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South Dakota is a Midwestern state of great beauty. It’s perfect for a family visit to view the stunning Black Hills, Badlands, and rolling prairies. Visit a Main Street shootout, museum, zoo, or adventure park.
1. Badlands National Park
The Badlands in southwestern South Dakota are an area of rugged beauty and geological deposits spanning over 244,000 acres. They protect a mixed-grass prairie where black-footed ferrets, prairie dogs, bighorn sheep, and bison live today. Several trails start near the Visitor Center. The park also features a Fossil Exhibit Trail, which is a boardwalk where visitors can observe uncovered fossil displays.
2. Dinosaur Park
Head to Rapid City for a trip to the Dinosaur Park. Entry is free. The park is undergoing reconstruction to improve pedestrian areas, so call to check whether the park is open before visiting. You can’t miss the 80-foot-long brontosaurus that towers above the city on Dakota Hogback Ridge. On a clear day, visitors can look to the west and see Black Elk Peak, while to the west are views of Badlands rock and geological formations.
3. South Dakota Air and Space Museum
The South Dakota Air and Space Museum outside Rapid City has an extensive collection of artifacts that capture the history of Ellsworth Air Force Base, the 28th Bomb Wing throughout the Cold War, and the 44th Strategic Missile Wing. The museum has four internal galleries. Entry is free, and the museum is open all year round.
4. Bear Country USA
Drive through the North American Wildlife Park in the Black Hills and view black bears, wolves, buffalo, elk, and other wildlife. Afterward, head to the Bear Country Wildlife Center near Rapid City to see baby animals frolicking outdoors, sometimes including baby bear cubs. Food is at the Grub Snack Shack, and the Bear’s Den Gift Shop is worth visiting. The park opens from May to November, only closing if the weather is bad.
5. The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs
This indoor working paleontological site near Hot Springs, in the Black Hills, has unearthed over 60 mammoths and over 85 species of Ice Age fauna. It’s open all year and is fascinating as well as educational. The museum has many interactive activities for children.
6. Deadwood Alive
Deadwood Alive stages Main Street shootouts (with blanks) in Deadwood to celebrate America’s Old West. Visitors can enjoy guided walking tours, historical re-enactments of Deadwood’s History, and witness daily shootouts with Wild West characters, musical performances, and the trial of Jack McCall. The park has spring, summer, and fall activities, including stagecoach rides.
7. Storybook Island
Storybook Island in Rapid City is an 8.5-acre family theme park with over 100 storybook, fairytale, and nursery rhyme settings. It’s a magical venue that encourages children to use their imagination. It’s open from May to September. Children can ride on a miniature train (40″ height minimum), see live shows, and more.
8. Spearfish City Park
Spearfish City Park has 10,000 square feet of parks, recreational paths, tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts, a dog park, sports fields, football fields, a skate park, and more. The 7.5-mile recreation path runs alongside Spearfish Creek and is perfect for cycling or walking. The creek is home to brown and rainbow trout, so bring a fishing rod if the family enjoys catching fish.
9. Termesphere Gallery
The Termesphere Gallery, also in Spearfish, displays the unique work of internationally acclaimed artist Dick Termes. He paints magical, mystical worlds on revolving Termespheres (spheres). The Termespheres, which measure between 1 and 7.5 feet, revolve, creating a three-dimensional optical illusion. The Gallery is open all year round, seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
10. Reptile Gardens
Meet giant tortoises, Cheyanne the bald eagle, prairie dogs, Maniac the crocodile, venomous and non-venomous snakes, lizards, frogs, and bugs at the Reptile Gardens in Rapid City. The zoo opens in early March and continues until the end of November each year. It is on the road to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Stop for a bite in the zoo’s Green Parrot Café, and visit the gift shop before leaving.
11. Cosmos Mystery Area
Spend a few hours of family fun at the fascinating Cosmos Mystery Area in Rapid City, where the family can head to the mysterious Mystery House to roll balls uphill or stand on the walls in this weird illusionary house. After that, visit the Geode Mine to dig for a geode to take home or the Gem Mine to recover arrowheads, fossils, and minerals using a sluice. The site is open from April to October and has a gift shop.
12. Wall Drug Store
Wall Drug is a popular South Dakota roadside attraction in Wall, north of the Badlands. It’s open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and has 76,000 square feet of free attractions, food and restaurants, 5-cent coffee, a unique mining experience, shopping, a Traveler’s Chapel, a drug store, a gift shop, free ice water, and more. Visit the Western Art Gallery Restaurant, which seats over 500 people, or grab a doughnut from one of the eateries.
13. Sculpture Walk
Sculpture Walk is a year-round attraction in downtown Sioux Falls. The outdoor art exhibition features 55 sculptures, valued at over $1 million, from world-class artists. It is one of the largest public sculpture exhibitions in the U.S., popular with the locals and thousands of annual visitors.
14. Children’s Museum of South Dakota
The Children’s Museum of South Dakota in Brookings is fun for all ages with its friendly approach to education and interactive, hands-on exhibits. The museum hosts multiple classes to suit every interest and has a gift shop with curated toys. When the family finishes playing with the exhibits, head to the Café Coteau for a meal.
15. Rushmore Tramway Adventures
Rushmore Tramway Adventures in Keystone is a family-themed adventure park with a treetop obstacle course, an 800-foot zip line, a jump tower, and a scenic chairlift with stunning views over Mount Rushmore. For additional family excitement, try downhill tubing, racing down the alpine slide, or taking a crash course in rope climbing. The Grille and Gardens restaurant will hit the spot when the family has an appetite.
16. Bramble Park Zoo
Bramble Park Zoo in Watertown houses about 500 animals in the fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibian families. It’s a 15-acre site with over 130 different species. Spot the red-bellied piranhas, American alligators, red-eared spiders, bald eagles, snow leopards, gray wolves, and more. It’s a fantastic day out for the family.
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