South Dakota Tourist Attractions
South Dakota Tourist Attractions
"Must See Tourist Attractions in South Dakota."
A perfect balance of scenic brilliance and a rich cultural heritage, South Dakota will call you back time and time again. The Black Hills, in the southwestern part of the state, is one of the treasures of the world. Its unique rock formations and mysterious caverns, demonstrated by such wonders as the wind caves and Crystal Cave Park are unprecedented. South Dakota's Custer State Park is filled with thousands of roaming bison and wild animals; the Badlands are another geological marvel, with ridges and cliffs covered in a blanket of white sediment. Former U.S. presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln greet visitors from the side of Mount Rushmore in Keystone. The Southeast part of South Dakota is home to many lakes and three major rivers. It is a haven for fisherman, hunters, golfers and skiers alike. Mitchell is home to the world's only Corn Palace, and De Smet preserves the heritage of Laura Ingalls Wilder of the Little House stories. Sioux Falls is South Dakota's most populated city and boasts many state parks and recreational areas.
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Four Mile Old West Town - Four Mile Old West Town offers hayride tours which allow visitors to travel through the town site while the guide narrates the way of life your ancestors lived, from the mid 1800’s into the early 1900’s, during the time the when the Black Hills were settled. Walking self-guided tours are also available.
1880 Train/Black Hills Central Railroad - The 1880 TRAIN is beyond imagination. Located near Mt. Rushmore National Monument and Crazy Horse Memorial, the locomotive offers a western experience like no other. Feel the power. Hear the bellow of the engine and the whine of the whistle as it winds it's way through the scenic hills between Hill City and Keystone... and back again.
Bear Country USA - Bear Country U.S.A. features the world's largest private collection of North American Black Bear. You will also encounter wolves, mountain lions, elk, buffalo, deer, bighorn and dall sheep, Rocky Mountain goats and much more… all roaming free in their natural habitat.
Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns - Experience a world unlike any other. Knowledgeable and friendly guides lead you through subterranean, crystalline passages in the Paha Sapa limestone. Marvel at the world's most extensive display of dog-tooth spar crystal. Peer into the still, clear water of Diamond Lake. Visit the famous French Chandelier room, Crystal Palace, and Rainbow Arch.
Wall Drug - Wall Drug is one stop you won't want to miss when traveling in South Dakota. Stop and see us! Have a bite to eat . . . look at all the memorabilia . . . enjoy the art gallery . . . there's shopping galore . . . have fun with the kids in the big Back Yard.
Parade of Presidents Historical Wax Museum - Located in the shadow of Mount Rushmore in the historic town of Keystone, the Parade of Presidents is an impressive highlight on any traveler's itinerary. Witness the history of American Democracy from its inception. The entire family will enjoy America's heritage in wax! This unique museum features incredibly realistic, life-sized wax figures of every President of the U.S.
Mammoth Site Museum - Travel back to the time when Ice Age mammoth, camel, and giant short-faced bear roamed the Great Plains of South Dakota.
The Journey Museum - The Journey Museum brings together four major prehistoric and historic collections to tell the complete story of the Western Great Plains - from the perspective of the Lakota people and the pioneers who shaped its past, to the scientists who now study it.
Grand River Museum - The Grand River Museum maintains collections devoted to paleontological and cultural aspects of the Grand River region of South Dakota and their goal is to become a regional center of paleontologic and ethnographic studies.
Reptile Gardens - Exhibiting the World's Largest Reptile Collection living among rare and beautiful minerals, fossils, and sculptures. The Sky Dome features the nation's first walk-through jungle filled with lizards, crocodiles, harmless snakes, parrots, and hundreds of stunning orchids and tropical plants.
Beautiful Rushmore Cave - Beautiful Rushmore Cave is the area's largest stalactite cave and the closest cave to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. The one hour tour winds through a series of rooms and passages, the most stunning of which is the BIG ROOM. This legendary room contains thousands of salactites, stalagmites, ribbons, helectites, columns and other breathtaking cave formations.National Museum of Woodcarving - Visit One of the Most Unique Museums in America! Educational, Entertaining and Unique Works for Everyone. Visitors can enjoy The Wooden Nickel Theater, Over 30 scenes created by an original animator of Disneyland, a Carving Studio, display of many nationally recognized woodcarvers National Museum Gallery, gift shop, snack bar and lots more.
Crazy Horse Memorial - The Crazy Horse memorial features the Crazy Horse mountain carving now in progress which will be the world’s largest sculpture (563' high, 641' long, carved in the round). The huge visitor complex also includes the beautiful Indian Museum, Educational and Cultural Center, the sculptor’s studio-home and workshop, and much more.
Black Hills Caverns - Black Hills Caverns is a huge cave, with a fantastic variety of formations including Logomites, Stalagmites, Stalactites, Helictites, Rare Frost Crystal, Purple Amethyst, Flowstone, Dogtooth Spar Crystal, Boxwork, Cave Flower, Soda Straw Stalactites, Columns, Draperies, Popcorn Crystal, Nailhead Spar Crystal and many more!
Flintstone's Bedrock City - Bedrock comes alive in this modern Stone-Age setting of fun-filled buildings and play areas. Tour Fred's Bedrock City. Ride the Flintmobile and Iron Horse Train. See Mt. Rockmore and enjoy the new Flintstone Trio Show. Then romp on the playground's Slideasaurus. A Gift Shop, Drive-in and Campground are also located within the facility.
High Plains Heritage Center Museum - The center is a five state regional museum founded to honor the old west pioneers and the Native Americans of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska. View fantastic exhibits of Western art, artifacts and memorabilia including the original Spearfish to Deadwood stagecoach, outdoor log cabin, school house, sod house, blacksmith shop and more.
