craig

Please forgive the ignorance of someone "down under", but is South Dakota completely off limits during December for motorists? Reason I ask is that my wife and I will be in the south-west in December and have tossed around the idea of "exploring" our way from Las Vegas to Denver to the Black Hills, Badlands, etc. Thanks in advance.

Paul Rabe

This is definitely not recommended.

You might get lucky and not hit a single snowstorm. Or you might get unlucky and be in a blinding storm with half a meter of snow and wind chills of - 30 C.

That far north in December will have very little daylight, and most everything will be closed. You won't get much of a chance of seeing anything.

You're risking a lot without very much to gain. There's LOTS of natural beauty in the Southwest to see, with the days longer and the odds much more in your favor weather wise.

Abe

Paul's right.
I used to live up that way and while it is definitely worth seeing, it can actually be dangerous in winter.
The wind chills are among the worst in the continental US, and the snows can be deep; drifts can make roads impassable, sometimes for days.
I'd venture no further than Denver.
Even the Colorado passes can be a problem during winter, but the snow crews clear them much more efficiently than in SD.

LizF

If you are 'down under in OZ' Craig stay away from that part of the USA. Even going to the Grand Canyon would be a bit dicey where I got caught in a blizzard in March one year and because the rental car companies won't let you have chains on the car it was very very scary - and I had spent 2 years in Canada with snow and ice on roads.

Scott

Craig, It would definitely be unwise to go that route in the winter.The snow and ice can be deadly and the weather is very unpredictible. Why not go from Vegas to DEnver and stay and ski or go West after Vegas to Lake Tahoe and Calif? San Francisco and Napa Valley would be interesting.....

Teresa

Craig,
I'm a little perplexed why everyone's so adamant that you stay away from South Dakota in December. We live in western Nebraska (1 1/2 hours from South Dakota) and my kids wore shorts to school last week. This fall has been unseasonably warm and just gorgeous. Maybe we westerners simply have more of a pioneering spirit than other parts of the US but I say plan your trip. Just do what we do, though--watch the Weather Channel and don't travel to a particular area if the weather forecast is threatening. We zip back and forth to both South Dakota and Colorado all of the time and feel perfectly safe--I certainly wouldn't endanger the lives of my 2 children on a whim. Plan your trip, call ahead to make sure the sights are open, watch the Weather Channel and have a wonderful trip!

Dakota

As a life-long Dakotan, my advice would be to ask yourself what you want in a vacation. If you'd like to stay where it's relatively warm with more "summer-oriented" activities, then traveling here will be a disappointment. Both North & South Dakota, as well as Montana, are winter states usually from Mid-November until well into April. They are plains states, meaning not too many mountains or hills for downhill skiing; Montana is more suited for that. Even though the weather may be clear & the roads good much of the time, it does get cold, and blizzards can spring up. There may also be ground-drifting (snow that blows across the roadways, making it stick to the surface) or "black ice" (patches of thin ice on the roads that are hard to see until you're on top of them) that may cause travel hazards if you're not familiar with winter driving. We would love to have you visit us, but want you to enjoy yourself, too. If you do, PLEASE carry an emergency travel kit for winter weather (warm coat, gloves, hat,socks,etc) just in the event you would happen to get stalled, and never ever leave your car - that's how people freeze to death, walking for help when they don't realize how cold the "wind chill" is. I don't mean to scare anyone off, but two years ago two VERY lucky travelers were stranded wearing light jackets & loafers for 12 hrs. - had to keep warm stuffing newspapers in their clothing! It's not always like that, but one experience can be enough! Come see both Dakotas in the summer or fall - much prettier then!!!