r/BlackHills

I am going on a trip to Black Hills for the first time! I’ve heard it’s beautiful and am wanting some recommendations from people who have been there and want to recommend something to me!

I love to hike so any good and worth while hiking trips I would love to do and hear about! Anything that is really touristy is a turnoff unless it’s really worth my while to see. Any Stargazing recommendations? Restaurants or local stores?

I’ll be staying in Lead, SD. Thank you!!

Hello! (Reposted to correct to South).

We’re taking a family vacation to South Dakota this year 8/1-8/9 (Sturgis overlap it seems, starts 8/7). Anyway, we want to do all the normal things: Rushmore, Custer, Needles, Badlands, etc.

We are traveling with 6, and 3 dogs. Is Rapid city a reasonable home base for this trip or is there a better option? We found a VRBO that accepts our three four-legged children. Rapid city was recommended by someone I work with, just confirming it’s a good location for our itinerary.

While I’m here, would love any recommendations that we should add to our itinerary. Kids are 2-12. Thanks in advance

Update: We have decided to postpone our trip due to Sturgis. I’m glad we did some late research and discovered it overlapped with our vacation prior to booking. We’ve adjusted it to our early summer vacation for next year. Thanks for all the replies!

Calling all artists, makers and crafters!!

I’m starting something that has been on my mind a while.

A traveling artisan market!

My goal is simple; connect people with the amazing artists that make our community. There are so many talented people creating beautiful things at home, stay at home parents, college students, hobbyists and small businesses owners. I want to make them feel more supported by taking some inventory and selling it at local festivals and pop up events!

I love to make jewelry and sculpt, but the act of setting up an online shop was always hard with the costs of shipping and packaging. And with how much time it would consume, I would lose the passion to create. I also as a one man show, never was quite able to fill up my booth at pop up events because I could only create so much in an allotted time… so this idea came about to help others out there like me, a college student who could use the extra funds, and others!!

I want to be able to have a traveling market where people can have the magical experience of holding an item in their hand before they buy it!

If you’re a local artist, business owner, crafter, or know someone who is and would like to make some money off of something they love doing, send a DM 💌

Looking for but certainly not limited to:

• Pottery and ceramics
• Handmade jewelry
• Crochet and knitted items
• Embroidery
• Candles
• Soaps
• Woodworking
• Stickers
• Keychains
• Custom totes
• Keychains
• Pet accessories
• Glass art
• Sculptures
• Upcycling

Let’s build a community where we reward creativity and local artisans!

What's up r/BlackHills  just moved to southeast WY finally, and really looking forward to exploring this part of the country. Such a central area. One of the first areas on my list to see is the Black Hills and the Badlands, places I've wanted to see forever. Is 4 days enough to see much of the area? This would be in September. My idea is to leave Thursday morning and head up to Devil's Tower, and spend the night in Deadwood. Ideally, Friday could be exploring Black Elk Peak, some more of Deadwood, drive through Spearfish Canyon, Custer State Park and end the day at Mount Rushmore. Saturday would be The Badlands and Wall, then drive down to Chadron, and Sunday would be going through western NE back into WY. Is 4 days enough time? I want to be able to explore the hills, see wildlife and learn about the region.

The wife and I are heading up to the Spearfish area this Sunday or Monday. We haven't been in many years. Where's the best lunch place now days?

I am doing a road trip to South Dakota in late September to see Badlands NP, Custer State park, Black Hills NF, and Arches NP. Planning on camping 3 nights near Custer and one in the Badlands. All the sites in Custer are booked for the dates I need. There are first come first serve, but I’d rather just get a reservation and not have to worry about that for 3 nights. I would also be open to dispersed camping.

I am open to any recommendations. Trying to stay budget friendly. Don’t need a whole resort.

Here is my itinerary:
I am also open to recommendations on tweaking my itinerary

Day 1:
Drive and arrive at campsite
Day 2:
Hike Harney Peak
Drive Needles Highway
Sleep at campsite
Day 3:
Drive Wildlife Loop Rd
Continue to Wind Cave NP
Head back via Iron Mountain Rd
Sleep at campsite
Day 4:
Hike Cathedral Spires
Drive and stop at Panorama Point
Camp in Badlands NP
Day 5:
Hike Notch Trail
Drive home

Hi all, I've seen quite a few posts about this from folks traveling west through SD. I'll be driving south from TRNP, then heading east through SD. I'd love any advice/recommendations on places to see and routes to take!

I'm having a hard time figuring out how much time to spend in each place. I'd love to see as much nature as possible- prioritizing hiking, wildlife, unique to SD landscapes, swimming/waterfalls, etc. I'm not so interested in museums or tourist attractions (unless highly recommended). I'm open to camping (and hope to at Custer), but will be traveling at the beginning of August and I assume summer weather can be a bit brutal.

My wishlist items:

- Custer SP

- Badlands NP

- Mt. Rushmore (if it makes sense, I know it's touristy but I doubt I'll get the chance to see it again)

- Curious about Spearfish canyon scenic byway

I'll have about 3 days, potentially 4. Does that seem like enough time to see things at a moderate-slow pace? Thank you! I appreciate any guidance!

I’m trying to remember this cave my FFA club leader took us caving in back in the late 90s. I lived in the Rapid City when I was high school- about 1996-2001. Our natural resources class teacher teacher/ FFA club leader took us caving in some huge cavern. It was not “developed” at all really. No stairs, no guard rails. Just some random cavern. There was a rope hung at one part where you had to climb about 15 feet up to continue through the cave network. Some parts of the cavern were big enough to stand in, some places were so small you had to lie down and army crawl through. I tried looking it up online, but all I found was a bunch of developed or commercial caverns that are “family friendly”, which this one was not. I’m guessing it’s been long enough that the cavern could have been developed for wider public use since then. Looking online, I can see there are many caves in the Black Hills, so I don’t know if it’s even possible to figure out what cave I’m talking about from this description. Anyone have any leads?

