going on starting the 4th of August....of course it will be over by the time ya'll get together, but there is certainly all kinds of sights to see at that thing!!!! http://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/
Wall Drug in Wall is only about 50-60 miles away and has a lot of stuff to look at and do if your into the whole tourist walk around thing. http://www.walldrug.com/
In Montana if you go through there I reccomend seeing the Custer Battlefield near Garryowen, Montana. Definatly something to go to atleast once just to see and put yourself in the location of such history. I am interested in that stuff so it was particularily interesting to me. I always thought i was born about 125 or so years to late. Would love to have been a magpie or something flying around during those times to get a "birds eye view". (Magpie may not be the bird of choice tho if it was actually possible!). http://www.custermuseum.org/
I love the garyowen tune...this website plays it if you go to it: http://www.custermuseum.org/Garryowen.htm
Hot Springs south of Rapid has the tar pits where they have found several bogged wooly mamoths...never been there to it, but would like to go see that sometime! http://www.mammothsite.com/
Also the many caves in and around the hills are worth looking at. http://www.rosyinn.com/5100a45.htm
Homestake Gold Mine....its shut down i believe now, but still worth going to look at if you like black hills gold. http://www.homestaketour.com/
Hell i'll shut up...there are lots of stuff to do and see in the Black Hills if you haven't been there. In about a 50 miles radius of Rapid City there is enough to see and do to keep you busy all summer. Just take your pick. Makes me miss it...when I go to the Black Hills, I always spend time at my gramma's and heck with the rest of all that tourist crap :wink:
http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/go.asp?ID=161