Do Big Things in Rapid City. Surrounded by bucket list-worthy experiences, like Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, everyday has big potential for big memories. Rapid City offers the perfect home base for your Black Hills area parks, monuments and memorials tour with a vibrant main street America experience, unique attractions and urban pleasures including accommodations, restaurants and shopping.
Top Activities
Mt. Rushmore National Memorial: America’s Shrine of Democracy, Mount Rushmore National Memorial features 60-foot faces of four great American presidents who represent 150 years of the birth, growth, development and preservation of this country. In 2016, celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Completion of Mount Rushmore and the National Park Service Centennial.
Crazy Horse Memorial: Korczak Ziolkowski began work on Crazy Horse Memorial in 1948. Once complete, this tribute to the Oglala Lakota Sioux leader will be the largest mountain carving in the world. The on-site Indian Museum of North American and the Native American Educational & Cultural Center also provide educational and cultural programming.
Custer State Park encompasses 71,000 acres of spectacular terrain bordering the Black Hills National Forest. Discover an abundance of wildlife, including pronghorn antelope, big horn sheep, elk, prairie dogs and over 1,000 head of bison. Scenic drives mixed with unlimited outdoor activities make this Park a world of adventure!
Badlands National Park boasts a rugged geological landscape containing one of the world’s richest fossil beds and 244,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets roam. Here sunrise and sunsets are hard to beat. Don’t miss the Ben Reifel Visitors Center.
Downtown Rapid City provides a vibrant Main Street America experience to complement a Black Hills adventure with urban pleasures like great local restaurants and an assortment of boutiques and shops. Do Big Things by discovering unique attractions, a spirited art scene, museums and galleries, Native American history, and much more!
Ideas for First Time Visitors:
- Mt. Rushmore National Memorial
- Crazy Horse Memorial
- Custer State Park
- Rapid City including The City of Presidents
- Historic Deadwood
- Badlands National Park
- Four nights in superior accommodations in Rapid City
Ideas for Repeat Visitors:
- Central Hills – Black Hills Central Railroad 1880 Train
- Rapid City – The secret to our signature Black Hills Gold™ jewelry at Landstroms Mt. Rushmore Gold.
- Southern Hills – Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary
- Deadwood – Quick Draw Lessons
Special Events
Tapun Sa Win Exhibit at The Journey Museum & Learning Center
According to Lakota legend, long ago there was a beautiful young woman who married a star and went to live with him in the sky. Near the due date for the birth of her baby, she inadvertently created a hole in the sky through which she could see her relatives on earth. This made her lonesome so she braided a rope to descend to them. The Tapun Sa Win exhibit focuses on a short narrative based in part on a story by James LaPointe (Oglala Lakota), that is in his 1976 book, Legends of the Lakota. Our exhibit divides the 1,095-word narrative into seven “passages.”
One innovative aspect of this exhibit is that each of the passages will be interpreted by four types of artworks—a 2-D artwork, a 3-D artwork, a poem and a song—thereby creating what we are calling “vignettes.” These seven vignettes will recount the Tapun Sa Win narrative using the passages along with artworks by 28 contemporary Lakota artists: seven poets, seven painters, seven musicians and seven 3-dimension artists.
Naja Shrine Circus
The legendary three-ring spectacle is coming to town! Come see the acrobats, wild animals, and clowns.
There will be performances on Friday, May 5th, Saturday, May 6th, and Sunday, May 7th.
Showtimes:
May 5 – 1pm & 7pm
May 6 – 1pm & 7pm
May 7 – 2pm
2017 NCS State Cup & SD Presidents Cup
The South Dakota State Cup is the first step in the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series. Winners advance to the Midwest Regional Championships. The South Dakota President’s Cup is the first step in the US Youth Soccer National President’s Cup tournament series. Winners of the SD President’s Cup will represent the state at the Region II President’s Cup in Overland Park, KS.
Local Transportation
Stagecoach West / Mt. Rushmore Tours: Stagecoach West charter service offers transportation for groups of all sizes. Whether your group is small or large, half day or full trips, across the country or across town, we’re the company for you. Our trained and knowledgeable bus drivers are the best in the Black Hills and take pride in what they do.
Dakota Bus: Dakota Trailways is your Dakota charter and tour bus rental company! Providing safe and affordable transportation for small or large group for over fifty years. Enjoyable and dependable, drivers are caring and highly trained!
Harlow’s Trailways is a family owned and operated full service transportation provider. With a fleet of luxury motorcoaches, we can easily accommodate a short trip to a local attraction or a cross-country trip.
Distance from Major Airports
- Rapid City Regional Airport – 12 miles
Local Tour Guides
Affordable Adventures: Tell us what you need! Tours, transportation, convention and reunion services with historic and cultural emphasis for motorcoach as well as smaller groups. Knowledgeable, professional guides. Creative and flexible service. English spoken. Contact: Ann Thompson, [email protected]
ABS Travel Group offers personalized group itineraries/packages and premium sightseeing tours throughout the Black Hills Region and into Yellowstone National Park/Grand Tetons. Small/large groups welcome. English spoken. Contacts: Stuart Hall, [email protected] and Gemma Hall, [email protected]
Black Hills Adventure Tours is not your average tour company. Experience the Black Hills and Western South Dakota first hand, up close and personal. Adventure and cultural experts. English spoken. Contact: Carrie Bowers, [email protected]
GeoFunTrek combines art and science into an entertaining and intelligent tale, offering insights, not just the sites. Touring experiences are unique, intelligent and intimate. Contact us for a custom experience. English spoken. Contact: Jon Esposti, [email protected]
Mt. Rushmore Tours / Stagecoach West: Experience a fully-narrated tour of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park and more. Will customize based on your group’s needs. Group rates or comps for driver/escort. English spoken. Contact: Debb Bakken, [email protected]