Planning my first (maybe only?) Black Hills motorcycle trip (late July) on a V-Strom 650 motorcycle (Shinko 705s). Coming from east-central Illinois. Looking for feedback from people who know the area well.

I’m intentionally skipping Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Wind Cave, etc. I’d rather spend my time riding scenic roads and seeing natural beauty. I’m sure that I’ll see Rushmore and Crazy Horse from a distance anyway. The caves seem cool, but I don’t think I’ll have time to squeeze in guided tours.

Looking to add any cool overlooks, waterfalls, river roads, easy forest roads with a view (I’m not skilled enough to be doing single track or jeep trails on a loaded adventure bike).

Current list of planned stops (roughly in order over 4 riding days):

Badlands (Interior Entrance)
Big Badlands Overlook
Yellow Mounds
Pinnacles Overlook
Boondock camping overlook/drone location
Custer State Park
Wildlife Loop Road
Mount Coolidge
Needles Highway
Sylvan Lake
South Playhouse Road
Iron Mountain Road
Sheridan Lake
Pactola Reservoir
Pactola Visitor Center
Norris Peak Road
Nemo Road
Nemo Country Store
Dalton Lake
Silver City Road
Old Hill City Road
Vanocker Canyon
Deadwood
Lead
Spearfish
Spearfish Canyon
Bridal Veil Falls
Spearfish Falls
Roughlock Falls
Cement Ridge Lookout (if road condition seems fine)
Cheyenne Crossing
Devils Tower

(Headed east back home)

Sheep Mountain Table Overlook
Sage Creek Road
Badlands loop in reverse from arrival
Falls Park (Sioux Falls)

Questions:
Anything you’d skip?
Any must-see roads or overlooks I’m missing?
Any hidden gems that fit this route?
Anything on this list that’s overrated?

Appreciate any advice from people who have ridden the Black Hills a bunch.

I’m hoping for a couple easy hikes with great scenery, hopefully a waterfall….any recommendations? We are staying 2 nights in deadwood and 2 nights in Custer. Planning on going to sylvan lake, needles highway, iron mountain road, wildlife loop and shopping in hill city.

Rushmore Crossing’s traffic issue is not simply the result of too many vehicles; it is the result of too many vehicles being funneled through the same limited access points. Eglin Street currently functions as the primary entrance, exit, internal connector, and retail access road for one of Rapid City’s busiest shopping districts. That creates congestion, turning conflicts, parking-lot backups, and unnecessary short trips back onto Eglin for drivers who are only trying to move between stores.

A practical long-term solution would be to strengthen access from E. Anamosa Street into Rushmore Crossing near the Target area. This concept recognizes that an access point from E. Anamosa into the Rushmore Crossing area already exists in some form. The issue is not whether southern access exists, but whether that access is designed and built to function as a meaningful secondary entrance to the shopping district. Rather than treating the Anamosa connection as a minor back entrance, it should be formalized and upgraded into a true southern gateway for the development.

To support that role, the Anamosa access road should be improved to a four-lane section where space, traffic volumes, and design standards justify it. This would allow the southern entrance to carry traffic in a more balanced and predictable way, especially for drivers coming from the south and southeast side of Rapid City. Likewise, Eglin Street should be evaluated as a consistent four-lane managed corridor through the core of Rushmore Crossing, paired with medians, turn control, and roundabouts. The goal is not simply to widen roads, but to create two functional access spines that can share traffic demand instead of forcing nearly all shopping-center traffic onto Eglin.

By improving the E. Anamosa entrance into a more substantial access road, traffic coming from the south and southeast would gain a practical way into the center without having to route through Eglin Street, East North Street, or the already-congested northern access points. This would help shift Rushmore Crossing away from being a one-front-door retail center and toward a more connected internal traffic network. Drivers entering from E. Anamosa could access Target, surrounding stores, and internal circulation routes without immediately adding pressure to Eglin.

To support this new access pattern, Eglin Street should be redesigned around three major roundabouts at the shopping center’s primary entrance and exit points: one near the Qdoba and restaurant pad access, one at the main Target access, and one near the Sam’s Club access. These roundabouts would create clear, controlled full-movement intersections at the three most important access points while reducing random left-turn conflicts along the corridor.

The purpose of the roundabouts would not be to make Eglin faster, but to make it more predictable. Instead of multiple driveways competing for gaps in traffic, the corridor would rely on three organized access nodes where vehicles can enter, exit, turn around, and redistribute more safely. Smaller driveways along Eglin could then be limited to right-in and right-out movements, which would reduce lane-blocking left turns and make the entire corridor easier to navigate.

Together, the improved E. Anamosa access road and the three Eglin roundabouts would create a more complete traffic system for Rushmore Crossing. The Anamosa entrance would provide a strengthened southern access point, while the roundabouts would organize the existing access points along Eglin. Rather than forcing every driver through the same overloaded corridor, this concept distributes traffic across multiple controlled entry points and gives the shopping center a stronger internal circulation framework.

The goal is to stop making Eglin Street carry the full burden of Rushmore Crossing’s traffic. A strengthened four-lane Anamosa access road would give the district a legitimate second access spine, while a managed four-lane Eglin corridor with three roundabouts would convert the existing frontage from a chaotic retail driveway strip into a more predictable collector street. This approach would reduce congestion, improve safety, support future growth, and make the area feel less like a parking lot spilling onto a public road and more like a planned commercial district.