MPond wrote:
Also, input about campgrounds in South Dakota would be helpful....
There are a ton of campgrounds in the Rapid City/Black Hills/Badlands area. Many are very nice, and some are not as nice. A couple of the nice ones have been mentioned already.
The KOA in Interior, south of the Badlands is a great place. Called White River KOA or the Badlands KOA, depending on where you look. We're actually headed there this weekend for our first outing of the year. The kids love the place.
The Custer State Park campgrounds (there are quite a few different ones) are excellent as well, but are not full hookups, so keep that in mind. Not all of them even have dump stations, requiring you to go to one of the campgrounds that does to dump. Many of them also are lacking in sites for larger rigs. But, Game Lodge and Legion Lake are great campgrounds if you can accommodate the drawbacks above. Beautiful, and you may find a buffalo outside your door when you wake up. We go there as often as we can, but sites can be tough to book, as they fill up quickly. You won't get in without a reservation made well in advance.
Hill City is a little town in the central Black Hills, with a great campground just outside of it call the Rafter J. They have a wide range of sites, from wide open big pull-thru sites, to heavily wooded ones better suited to smaller campers. Service there has been hit or miss for us, but the place is well maintained, and a very scenic campground.
For something a little more rustic, there's another place near Hill City and Rafter J, called Horsethief Campground. It's a tightly winding road to get back to it, and it has limited sites for larger rigs. But it's far enough off the main road to be very quiet at night. Not as "nice" as the other places, but very peaceful if you have good neighbors.
For the opposite end of the spectrum, there's Elkhorn Ridge RV Resort in Spearfish, SD. It's up in the northern Black Hills. It's not rustic at all. Big, level concrete pads. Easy access. Decent spaces. Beautiful pool. It's only a few years old, so the trees are small. But it's kept immaculate. You won't hit anything, scrape anything, have any problems leveling, or have to make any tight turns. But you do lose a little bit of Black Hills atmosphere.
There are LOTS of other places as well.
As for things to do, a few have been mentioned. I'd also add:
Custer State Park. Drive the Wildlife loop, preferably early in the morning, or in the evening. Buffalo, antelope, prairie dogs, and who knows what else. Also, take a drive up to Sylvan Lake, a very picturesque spot in the park. And drive the Needles Highway if you have a smaller vehicle to use. Don't try it in the RV. Great scenery, as well as twists, turns, pigtail bridges, and single lane tunnels that will barely fit larger vehicles.
Wind Cave and Jewel Cave are nearby, run by the National Park Service, with some great cave tours ranging from mild to strenuous, depending on what you're looking for.
Black Hills Burger and Bun Company, a little restaurant in Custer, SD. Rated the best burger in the United States a couple of years ago. I'm partial to the "Fat Smitty", but the "Hot Granny" seems to be the most popular choice.
Deadwood, in the northern Hills, is the original town from the HBO series "Deadwood" where Wild Bill Hickock was killed, and Calamity Jane lived. It's mostly casinos now, and some of the historic feel has been lost, but it's still there if you look, like Mt. Moriah cemetary, resting place of Wild Bill Hickock, Calamity Jane, and Seth Bullock. Or the Friendship Tower, built by Seth Bullock in honor of Teddy Roosevelt. Or the Adams Museum in Deadwood.
There are also a number of smaller things to visit. Gold mine tours, the historic fish hatchery in Spearfish, the Western Heritage museum in Spearfish, a great 2/3rds day hike to the fire tower at the top of Harney Peak (amazing views). A couple of wineries, Prairie Berry winery being the best example.
If you're a motorcycle rider, Sturgis is worth a stop, even if it's not Rally time, just to see where it all happens, though it's a pretty tame little town the other 51 weeks a year.
You won't run out of things to see in South Dakota!
