merna

My husband and I heading to SD at end of August. We'll drive from Minneapolis through to the Mt. Rushmore area. Would love to have a list of special places to sleep, eat or visit. We particularly love atmosphere. Thank you for any suggestions.

Chuck

Try Deadwood - the historic hotel on main street. Oops, I can't remember the name, but it is cool. Supposedly has ghosts - bwaaahaa. Deadwood is a quaint fun town, especially for couples.
Visit Rochford's Moonshine Gulch if you want to get into the country.

al

http://www.southhdakota.worldweb.com/

GO TO ANY SEARCH ENGINE (GOOGLE or ALTAVISTA) and type in SOUTH DAKOTA.

Joan

I grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota and if you want beauty try Spearfish. It's about 50 miles north of Mount Rushmore, but you can stay in Spearfish and travel the hills easily in a day trip. Rapid City is a great place but a little pricier. If you stay in Spearfish, you can take Spearfish Canyon (featured in Dances with Wolves Kevin Kostner) go up to Deadwood, enjoy the gambling and the atmosphere, take the road out of Deadwood and the canyon will take you right in to Rapid City. Once you're in RC up Mount Rushmore Road to see the faces, visit KEYSTONE and if you like going through the caves...Beautiful Rushmore Cave is worth the price. In Spearfish, you can enjoy the beauty of the mountains, the purity of the creek, stop and see the Passion Play (plays on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday night). Enjoy the city park, go to the fish hatcheries and so many wonderful nature hikes. As a teenager we used to ride our bicycles up the canyone and go to Roughlock Falls, stop and marvel over the trees, flowers and wildlife. Enjoy your trip...you won't regret it!

Marsha

South Dakota's state tourism website is www.travelsd.com. In the northern Hills, you should visit Deadwood and Spearfish Canyon. In the southern Hills, you should not miss Crazy Horse Monument, Mount Rushmore (of course, Custer State Park, the Needles Highway, and the Hill City area (drive the Rochford road north from Hill City thru Mystic to Rochford. For "atmosphere," you may want to make a reservation to stay a night or two at one of the lodges in the Custer State Park. At this time of year, you will need reservations.

Marsha

I meant to say that you will need reservations in the Hills at any place this time of year!

Merna

Thanks. Great suggestions, especially "what is located where" and how to organize sites and locations.

Gary

merna: We stayed at the Strutton Inn B&B in Custer, S.D. owned by Cary & Denise Strutton. Really wonderful place, great breakfasts & hosts, very reasonably priced.