Mt. Rushmore, Black Hills, Badlands
 

Taking the grandkids at the end of the month. Can the Fodors readers suggest a centrally located campground that would accomodate a pop-up trailer, provide a central location to take in the sites and provide the grandkids with activities that 3 nine year olds will enjoy? Your help is greatly appreciated!

I spent many summers as a kid visiting relatives in Custer which is right in the middle of the Black Hills and is a great "jumping off" place for the area sites and attractions. We used to go to Flintstone's Bedrock City and it was very amusing for us. Although we didn't stay in the campground, I know they have one, so you might want to check into this option. (If you choose to stay here, you might want to watch some Flintstones cartoons with your grandkids before you go!)

You could check out Palmer Gulch, it is not far from MT. Rushmore & Custer Park and has a pool & activities for children.

We didn't stay there, but I thought Sylvan Lake Campground looked like the perfect place to camp. http://www.sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/...sylvlkinfo.htm Here's a link to my trip report that will give you ideas for things to do with kids about that age.

Sorry - here's the link to the trip report http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...p-report-2.cfm

I thought of Sylvan too--I have reservations for camping Labor Day weekend already. It has paddle boats & hiking, but the water is always cold for swimming. Good on a very hot day.

We didn't camp this time but I would say that the lake areas mentioned (we passed in driving around this area) looked the most appealing. Close to Hill City area is the most centrally located spot to access most of the sites within the area to see.

There are hundreds of things to do, we're trying to decide what to do tomorrow as we have already seen Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Rapid City, Deadwood (not for kids really IMO except for the 4 pm street shootout - 15 minutes), Lead (great mining museum but we ran out of time to visit), Sturgis (don't bother unless you are there for the bike rally week in early August).

My husband, stepson (18) and I did enjoy an old style/ fashioned "corny" roadside attraction called the Cosmos Mystery area. We found it amusing. I imagine kids will talk about it for a while if they are just good adventurers. It doesn't take a lot of time - it's not terribly expensive - $9 for over 12 yrs and a buck or two less for those under 12.

Hi amcneal, How did your trip go? Did you visit either (or both) Badlands National Park and Wind Cave National Park? What did you think of Mount Rushmore? I hope you had a great trip!

Our favorite CG in Custer State Park (Black Hills) is Center Lake CG.

http://southdakota.hometownlocator.c...id,1263124.cfm

http://www.sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/...round_info.htm