Mount Rushmore / Hill City KOA

Most people come to the Black Hills to see Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse, which are spectacular monuments. However, there is so much more to see and do in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Here are some suggestions of day trips, all within a day drive from Mt Rushmore Hill City KOA. Take advantage of our concierge service or any staff member from front staff to maintenance. Many of our staff members spend their time off exploring the Black Hills themselves. For our guests this means, we KNOW where the great places to eat for your money, and we pride ourselves on being the king and queens of buffets, plus where to get the most educational fun for your children.

The Basic Tour--- Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Needles Highway, Custer State Park And Norbeck Reserve

Note: The roads and tunnels on this route are quite narrow, so leave your RV and rent one of our cars or mini-vans from the car rentals. The concierge desk will also have a map that tells you the exact dimensions of these tunnels.

Leave the campground fairly early, after filling up with all you can eat pancakes at our pancake tent. Turn right on Hwy 244, then left on Hwy 385, and follow Highway 385 to Crazy Horse.

Crazy Horse http://www.crazyhorse.org is a work in progress mountain started in 1939 by Korczak Ziolkowski. Korczak has since passed away but has left all his designs and ideas in detail to his wife, Ruth and nine children, who carry on the traditional and skill of their father today. Guests should plan on around two hours to explore the Sculpture's museum and the Native American museum with art filled rooms and traditional handmade bead work being made right there. Visitors to the mountain can take away a part of the mountain; rocks blasted from the mountain are available in the orientation center, to remember their day.

Return to Hwy. 385 by turning right out of the Crazy Horse Avenue of Chiefs, back track a few miles and turn right on Hwy. 87 (Needles Highway).

Needles Highway is a spectacular drive through sky-piercing granite columns. Visitors will also be treated to Sylvan Lake, where the trail begins for the easiest hike to Harney Peak.

Needles Highway goes into Custer State Park and follows Highway 87 into the Park and continues on to the Wildlife Loop.

On the Wildlife loop, the biggest sight is the park's 1500 buffalo herd. You can also see prairie dogs, proghorn, donkeys and many many more.

After finishing the wildlife loop, stop at the State Game Lodge for lunch and visit the "summer white house" of President Coolidge.

From the State Game Lodge continue on Highway 16A up Iron Mountain Road.

Iron Mountain Road was "mapped out" by Peter Norbeck. The significance of this Highway, besides the beautiful view of the forest, is the three tunnels, which two will frame Mt. Rushmore and the pigtail bridges.

Turn right at the end of Iron Mountain Road into Keystone to the National Presidential Wax Museum. http://blackhillsbadlands.com/presidential "Where History Hails the Chief" is a wax museum of all U.S. Presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush.

Leave Keystone and follow Highway to Mt. Rushmore.

Mt. Rushmore http://www.nps.gov/moru . Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began drilling into the 5,725-foot mountain in 1927. Creation of the Shrine of Democracy took 14 years and cost a mere $1 million dollars, though it's now deemed priceless. You will want to spend some time at this unbelievable monument of 150 years of this countries history.

Go right out of Mt. Rushmore and travel Highway 244 until you're back home at the Mt. Rushmore/Hill City KOA.

The Rapid City Area

The Rapid City area is featured on the third day. On the way to Rapid City, you will see Bear Country, Reptile Gardens, and the Black Hills Maze. In Rapid City, visit the Journey Museum, Storybook Island Children’s Park, Stavkirke’s Chapel in the Hills, and Dinosaur Park. East of Rapid City, the Air and Space Museum is located at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Fifty miles East on I-90 is the famous Wall Drug and the Badlands National Park.

Deadwood Via 385 - Gold mining, fishing, musuems, cemetaries, and gambling. Go back to the Old West with characters like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane

Guests can enjoy some sleeping in time for this day trip plan on leaving around 10:00 am by going right out of the campground on Hwy 244, turn right on Hwy 385/16 into Hill City.

Continue on Highway out of Hill City; at Junction 16-385 turn left on Highway 385. Settle in for a beautiful drive passed breathtaking sites like Pactola Lake. Guests may like to stop at the Circle B Ranch Chuckwagon Supper and Music Show http://circle-b-ranch.com to make reservation for dinner that evening for a toe stompin good time.

Does someone in the group like to fish or likes to eat fish? Stop at Trout Haven for lunch. They will furnish equipment, bait, everything with no license needed. Then their full menu Pier Cafe will fry your catch, or pack your trout to go. Catching the fish takes no time at all!!!

Continue on Hwy 385 till the Deadwood-Lead junction. Turn left into Lead to visit the Homestake Visitor Center Gold Mine located at 106 W. Main St. http://www.homestaketour.com Begin your day learning how the Gold Rush started.

Leave Lead and continue back on the Highway into Deadwood. http://www.deadwood.org. Upon, entering Deadwood it will look like a small town in South Dakota but all of the sudden bump bump bump don't worry you do not have a flat your just traveling on a cobblestone road. Park your car and take advantage of Deadwood's city Trolley. At this point you have some choices gaming is everywhere in this Old West Town or you can take advantage of the many museums. Adams Museum and House http://www.adamsmuseumandhouse.org is a favorite along with Mt Moriah Cemetery, the Bullock Motel is haunted, and Kevin Costner has a museum here. Deadwood is also a staff favorite for their many delicious buffets.

Stay right here!!!

Sleep in, eat pancakes, play mini-golf, take some trips down the waterslide, hike, rent a bike, play basketball, go shopping, eat fudge, have some ice cream, take the bus to the evening lighting ceremonies, the choices are endless. What is great about Mt Rushmore/Hill City KOA is the kids can run and play while the parents relax.

Explore Hill City and Keystone

Start the day in Hill City touring the town's several fine art galleries: Jon Crane's Watercolor Gallery, http://joncranewatercolors.com, Spring Creek Traders, Deborah Carroll's Snow Creek Gallery and Randy Berger's Warrior's Works Studio and Gallery to name a few. Visit Everything Prehistoric http://www.everythingprehistoric.com a free museum with Stan, a real T. Rex! Shopping is in abundance here. When through exploring Hill City hop on the 1880 train http://www.1880train.com (make reservations earlier) to an breathtaking trip to Keystone through some 'back country' of the Hills. Once their plan on spending a couple of hours visiting their shops and museums including Borglum Historical Center http://rushmoreborglum.com and National Presidential Wax Museum http://blackhillsbadlands.com/presidential. The taffy sold in the Dakota Store on the campground is actually made in Keystone, the smell in that shop is utterly out of this world. Take a trip on a scenic chair life and take a thrilling ride down a sensational slide at the President's Alpine Slide http://www.presidentsslide.com. Next, play a game of historically fun mini-golf at the Holy Terror Mini-golf http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/holyterror next to the President's Wax Museum.

And there's more...

These are a few examples of things to see and do in the Black Hills there are tons more. Wild Horse Sanctuary, Evans Plunge, Journey Museum, Reptile Gardens, Wade's Gold Mine, Old McDonald's Farm, plus the many caves to explore are just a few examples. Check out our links page at http://palmergulch.com for more ideas or stop in the office and ask any of the staff.