by Molly Isaac
posted on June 17, 2026
Looking for the best things to see in South Dakota? This is a state many visitors underestimate — right up until they arrive and realize just how much is packed into the Black Hills, Badlands, and wide-open prairie landscapes.
From Mount Rushmore National Memorial and a herd of 1,400 free-roaming bison to dramatic scenic drives and caves containing 95% of the world’s known boxwork formations, South Dakota is one of the most rewarding road trip states in the country.
In this guide:
- South Dakota: What you need to know
- The top things to see in South Dakota
- South Dakota’s scenic drives
- South Dakota by interest
- Frequently asked questions
South Dakota: What you need to know
- Gateway city: Rapid City — the closest major city to both the Black Hills and Badlands. Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP) has direct flights from Denver, Dallas, Minneapolis, Chicago, and other major hubs.
- Getting around: A car is essential — South Dakota’s attractions are spread across a large, rural state and sometimes inaccessible without a vehicle. Browse for the perfect vehicle on Turo.
- Best time to visit: Visit in late May through September for the best weather and all park access. Summer is peak season — arrive early at popular sites. Fall is quieter with beautiful light. Winter closes some roads (Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road) and park facilities.
- Key fees to note: Custer State Park and Badlands National Park both charge vehicle entrance fees (check current rates before visiting). Wind Cave tours: ticketed and book in advance in summer.
- How many days: A long weekend covers Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, and Badlands. Five to seven days allows the full experience, including Crazy Horse, Deadwood, Jewel Cave, and Spearfish Canyon.
The top things to see in South Dakota
1. Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Mount Rushmore is the ultimate road trip destination. The enormous granite faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are carved directly into a 5,725-foot mountain in the Black Hills — a truly incredible sight.
The main Grand View Terrace delivers the classic front-on perspective, while the Presidential Trail boardwalk loops closer to the sculpture with multiple viewing angles, forest sections, and more than 200 steps leading beneath the mountain.
During summer, the evening lighting ceremony is worth staying for — a ranger-led program followed by the illumination of the granite faces after dark. Admission is free, though parking costs $10 per vehicle.
Tip from the author: Arriving around sunrise feels completely different from the busy daytime atmosphere. Parking is free before 5 am, and the early light hitting the granite faces is extraordinary.
2. Badlands National Park
The Badlands can feel a bit surreal the first time you see them — 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, spires, and layered rock formations rising suddenly from the prairie in shades of red, orange, gray, and gold.
Formed over millions of years of erosion, the landscape looks a whole lot different from that of almost anywhere else in the US national park system.
The easiest way to experience the park is via Badlands Loop Road, a 32-mile scenic drive through the north unit packed with overlooks, pullouts, short hiking trails, and constant changes in scenery. And of course, wildlife sightings, including bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and the endangered black-footed ferret.
The Badlands are also designated as an International Dark Sky Park, making this one of the best places in the Midwest to experience the sheer scale of the night sky and stargaze.
Tip from the author: Golden hour completely transforms the Badlands, with the rock formations glowing before sunset. Sunrise is equally beautiful and usually far quieter.
3. Custer State Park
For many visitors, Custer State Park is the highlight of the entire South Dakota trip. Spread across 71,000 acres in the Black Hills, it’s home to around 1,400 free-roaming bison alongside pronghorn, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer, and the famously persistent “begging burros” that approach cars along the roadside.
Each September, the annual Buffalo Roundup sees riders on horseback drive the herd across the prairie in one of North America’s great wildlife spectacles. The Wildlife Loop Road is the easiest way to experience the park — an 18-mile scenic drive where wildlife sightings are almost guaranteed if you take your time and drive slowly.
Hiking is excellent too, particularly around Sylvan Lake and the trail to Black Elk Peak, the highest point between the Rockies and the French Pyrenees.
4. Crazy Horse Memorial
Crazy Horse deserves just as much time as Mount Rushmore. Starting in 1948 at the request of Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear, the enormous mountain carving honors the Lakota leader Crazy Horse and was created as a monument to Native American heritage in the Black Hills and a project intended to carry that story into the future. When completed, it will become the largest mountain carving in the world.
Only the face is fully completed so far, but the unfinished nature of the memorial is part of what makes it so striking — a reminder of the sheer scale of the project and the decades of work carried out by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and his family.
The on-site Indian Museum of North America and Native American Educational and Cultural Center add important context to both the memorial itself and the wider history of the Lakota people.
Unlike nearby national park sites, Crazy Horse is privately funded, so entry fees apply (check for current prices), and the memorial remains open during government shutdowns.
