The Road (Trip) Less Traveled: 3 Days on the Open Road in South Dakota

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The Road (Trip) Less Traveled: 3 Days on the Open Road in South Dakota

Although South Dakota is well-known as “The Mount Rushmore State,” there is much more to discover in this Midwestern gem than respectable rock faces and prairie vistas licked by buffalo.

Rich in American Indian heritage and replete with the remnants of illustrious pioneers, South Dakota caters to a wide range of interests, including history enthusiasts, travelers, thrill-seekers, and those seeking cultural immersion. Take a cue from the Great American Road Trip, hire a vintage vehicle, review the schedule below, and hit the open road to discover the breathtaking scenery and undiscovered treasures of this wild state.

The United Stories mobile studio car on the road in South Dakota

Friday

You’ve just landed in Rapid City in the early morning hours. I have too much to accomplish, though! Get up and move west. We’d be happy to lend you our 1972 El Camino, but it’s in the shop. Driving a classic American vehicle is the greatest way to see this region of the nation.

Drive for an hour to reach your first destination, Deadwood, the pinnacle of the wild, wild west, on Interstate 90. Legendary frontier scouts like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, who later made an appearance in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, rest here. Take your pick for an action-packed day in this ancient gold-mining town hidden in the Black Hills: from horse sanctuaries to hiking, historic mining museums to renowned casinos (or game halls as they were previously called), it has it all. You’ll definitely experience the vibe of a bygone era, one that was populated with gunslingers, saloon madams, pioneers, and gold fever.

The road is calling once more after an exhausting day in the gold gulch. Remount your buggy and drive south on US-385 through the verdant Black Hills National Forest toward the State Game Lodge in Custer, which serves as President Calvin Coolidge’s “Summer White House.” There’s going to be a sunrise for the books, so retreat to a luxurious log cabin or the exact hotel room where “Cool Cal” used to sleep.

The presidential faces of Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Saturday

Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln are just a 40-minute drive from Custer, so start your day there at dawn. Seeing the early golden light sweep across the features of the founding fathers at the magnificent Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the stone masterwork of sculptor Gutzon Borglum, has come to symbolize America. It is enough to turn anyone into a morning person.
Badlands National Park in South Dakota
Once your jaws have dropped enough, it’s time to enjoy yourself to the fullest in Badlands National Park. The national park’s untamed beauty, 1.5 hours east of Rushmore, beckons exploration, and its labyrinth of buttes, spires, and pinnacles makes for a dramatic backdrop for a trek or leisurely drive. Prepare your camera because the skyline is punctured by bizarre red rock deposits that retain the past.
Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota

It’s midafternoon by now, so you should locate somewhere to have lunch, satisfy your curiosity, and slake your thirst. Wall Drug is the spot to do all of these things. Located just beyond the northern entrance to Badlands, this oddball little roadside attraction has the potential to become a million-dollar idea but hasn’t garnered much attention. The original proprietors, Dorothy and Ted Hustead, initiated a self-promotion campaign that helped the pharmacy-turned-rest stop become well-known.Informing commuters that Wall Drug is just a few thousand kilometers away, billboards promoting the facility and offering “FREE ICE WATER” to thirsty passengers may be seen throughout South Dakota, its neighboring states, and as far away as Morocco, Amsterdam, and London.

Crazy Horse Memorial near Custer, South Dakota

Sunday

Back at the ranch in Custer, spend your final morning at one with nature and gear up for a game drive in the park.

Keep your eyes peeled for celebrity state critters — pronghorns, elk, and buffalo. Fun fact: Buffalo love to lick the salt off of snow-dusted cars, so if you’re traveling through in the winter months, they might get up close and personal.

Make the last place you visit before returning to Rapid City as significant and breathtaking as possible. Crazy Horse Memorial is a half-hour’s drive from the State Game Lodge in the center of the breathtaking Black Hills. It is another unfinished stone masterpiece. In 1948, Polish-American mountain carver Korczak Ziolkowski began sculpting the colossal tribute. Since his passing in 1982, multiple generations of his family have taken over, wielding the chisel and etching the family’s legacy.

In all of its incomplete and changing splendor, which includes a museum, a cultural center, and The Indian University of North America, it honors the valiant deeds of Tasunke “Crazy Horse” Witco of the Oglala Lakota tribe and maintains Native American tradition. At a staggering 563 feet high, if all goes according to plan, it will be the second-tallest sculpture in the world and show the war leader on a horse and gesturing off into the distance. Learn more about the history of the Ziolkowski family and how the Crazy Horse Memorial came to be.

Make South Dakota a must-see this year by taking the less-traveled route through immaculate forests, knee-high prairie grasslands, deserts, and mountains.