I’ll be the first to admit that South Dakota wasn’t on my vacation bucket list. But I ended up there this summer on a family trip with a father and daughter: and what an amazing trip it was. It was a wonderful, amazing trip away from our usual family trips, so I wanted to share some highlights in case anyone else is interested in stepping outside of the usual beach or theme park vacation routine.
I grew up on the East Coast and now live in Florida, and haven’t spent much time in the Upper Midwest. So these scenes may seem dated to some of you. But just like our trip to the California desert earlier this year, this was a chance for us to take in some new geography.
Why We Vacationed in South Dakota
South Dakota is home to stunning landscapes, charming towns, and outdoor adventures. It is home to six major national parks, landmarks, monuments, and historic sites including Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse Memorial. It also has popular “western” towns like Sturgis, Rapid City, and the historic town of Deadwood. There is no shortage of places to explore.
But the reason we went was also personal. When my grandfather immigrated to America as a child, his family settled in South Dakota. My grandfather had moved there as a teenager, long before my father was born, so it was easy for me to forget that my family had roots in the state. So my father suggested this trip to see some of the sights and connect with extended family who still lived there.
The plan worked well to include my uncle and cousins on my mom’s side, including my cousin who is a close friend of our daughter’s—even though they live in different states. So it became a chance to give the girls some quality time together, while also getting some other family members together without forming a huge travel group. (Sheri and I also learned how great solo trips are with our kids—I highly recommend them.)
Where did we go in South Dakota?
We only spent three nights in South Dakota, so it was a fairly quick trip. However, we managed to fit in a lot of time there. 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 are our top destinations:
My daughter and I didn’t get to see much of Rapid City or Custer State Park due to our travel schedule, but the others seemed to really enjoy it. At Custer State Park, they even had to wait for a herd of buffalo to cross the road!
Where we live in South Dakota
One of my dad’s goals for this trip was to stay on a working ranch, and the trip was all but over once he found Circle View Guest Ranch. The ranch is located about 60 minutes from the Rapid City airport (where we all flew in) and only about 5 minutes from the entrance to Badlands National Park. I can’t say enough good things about this place.
It is a bed and breakfast with several rooms in the main house and a separate “sleeping house” that sleeps 8 people. There is also a rustic cottage dating back to the 1880s with no running water or electricity if you want to have a really good time! (Warning: we did not do this). All the spaces were clean, comfortable and well equipped with amenities such as coffee, books, games and even a table football and table tennis.
The highlight of the place for us adults was the breakfast we had each morning. The Cross family, who run the Circle View restaurant and live downstairs, invite all guests downstairs for a generous family breakfast in their kitchen. This photo doesn’t do it justice, but it’s the only one I got because I was too busy eating. They really outdid themselves, and I kept coming back just for the food.
As much as the kids loved breakfast (pancakes and juice), they enjoyed the farm and the animals even more. There were dogs, puppies, kittens, chickens, and even some peacocks that were squawking loudly. At one point while I was on the phone with Sherry, I heard a bird squawking in the background.
The Cross kids even showed our kids some of the chores they do, like collecting eggs and cleaning the chicken coop. I’m sure more than one of our kids wanted to sneak home and take a chicken on the plane.
Mostly it was lovely to see our daughter and her cousins having fun together against a beautiful backdrop of the Badlands.
Maybe they could have stayed at Circle View all the time, just enjoying each other’s company and chasing chickens.
What we did in South Dakota
We spent one of our days in South Dakota on a few-hour road trip to visit my dad’s cousin’s ranch. We learned more about the cattle business, visited my great-grandfather’s grave, and had a great conversation with my dad’s uncle, a WWII veteran. So while this was the high point of the trip for us personally, here are some other things we loved.
Badlands National Park
Since Circle View was so close to the park entrance, we went there (or through it) several times.
During our main visit, we took a few short (and flat) hikes from the Notch Trail parking lot. The views were stunning and the kids enjoyed climbing on the rock formations.
Even if your kids don’t like hiking, this trip was a lot of fun because it had a lot of fun terrain to explore.
Wall property
About 45 minutes from the Badlands is the town of Wall, home of the famous and vulgar Wall Drug.
It’s definitely a tourist trap, but it was still a fun stop (and lunch spot) for our group. This “store” is more like a maze-like shopping mall with souvenir shops, western paraphernalia, toys, books, and much more than we had time to explore.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
I had visited Mount Rushmore once when I was in high school on a family road trip (we also stopped at Wall Drug then), but it wasn’t until this visit that I realized it was more than just a carved mountain.
I liked the educational displays much more than my 17 year old self. It was fun to learn about the complex history and engineering behind the project. There is also a short but stair-filled trail (shown below) that provides some different angles of the site.
I can’t say this stop was a huge hit with the kids, so we probably could have spent more time in Badlands instead.
Overall, I didn’t expect to spend much more on this trip than just having a good time with my dad, cousins, and the girls – but I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it was, how many new experiences we had during our three days there, and how much fun the kids had. My dad isn’t always known for his great trip planning, but he pulled it off beautifully on this one.
Other kid-friendly trips we’ve taken
If you’re interested in our opinions on other destinations or looking for family-friendly trips, you might also enjoy these posts:
