Roughlock Falls can be approached two ways: from a brand new parking lot ten feet away, or from a dirt lot a mile away, which you will find because you aren’t paying attention. If you are lucky enough to park … Continue reading
If the sight of hundreds of ice age mammals caught in a deep pit interests you, there’s that and plenty more geological and paleontological wonders in the Black Hills. Stan the Dinosaur, petrified trees, and buffalo jumps all fascinate the science-minded visitor. And … Continue reading
The Black Hills have numerous caves, but the two biggest and most impressive are in the national parks. I’ve already written about the fascinating Jewel Cave National Monument here, so it’s time to take a look at the more popular … Continue reading
Sioux Falls isn’t exactly in the Black Hills – actually, it’s on the other side of the state – but if you’re driving from the east, you’ll likely spend the night there on the way to South Dakota’s more traditional … Continue reading
Custer State Park’s scenic drives are among the most fascinating and beautiful in the Western United States, and like the rest of the Park, are carefully designed to delight visitors. The Black Hills are the core of an unusual vertical … Continue reading
A fairyland of colorful erosion, Badlands National Park offers plenty to photographers, hikers, and families. I consider this park, an easy day trip from the Black Hills, a must-see for the region. You’ll find short hikes through multicolored eroding castles and … Continue reading
Jewel Cave and Wind Cave are major show caves and both are part of the national park system. These popular attractions are wildly different from each other, at least in cave terms, and both have things of interest above and … Continue reading
If you’ve ever seen a Nicolas Cage movie called “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets” you’ve seen one of the beautiful lakes of Custer State Park in South Dakota. The lake in that movie – inaccurately portrayed as being directly … Continue reading
Custer State Park in South Dakota is one of America’s most visited state parks, for a reason. It’s a lovely concentration of sights and animals and cabins and campgrounds, lodges and lakes. There’s a wide variety of activities which collectively … Continue reading
A great stop for the entire family is the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, a nonprofit horse rescue just past the southern end of the Black Hills. If you’re going to be in the Black Hills more than a few days you’ll … Continue reading
Devil’s Tower looms large in American cinema, and like a lot of people who come to the Black Hills for more than a couple of days, we were intrigued by that giant rock monolith about a hundred miles away in … Continue reading
In Badlands National Park, the Notch Canyon Trail is one of the four trails accessed by the Window/Door/Notch/Castle trailhead on the eastern side of the park. While there we noticed most people were just exploring the area near the parking … Continue reading
On a ten day trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota, you might think you’d run out of things to do – and you’d be wrong. There are few places in America, particularly in the American West, where you … Continue reading
The first thing most people do when they get to the Black Hills is head to Mt Rushmore, and why not. It’s a huge attraction for a reason – it really is a special place, an incredible sight, and with … Continue reading
The Crazy Horse Memorial becomes more of a destination every year. When I drove through the Black Hills in 2005, his nose was still relatively undefined. The mountain was still spectacular, but is now more so as sculptors and stoneworkers … Continue reading