I’ll be the first to admit that South Dakota wasn’t high on my vacation bucket list. But I ended up there this summer on a dad-and-daughter trip I took with some family members: and WOW, we loved it. It was a surprising and wonderful departure from our usual family trips, so I wanted to share some highlights in case anyone else is interested in breaking out of the more typical beach or theme park vacation routine.
Growing up on the East Coast and now living in Florida, I haven’t spent much time in the upper Midwest. So these sights may be old hat for some of you. But just like our trip to the California desert earlier this year, this was a chance for us to soak up some new-to-us geography.
Why We Vacationed In South Dakota
South Dakota is home to lots of epic vistas, charming towns, and outdoor adventures. They have six major national parks, monuments, memorials, and historic sites including Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore, and the Crazy Horse Memorial. There are also iconic “Western” towns like Sturgis, Rapid City, and Historic Deadwood. So there’s no shortage of places to explore.
But our reason for going was also personal. When my grandfather immigrated to America as a kid, his family landed in South Dakota. He moved away as a teen, long before my father was born, so it has been easy to forget that my family has roots in the state. So my dad suggested this trip to see some sights AND reconnect with extended family still living there.
The plan blossomed to include my uncle and cousins on my mom’s side, including one cousin whose daughter is close friends with our daughter – even though they live several states apart. So it became a chance to give the girls quality time together, while some other family members got together without being too huge of a travel group. (Sherry and I have also learned how great one-on-one trips with our kids can be – highly recommend).
Where Did We Go In South Dakota
We were only in South Dakota for 3 nights, so it was a pretty quick trip. Still, we managed to squeeze in a lot. My dad and uncle were in charge of the itinerary (which was a nice change of pace for me) and they did a great job of making the most of our time there. Here were our main destinations:
- Downtown Rapid City
- Circle View Guest Ranch
- Badlands National Park (seen below)
- Wall Drug in Wall, SD
- Mount Rushmore
- Custer State Park
- My extended family’s cattle ranch
Our daughter and I didn’t get to see much of Rapid City or Custer State Park because of our flight schedule, but the others seemed to really enjoy them. At Custer State Park they even had to wait for a herd of buffalo to cross the road!
Where We Stayed In South Dakota
One of my dad’s goals with the trip was to stay on a working farm and the whole trip came together once he found Circle View Guest Ranch. It’s about 60 minutes from the Rapid City Airport (where we all flew in) and just about 5 minutes outside the entrance to Badlands National Park. I can’t say enough good things about this place.
It’s a bed & breakfast with several rooms in the main house and a separate “bunkhouse” that sleeps 8. There’s also an 1880s homestead cabin with no running water or electricity if you want to really rough it! (spoiler alert: we didn’t). The spaces were all clean, comfortable, and more than well-stocked with amenities like coffee, books, games, and even foosball and ping pong.
The highlight for us adults was the breakfast every morning. The Kruse family, who operate Circle View and live on the lower level, invite all guests downstairs for a generous hearty family-style breakfast in their kitchen. This picture does not do it justice, but it’s the only one I got because I was too busy stuffing my face. They truly outdo themselves and I would come back for the food alone.
As much as the kids loved the breakfast (pancakes! smoothies!), they enjoyed the farm and the animals even more. There were dogs, puppies, cats, chickens, and even some hilariously vocal peacocks roaming around. At one point while I was on the phone with Sherry, one was screaming in the background.
The Kruse children even showed our collective kids some of the chores they do, like gathering eggs and cleaning out the chicken coops. I’m pretty sure more than one of our kids wanted to sneak a chicken home on the airplane.
Mostly it was nice seeing our daughter and her cousins having fun together against the beautiful backdrop of the Badlands.
They probably could’ve stayed at Circle View the whole time, just enjoying each other’s company and chasing chickens around.
What We Did In South Dakota
One of our days in South Dakota was mostly spent road-tripping a few hours to visit my dad’s cousin’s ranch. We learned a bit more about the cattle business, visited my great-grandfather’s grave, and had a fascinating chat with my dad’s uncle, who is a WWII vet. So while that was a high point of the trip for us personally, here are the other things we loved.
Horseback Riding
I’m largely indifferent to horses, so I almost opted out of this activity. I’m SO GLAD I didn’t. Just down the road from Circle View Ranch, another family member operates a small horseback riding excursion (we coordinated it through our hosts). She leads you on a gentle hour-ish ride on the outskirts of Badlands National Park. I can’t remember the last time I was on a horse (if ever) and it was a comfortable, easy ride.
My photos don’t capture how beautiful and serene it was, especially since we caught an especially vibrant bloom of yellow sweet clover. The wild thing about this trip is that so many of the photos we came home with made Sherry say: this doesn’t even look like it was taken in the US! What is this, the Netherlands!?!
Badlands National Park
Since Circle View was so close to the park entrance, we went there (or through it) a few times.
During our main visit, we did a couple of short (and flat) hikes from the Notch Trail parking lot. The views were spectacular and the kids loved scrambling up the rock formations.
Even if your kids don’t love hiking, these were crowdpleasers because there was so much fun terrain to explore.
Wall Drug
About 45 minutes from Badlands is the town of Wall, home to the famous and kitschy Wall Drug.
It’s definitely a bit of a tourist trap, but it was still a fun stop (and lunch spot) for our group. This “drugstore” is more like a maze-like mall with souvenir shops, western gear, toys, books, and much more than we had time to explore.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
I had visited Mount Rushmore once in high school on a family road trip (we’d also stopped at Wall Drug then), but it wasn’t until this visit that I realized it’s more than just a carved mountain.
40-something me appreciated the educational displays MUCH more than 17-year-old me did. It was interesting to learn the complicated history and engineering behind the project. There’s also a short but stair-heavy hike (seen below) that offers some different angles of the site.
I wouldn’t say this stop was a huge hit with the kids, so we could’ve probably spent more time in Badlands instead.
Overall, I didn’t go into this trip expecting much more than just some quality time for my dad, cousins, and the girls – but I was so pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it was, how many new experiences we crammed into our three days there, and how much fun the kids had. My dad isn’t always known for his trip planning, but he knocked this one out of the park.
Other Kid-Friendly Trips We’ve Taken
If you’re interested in our take on other destinations or are in search of family-friendly trips, you might also enjoy these posts:
- New Orleans With Kids
- Palm Springs, California with Kids
- A Weekend in Charleston, South Carolina with Kids
- 2 Days In St. Petersburg, Florida with Kids
- Our Trip to Mexico with Kids… and a Dog!
- Costa Rica with Kids
- Hawaii with a Toddler
- A Guide to Our (Former) Beach Town: Cape Charles, Virginia
- Our Favorite Activities, Shops, & Eats in Richmond, Virginia
- Celebrating 10 Years of Marriage in Puerto Rico
- Our Favorite Spring Break Trip Yet