5. Wind Cave National Park
Wind Cave offers an extraordinary underground experience, as one of the world’s longest and most complex cave systems. It contains around 95% of the world’s known boxwork calcite formations, a rare honeycomb-like pattern found almost nowhere else on earth.
The cave is explored exclusively through ranger-led tours, which range from easy walking routes to more adventurous crawling and lantern tours. Above ground, the park’s 33,000 acres of prairie and forest habitat are home to bison, elk, pronghorn, and coyotes, making it well worth spending extra time outside the cave itself.
Summer tours regularly sell out, so it’s a good idea to book ahead.
6. Jewel Cave National Monument
Located just west of Custer, Jewel Cave is one of the world’s longest known cave systems, with more than 195 miles of mapped passages stretching beneath the Black Hills.
It’s often overshadowed by nearby Wind Cave, but many visitors find Jewel Cave even more visually impressive thanks to the delicate calcite crystals — including nailhead and dogtooth spar — covering sections of the cave walls.
Exploration is only possible through ranger-guided tours. The Scenic Tour is the most popular and accessible option, and summer departures regularly book out in advance.
7. Deadwood
Deadwood is South Dakota’s classic Wild West town — a former gold rush settlement in the northern Black Hills where Wild Bill Hickok was famously shot, and Calamity Jane was later buried.
Today, the entire town is a National Historic Landmark, with historic saloons, casinos, old brick buildings, museums, and reenactments that give the main street a surprisingly atmospheric feel.
The Adams Museum and Mount Moriah Cemetery are the standout cultural stops, though simply walking the historic downtown is also rewarding.
8. Wall Drug and the Badlands approach
Wall Drug is one of America’s great roadside attractions — a place that began as a small pharmacy offering free ice water to travelers in 1931 and gradually expanded into an entire block of restaurants, shops, donuts, cowboy boots, animatronics, and wonderfully chaotic roadside Americana.
It easily could have become a tourist trap, but the sheer commitment to the absurdity is genuinely so fun.
It’s also the classic stop before or after Badlands National Park. The famous billboards begin appearing hundreds of miles before you arrive, and the famous giant prairie dog statue outside has become one of the classic photo stops.
South Dakota’s scenic drives
Some of South Dakota’s best experiences happen from behind the wheel. Between the Black Hills, Badlands, granite tunnels, and canyon roads, the state has several drives that rank among the most spectacular in the American West.
Needles Highway (Highway 87)
Needles Highway is one of the most dramatic short drives in the US — a 14-mile route winding through Custer State Park past towering granite spires, tight curves, and narrow rock tunnels carved directly through the stone. The “needles” themselves rise sharply above the road and give the drive its name.
The tunnels are intentionally narrow, so larger vehicles, trailers, and RVs may not fit through certain sections of the route.
Iron Mountain Road (Highway 16A)
Iron Mountain Road packs an enormous amount into just 17 miles — pigtail bridges, tight switchbacks, one-lane tunnels, and sweeping Black Hills scenery connecting Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
The tunnels were deliberately engineered to frame Mount Rushmore perfectly in the distance as you drive through them, creating one of the greatest road trip views in America.
Although the distance looks short on paper, allow at least an hour to properly enjoy the drive and stop at overlooks along the way.
Badlands Loop Road (Highway 240)
Badlands Loop Road is the main scenic drive through Badlands National Park — a 32-mile route passing layered rock formations, overlooks, prairie landscapes, and wildlife viewing areas across the park’s north unit.
It’s especially spectacular around golden hour and sunset, when the rock formations shift through shades of orange, pink, and deep gold.
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway runs for around 20 miles through a dramatic limestone canyon in the northern Black Hills, with towering cliffs, dense forest, waterfalls like Bridal Veil Falls and Roughlock Falls, and some of the state’s best fall color.
Wildlife sightings are common throughout the canyon, but cell service is extremely limited — download maps before starting the drive.
South Dakota by interest
For families
South Dakota is packed with wildlife, roadside attractions, and amazing things that keep kids entertained between destinations.
- Badlands National Park: Prairie dog towns delight kids, with wildlife viewing and enormous rock formations throughout the park.
- Custer State Park Wildlife Loop: Bison, begging burros, and easy roadside wildlife viewing through the heart of the park.
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial: An accessible American icon with a strong visitor center, short walking trails, and one of the state’s biggest bucket-list sights.
- Reptile Gardens: One of the world’s largest reptile collections and a classic Black Hills family stop.
