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September 3, 2010 1:22 PM

Wanted: suggestions for things to see in NE Wyoming and western South Dakota.

Greetings. The wife and I are going to take a road trip through NE Wyoming and western South Dakota. What are the don't miss places?

Places we are going already: Devil's Tower, Deadwood, the Badlands.
Places we will avoid: Mt. Rushmore

We're going to do some camping/hiking, and we like small funky towns like Red Lodge, MT, for those of you who are familiar, or larger cities. For instance, has anyone been to Rapid City, SD?

We'll have about six days for our trip. Thanks!

posted by elder18 to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total)

The Corn Palace is good for kitsch.
Paleo Park is good if you want to dig up dinosaur bones.
posted by phunniemee at 1:33 PM on September 3, 2010

My SO and I just got through driving through there a couple of weeks ago. We skipped the Corn Palace (if you check my road trip thread from last month, a couple of people said it was forgettable), but we went to Wall Drug (cool in a "I can't believe this exists" kind of way, and the donuts are good). We skipped Deadwood because it seemed like it was just a bunch of casinos. The badlands and Devil's Tower were totally awesome and shouldn't be missed. We actually enjoyed Mt. Rushmore a lot more than we thought we would; it was cool to see the variety of people there, including first-gen and second-gen immigrant families, and think about what it really means to be American instead of what Sarah Palin and her ilk think it means. Rapid City seemed a lot more cosmopolitan by comparison to the rest of S.D. (although still not very by coastal standards), there was a restaurant there called Botticelli that was pretty good and had fresh ingredients and a somewhat forward-looking chef.
posted by matildaben at 1:49 PM on September 3, 2010

Best answer: Spearfish, which is just northwest of Rapid, is a nice little college town, but its claim to fame is Spearfish Canyon, which is stunningly beautiful this time of year. The canyon is the location of Roughlock Falls, as well as Spearfish Canyon Lodge. Rustic and outdoorsy, but with a touch of class. It's very much worth your time.

Also, Hill City is kind of a hip little mountain town in the southern hills. It's a little touristy, but it has some nice art galleries featuring local artists. There's a quaint little German restaurant there called The Alpine Inn, which is hugely popular with locals and tourists alike.

I live in Rapid City, so if you want more details, directions, etc, memail me.
posted by SamanthaK at 2:13 PM on September 3, 2010

The Black Hills (near Mt Rushmore) are surprisingly beautiful. I only drove through, so I don't have a specific recommendation, but if I had known ahead of time how nice that part of the state is, I would have planned to stop.

If you are into kitsch at all, Wall Drug is kind of obligatory.
posted by AV at 2:56 PM on September 3, 2010

If you enjoy natural history, The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs blew my mind. It's the excavation of a gajillion mammoths, sabre tooth tigers, etc.
posted by artifarce at 3:57 PM on September 3, 2010

Mickelson Trail
Badlands National Park
Big Horn Medicine Wheel
Little Big Horn Battlefied

(Some of those might be a bit far afield, depending on where exactly you'll be.)
posted by flug at 4:51 PM on September 3, 2010

The national grasslands in Eastern Wyoming are a nice drive, too -- a very different experience from the Black Hills or the Badlands (both excellent drives as well), but a good environment to see to get the full range of what the empty prairies were like. Make sure you've got a full tank of gas, though -- there's not much there inside the grasslands (I believe there's a sign that says, "last chance for gas").
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:56 PM on September 3, 2010

The hike up Bear Butte is nice.

A visit to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is always worthwhile. Some recreation options here, but also see Wounded Knee, Red Cloud's Grave, Red Cloud School Heritage Center, etc.
posted by flug at 5:13 PM on September 3, 2010

The Badlands are the highlight of this route, for sure.

Mt. Rushmore is terrific. I think until you see it physically you don't really believe that such a crazy object can actually exist. Just as crazy is the Crazy Horse Memorial, worth a trip when you're in the neighborhood.

I had a very good meal years ago at Melinda's, in Sheridan, WY.
posted by escabeche at 6:20 PM on September 3, 2010

You could go find the buffalo herd in Custer State Park. Camp, too, if you'd like. There's no electricity at the campgrounds in the park, but there are a bunch of different choices (my favorite is Center Lake) and some are first-come, first-serve daily. Make sure to drive the Needles on your way.

Also, Rushmore is my favorite movie, and South Dakota is my home state, and for some reason, I never link the two. Weird. (The Black Hills Playhouse is my Rushmore, Max.)
posted by lauranesson at 1:01 AM on September 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

And OH! Jewel Cave is magnificent and amazing.
posted by lauranesson at 1:05 AM on September 4, 2010

I can't stop! If you get a chance, do see Jalan Crossland play. I think he's one of the best things to ever come out of Wyoming, and he usually has shows around where you'll be.
posted by lauranesson at 1:07 AM on September 4, 2010

Minuteman Missile national historic site! Completely great.

Avoiding Mt. Rushmore is silly, imho. It's not nearly as tacky as you might think, and the sculptor's studio is pretty interesting.

The Homestake Mine in Lead is sort of interesting--I wouldn't detour to see it.

Rapid City is the "big" city until you get to Billings. If you like Red Lodge, you might like Spearfish or Belle Fourche.

And you can search for any rodeos along the way.

And wineries--I quite like the crabapple from Prairie Berry.

If you drink coffee--I hate to say this, but McDonalds is superior to any local place in all of South Dakota.
posted by Ideefixe at 4:16 PM on September 4, 2010