Rushmore Tramway - Ride up to a beautiful alpine landscape: get off on top to see impressive rock formations, waterfalls, flowers, and panoramic views. Have a cold drink or a bite to eat as you take in the unique view of Mt. Rushmore from this scenic mountain top setting. Breathe in the fragrance of the pines as you take a relaxing stroll through this beautiful Black Hills mountain-garden setting.
Adams Museum & House - The Adams Museum in Deadwood is the oldest history museum in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Pioneer businessman W.E. Adams built the museum in 1930 as a memorial to his family and to honor the early pioneers that settled the Black Hills. The Adams House, built in 1892, is an elegant Victorian mansion which became the Adams House Museum on July 1, 2000.
SD Discovery Center & Aquarium - 'The South Dakota Discovery Center provides interactive exhibits and hands-on science activities that are fun and educational.'
Thunder Road Family Fun Park - If speed is your ticket, race right over to the most dynamic go-kart tracks in the Dakotas. The tracks feature banked corners, hairpin turns, and endless racing fun for all members of your family. Adventure golf and bumper boats are also available.
Dacotah Prairie Museum - The Dacotah Prairie Museum of Aberdeen, South Dakota mounts both long and short-term exhibits concerning the prairie; early settlers, their lives and lifestyles; the railroad and its influence on settlement; and Native American life. Step back into the past with us today!
Redlin Art Center - This remarkable building and the paintings within were donated to the city of Watertown as a gift from world famous artist, Terry Redlin.State Agricultural Heritage Museum - The South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum is a great place to visit and enjoy the history of the Dakota prairie. The museum is a powerful resource for all aspects of the rich history that South Dakota has proudly carried for many generations.
W. H. Over State Museum - Preserving and interpreting the heritage of South Dakota and its people is the Museum's mission. Founded in 1883, the Museum began as a study collection in the natural sciences at what is now the University of South Dakota . This is the state's largest collection of natural and cultural history.
Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science - The Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science is the region’s newest and largest cultural and entertainment center. The Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science includes the Husby Performing Arts Center, the Kirby Science Discovery Center and its Wells Fargo CineDome Theater, the Visual Arts Center, the Discovery Store and Leonardo’s Café.
Wild Water West - South Dakota's largest waterpark and family amusement park. Over 50 acres of non-stop fun!Corn Palace - The World's Only Corn Palace is an outstanding structure which stands as a tribute to the agricultural heritage of South Dakota.
Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum - The Great Plains Zoo is home to over 400 animals that will entertain the whole family.
Smith-Zimmermann Heritage Museum - The museum's collections and exhibits focus on the ethnic history of the early settlements in Lake County and surrounding regions in eastern South Dakota from 1860 to the present.
Badlands National Park - Located in southwestern South Dakota, Badlands National Park consists of acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. The Badlands Wilderness Area covers 64,000 acres and is the site of the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret, the most endangered land mammal in North America. The Stronghold Unit is co-managed with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and includes sites of 1890s Ghost Dances.
Jewel Cave National Monument - With more than 122 miles surveyed, Jewel Cave is recognized as the third longest cave in the world. Airflow within its passages indicates a vast area yet to be explored. Cave tours provide opportunities for viewing this pristine cave system and its wide variety of speleothems including stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, frostwork, flowstone, boxwork and hydromagnesite balloons. The cave is an important hibernaculum for several species of bats.
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail - This site celebrates the heroic expedition of the Corps of Discovery, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark. Thirty three people traveled with them into unknown territory, starting near what is now known as Wood River, Illinois in 1804, reaching the Pacific Ocean in 1805 and returning in 1806.
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site - Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (NHS) is one of our newest additions to the National Park System, established on December 2, 1999. Located in western South Dakota, Minuteman Missile is not yet open to the public; however, the National Park Service is already at work developing educational materials to help the public better understand the future plans for the Site and to gather information and perspectives from an international audience on the complex story of the Cold War. The Site consists of a Launch Control Center (an above ground facility attached to a subterranean capsule which contained two Air Force officers, awaiting the command to launch nuclear warfare) and a Launch Facility, also known as a missile silo. Although the tangible resource relates directly to the Minuteman Missile program, the story of the site will include the larger issues of the Cold War era.
Missouri National Recreation Area - Two stretches of the Missouri River are protected here. The portion set aside in 1978 from Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota, to Ponca, Nebraska, still exhibits the river's dynamic character in its islands, bars and chutes. The portion set aside in 1991 from Ft. Randall Dam near Pickstown, South Dakota, to Niobrara, Nebraska, represents the natural landscape of the Missouri River, reminiscent of pre-settlement days. Included are the lower 20 miles of the Niobrara River, and the lower eight miles of Verdigre Creek. In both segments native flood plain forest, tall and mixed grass prairie, and the river, provide habitat for several endangered and threatened bird and fish species.Mount Rushmore National Memorial - Mount Rushmore memorializes the birth, growth, preservation and development of the United States of America. Between 1927 and 1941, Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the 60-foot busts of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the first 150 years of American history. Visitors to the memorial come primarily to view the granite sculpture itself, but also of interest is the Sculptor's Studio built under the direction of the artist, Gutzon Borglum, in 1939. Unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting process are displayed there.
Wind Cave National Park - One of the world's longest and most complex caves and 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest, and associated wildlife are the main features of the park. The cave is well known for its outstanding display of boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs. The park's mixed grass prairie is one of the few remaining and is home to native wildlife such as bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer