First time to S.Dakota

[David_and_Deb]

From Oklahoma we will leave this Saturday, Sept 15 and travel through Kansas and Nebraska to Badlands National Park in our 32' class C and Jeep tow, just hubby and me plus our dog. We have 12 days and could extend if we decide to miss a semi-important activity back home. It is around 750 miles one way.

Please help me with the best itinerary without doubling back and best RV campground with full hookups (thinking about Big Pines) to visit Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park and scenic drives, Black Hills, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Crazy Horse. Others not to miss while here?

Should we move to Spearfish (thinking about Chris's Camp) to visit Deadwood, Sturgis, Hill City, Keystone? Others not to miss while here?

After visiting S. Dakota we want to go to Devil's Tower in Wyoming then head to Boysen State Park and back home to Oklahoma. Anything in between we should consider?

Or if we decide to stay longer, we may go to the Tetons and Yellowstone. It will be the end of September and first of October, is that too late to trek over? We aren't prepared for freezing temps or much snow. If we go, we were thinking about staying outside the park this time. Any recommendations coming in from the east and the Tetons?

One thing we may add to the beginning is the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society in De Smet, SD so would do that first, then drive west to Badlands. Any recommended places to stay in or around De Smet? Other things to see and do here?

We have no reservations nor timeline so could end up spending the entire time just in S. Dakota and circle through the Wyoming stops on the way home. We like traveling the back roads and stopping along the way, staying longer if we are loving it. That's why we are going back to Boysen. Dropped in for the night several years ago and have dreamed of going back ever since. Amazing place to sit and enjoy the beauty of our great country....gosh, we love RVing.

[CharlesinGA]

At the Spearfish campground, be sure and check out the adjoining US Fish Hatchery. great place to wander about and is right at the campground.

Other places, leave the entrance and go about six streets north on Canyon St at W Illinois is the neatest, cleanest laundry you ever saw if you need to run your laundry. One block over on W. Illinois and N 5th St is Stearfish Steak and Smoke. Pretty nice and good food, though somewhat expensive. Continue North on Canyon one more block past the laundrymat and turn left on W Jackson, cross the creek and around the curve and at the light make a left on N Ames. You find Dough Trader Pizza. Good local pizza, again somewhat pricey but good.

From the campground, walk into the park and over to the creek. There is a paved walk that goes for a number of blocks along the creek, nice evening walk. Very safe.

Go east on E Colorado (Alt 14) or the interstate one exit. The Wal-Mart is on the north side of the interchange and if you continue on E Colorado and turn south on Heritage you come to the High Plains Western Heritage Center

http://www.westernheritagecenter.com/

Also on the south side of the interchange is a Pizza Ranch. I have not tried it but lots of folks rave about it.

Don't forget the Journey Museum in Rapid City, its well worth the 50 mile drive from the campground.

Charles

[CharlesinGA]

Deleted, duplicate

[David_and_Deb]

Today we are breaking camp and moving farther north to see Deadwood, Sturgis, Lead, etc. Thinking about staying in the Spearfish City Campground and use it as a base. What specific things are fun to see and do for the next two days in the area besides drive the canyon road? Favorite restaurants? Stores? Drives?

After a couple of days we are driving into Wyoming to see Devil’s Tower and possibly stay at the KOA. We heard they have a cool evening activity. Then on to Boysen State Park and possibly to the Tetons.

[RVman3252]

RV_boy wrote:
We are heading there next week. Plan on see the buffalo round up.

https://www.travelsouthdakota.com/things-do/events/custer-state-park-buffalo-roundup

We have reservations at Grace Coolidge campground in Custer State park for four night 9/26/18 thru 9/29/18. There is also an arts show that weekend in the park.

We have been to SD several times and really like the drives through the Black Hills. As you come into Rapid City on I90, stop at the Black Hills visitor center. They have great relief map and lots of info on the area. The restaurant in the old fire house has a nice lunch.

Other stops we plan to make are Wall Drug (again wife's choice) and the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. Get some of their popcorn in the store across the street.

We are in a dark gray Winnebago Travato class B. If you see us, stop and say hi. Our rig is called "The Wayward Wind", as we like to wander.

We will be there for the Buffalo Round up on the 28th too... 1st time in the area, and the round-up has been on my "bucket list" for years! We are staying at Rafter J...

RVman / John

[David_and_Deb]

Thanks for all the additional comments. We are in Beaver Lake Campground just outside Custer and love it here. Exactly what we want in a campground...trees, shade, quiet, seclusion. We have full hookups plus cable AND my Att works perfectly in my phone. I should do a trip report. Where is the best place to post them?

[badsix]

mkisamore wrote:
we were there in july stayed 10 nights at Custers Gulch campground in a pull through site lots of space could see entrance to custer state park from site. close to a lot of stuff wild life loop in custer state park , jewel cave , mammouth site, mt rushmore and much more you must go to the Purple Pie place for dinner and desert their chicken pot pie is incredible as is the raspberry rhubard jalepeno pie. check out adventure rentals and rent a polaris razor and see some sites that cant be seen from the road. nice young couple run it and they are fantastic! enjoy your trip

are these guided tours or do they just turn you loose. i checked out their web site but found nothing about tours.
Jay D.

[mkisamore]

we were there in july stayed 10 nights at Custers Gulch campground in a pull through site lots of space could see entrance to custer state park from site. close to a lot of stuff wild life loop in custer state park , jewel cave , mammouth site, mt rushmore and much more you must go to the Purple Pie place for dinner and desert their chicken pot pie is incredible as is the raspberry rhubard jalepeno pie. check out adventure rentals and rent a polaris razor and see some sites that cant be seen from the road. nice young couple run it and they are fantastic! enjoy your trip

[ksbowman]

We stayed at Custer's Gulch and have never been treated better. We went without reservations and were told they could put us up for three days but, at different spots. I said great. Everyday as we moved they apologized and I told them we were just happy to have a place. Don't miss Wounded Knee while you are up there, we enjoyed it and young native Americans tell you and show you were the massacre happened and have keepsakes if you want them. Also the tallest waterfall in Nebraska (80 feet) is at Valentine and has on site camping and is well worth the visit. I have lived in the Midwest all my life (68 years) and never realized Nebraska even had a waterfall!

[CharlesinGA]

On the north end I can recommend the Spearfish City Campground, very nice, well run place. A little tight but not bad as you will be out and about each day anyhow. Good access to Deadwood, Devils tower, the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway and a few other things on the north side. There are many museums in the Black Hills and I recommend The Journey in Rapid City for a good, well rounded history of the city and the entire area of the hills, well worth a couple or three hours, or more.

Here is my recount of my Black Hills, Badlands, and Eclipse trip of August 2017. It may provide you with a little bit of info or links you might find useful.

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29487108.cfm

Charles

[RGar974417]

We stayed at Rafter J in the late 90's. They do have sections with trees. We had a real isolated site. But if we went today,I would stay in Custer State Park at least for a few days.They only have electric but the sites are well spaced and you don't have to drive into the park everyday. I would recommend stopping at all the visitor center and drive the Wildlife loop and Iron Mountain Highway. We also enjoyed the Badlands,Wall drug, Bear Country USA and the Cosmos.

[ppine]

Paha Sapa.
I was working in NE Wyoming once on a remote ranch with locked gates. We took a side trip one night up to a place called Pumpkin buttes. There were 15 large mule deer bucks up there and we could see the Black Hills over 115 miles away.

[David_and_Deb]

Thanks everyone. You are always my go to source for anything RV related and have never let me down. The rig is pulled up outside my house right now getting washed and is about ready to load. Tomorrow, we are off and I couldn't be happier.

[Busskipper]

padredw wrote:
We spent a week in Custer's Gulch campground and found it a good base camp for visiting all the sites around Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, Needle Highway, Iron Mountain Road. In fact, these are our favorite sites. Our recommendation is to focus on these and enjoy a lot of relaxing time instead of trying to cover a wider area -- but that is our opinion.

^^^^^^I AGREE^^^^^^

[padredw]

We spent a week in Custer's Gulch campground and found it a good base camp for visiting all the sites around Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, Needle Highway, Iron Mountain Road. In fact, these are our favorite sites. Our recommendation is to focus on these and enjoy a lot of relaxing time instead of trying to cover a wider area -- but that is our opinion.