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South Dakota, United States
Photo: John Manard, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Badlands and Black Hills are in the western part of South Dakota. This beautiful region consists of the Badlands, with canyons and rugged terrain; and the Black Hills, a mountain range with forests and the famous Mount Rushmore.
The 3,000-acre Circle View Ranch offers a unique view.
By car
Without a car, you won't go far. Interstate 90 (I-90) is the sole interstate in the region, running east-west, skirting Black Hills NF and Badlands NP to the north, and passing through Rapid City.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Rapid City · Regional · RAP
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The second-largest city in South Dakota
The Center of America
The legendary Old West frontier town
Deadwood's Twin City, home to the Historic Homesake Gold Mine
University town on the edge of the mountains
Host of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held each August
Near Jewel Cave and the Crazy Horse Memorial
The Heart of the Hills
Home to the world's largest mammoth research facility
At the base of Mount Rushmore
The eastern gateway to the Badlands on I-90
Home of the Oglala Tribe
Home of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe
Free ice water and 5¢ Coffee in only a few miles
244,000 acre of sharply eroded buttes and jagged spires that create a moon-like surface. Thousands of fossils of prehistoric creatures have been uncovered in the park. Archaeological and paleontological digs continue today, with some open to public participation.
1,200,000 acre of pine and spruce forest, granite peaks and outdoor adventure. Black Elk Peak is the highest point in the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains.
The second longest cave in the world at 217 mi. Its colorful calcite crystals create jewel-like formations giving the cave its name. The official length of Jewel Cave is continually growing as explorers find new passageways.
The Delta One Launch Control Facility and the Delta Nine Launch Facility were ideal for long-term preservation because they were among the nation’s oldest – with technology dating back to the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s. Only minor modifications have been made to the deactivated sites, and much of the original mechanical equipment and historic furnishings remain intact.
America’s “Shrine of Democracy.” In 1927, sculptor Gutzon Borglum came to the Black Hills to carve his sculpture into the side of a granite mountain. Today, visitors from all over the world come to the Black Hills of South Dakota to see the four faces of U.S. presidents.
Named for its sacred cave whose air which is either sucked in or blown out, depending on atmospheric conditions. Its thin calcite fins and honeycomb rock structures stand in contrast to the 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest and roaming buffalo above ground.
This formation of magma never erupted and looks like a giant sleeping bear. Now a state park, Bear Butte is still used as a place of worship for more than 60 Native American tribes.
With nearly 1,500 free-roaming buffalo and numerous prairie dogs, deer, bighorn sheep, pronghorns and burros. Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road offer spectacular views, unique rock tunnels and winding pigtail bridges.
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