- Wall Drug: Giant roadside signs, quirky attractions, a huge gift shop, and enough roadside Americana that it becomes a uniquely fun stop.
For outdoor adventurers and hikers
Granite peaks, cave systems, waterfalls, and deep canyons make South Dakota far more adventurous than many people expect.
- Black Elk Peak: The highest point between the Rockies and the Pyrenees, with panoramic views across the Black Hills from the summit fire tower.
- Badlands National Park hiking trails: The Notch Trail and Castle Trail offer dramatic canyon scenery, ladder climbs, and some of the park’s best hiking.
- Spearfish Canyon: Waterfall hikes, towering limestone walls, and trails like Devil’s Bathtub make this one of the state’s best scenic drives.
- Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument: Ranger-guided underground adventure tours through enormous cave systems, both open year-round.
For history and culture lovers
South Dakota’s history stretches from Lakota heritage and sacred Black Hills landscapes to gold rush towns and Cold War history.
- Crazy Horse Memorial: The story behind the enormous mountain carving alongside the Indian Museum of North America and Native American cultural exhibits.
- Deadwood: Wild West history, preserved saloons, Mount Moriah Cemetery, and museums tied to figures like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
- Wounded Knee Massacre: One of the most significant and sobering sites in American history, best approached respectfully by visitors wanting to better understand Lakota history and the Black Hills.
- Mammoth Site: An active excavation site holding the world’s largest concentration of mammoth remains.
For wildlife lovers
Wildlife is one of the best parts of a South Dakota road trip — especially across the parks, prairie, and Black Hills landscapes.
- Custer State Park: Home to a bison herd of around 1,400 alongside pronghorn, bighorn sheep, elk, and the park’s famously persistent begging burros.
- Badlands National Park: Prairie dogs, bison, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and one of the country’s few black-footed ferret recovery areas.
- Wind Cave National Park: Excellent above-ground wildlife viewing combined with one of the world’s longest cave systems below the prairie.
- Buffalo Roundup: Held each September in Custer State Park, this massive bison roundup is one of North America’s great wildlife spectacles — don’t miss it if your trip lines up with the event.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need in South Dakota?
A long weekend (3 days) is enough for Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Custer State Park, and Badlands National Park at a reasonable pace.
Five to seven days gives you more time for places like Deadwood, Jewel Cave National Monument, and Spearfish Canyon without constantly driving between stops.
Most visitors stay in or near Rapid City, right in the middle of the region’s major attractions.
When is the best time to visit South Dakota?
Late May through September is when South Dakota really comes alive — scenic drives are fully open, wildlife is active, and long summer days make it easier to explore the Black Hills and Badlands.
Fall (September–October) is arguably the sweet spot, with cooler temperatures, smaller crowds, the Buffalo Roundup, and beautiful fall color through Spearfish Canyon.
Note that Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road close during winter weather.
Do I need a car to visit South Dakota?
Yes — a car is essential. South Dakota’s attractions are spread across a huge rural landscape, and many of the state’s best scenic drives, trailheads, and roadside stops simply aren’t reachable without one.
Renting your own vehicle through Turo also gives you far more flexibility to pull over at overlooks, small towns, and random roadside attractions you’d otherwise drive straight past.
Is Mount Rushmore free to visit?
Entry to Mount Rushmore National Memorial itself is free, though parking costs $10 per vehicle and remains valid for one year from purchase.
The evening lighting ceremony held between Memorial Day and Labor Day is also free, though arriving early is a good idea if you want easier parking lot options and better viewing spots.
What is the best base for exploring South Dakota’s attractions?
Rapid City is the most practical base thanks to its range of restaurants, attractions, and hotel options, plus direct flights from major US cities.
Keystone and Custer work well for visitors wanting to stay deeper in the Black Hills and closer to the state’s major scenic drives and parks.
Explore South Dakota by car with Turo
South Dakota is a state best experienced by road. The moment the Badlands appear on the horizon, the first bison wanders across the road in Custer State Park, or the tunnels of Iron Mountain Road frame Mount Rushmore in the distance, it’s clear why.
The drives are part of the experience. Browse Rapid City vehicles on Turo and explore the Black Hills, Badlands, and scenic drives at your own pace.
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Molly Isaac
Molly has road-tripped, hiked, and country-hopped across Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the U.S. — but her favorite thing is still waking up somewhere new. Some of her best memories? Sailing through the Philippines, eating her way through Portugal, and climbing so many mountains she’s lost count. She’s passionate about chasing natural wonders, meeting new people along the way, and sharing tips that turn trips into lifelong memories.
