Top 10 Reasons to Visit South Dakota: From Mount Rushmore to the Badlands

Top 10 Reasons to Visit South Dakota

1. Mount Rushmore National Memorial – Iconic presidential sculptures in the Black Hills.
2. Custer State Park – 71,000 acres with free-roaming bison, scenic drives (Needles Highway), and hiking.
3. Crazy Horse Memorial – Ongoing mountain carving honoring the Lakota leader; will be world's largest.
4. Deadwood – Historic Gold Rush town with casinos, museums, and Wild West reenactments.
5. Badlands National Park – Otherworldly eroded buttes, canyons, and fossil beds.
6. Spearfish Canyon – Waterfalls, limestone cliffs, trout fishing, and rock climbing.
7. The 1880 Train – Vintage steam train between Keystone and Hill City through the Black Hills.
8. The Mammoth Site – Active paleontological dig in Hot Springs with over 100 mammoth remains.
9. South Dakota Air and Space Museum – Aircraft and missiles at Ellsworth AFB (Box Elder).
10. South Dakota State Capitol – Beautiful neoclassical building in Pierre with free tours.