3-day itinerary for trip to Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, and Custer State Park

3-day itinerary for trip to Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, and Custer State Park

*Plan for 3 full days, not including travel time. I could recommend adding an extra 2 days for travel days*

Day 1- Mt. Rushmore & Crazy Horse

Link to Mt Rushmore Website

Link to Crazy Horse Website 

9am- Wake up, have breakfast, get ready, get into car.

11am- Arrive at Mt. Rushmore

            Price to get in is $10 (good for 1 year)

            Take a walk down the flags and to the viewpoint of Mt. Rushmore

            Presidential Trail Loop- .9 miles, takes about 45 mins stopping and taking pictures time                          included.

            Museum at Mt. Rushmore (free) and it takes you through the process of creating Mt.Rushmore

1:30pm- Leave Mt. Rushmore and break for lunch at any of the cafes located at the national monument OR leave and find a place.

            A couple of good places to stop in Keystone are:

                        Boss’ Burgers & Cheesesteaks

                        Jane’s Boardwalk Pizza

                        Powder House Restaurant

3:30pm- Visit Crazy Horse Memorial

            $35 to enter…. Not as big as Mt. Rushmore but worth it if you are willing to pay

            Should take up about an hour of your time.

4:30- That is all! Rest of the day is yours to visit another place you find or just relax!

 

Day 2- Custer State Park

Link to Custer State Park Website 

9am- Wake up, have breakfast, get ready, and get into car and head to the park.

11am- Arrive at Custer State Park. Fee to get in is $20 and it is good for 7 days of access.

I recommend doing the Black Elk Peak loop. It is 7.1 miles total, BUT the views are amazing and so worth it. Some things to consider while doing this and planning for this hike are- bring LOTS of water, most of the trail is uphill in rocks, take lots of breaks, and bring some protein bars to eat once you get to the top. I am a regular hiker (7 miles is not a lot for me) and I struggled on it. Just keep that in mind, but don’t let that derail you for doing this hike! This hike took me about 3.5 hours.

2:30pm- Sylvan Lake

when you are done with the hike there is a lake, Sylvan Lake, which is a great place to relax and cool off in/by and have a picnic at.

If you are adventurous (which this is against their rules too) people will be cliff diving at this lake and at other random places throughout the park. It is super fun, but always make sure you know how deep the water is where you are jumping!

3:30pm- That’s all! Enjoy the rest of the day at Custer State Park and relaxing the rest of the evening.

 

Day 3- The Badlands

Link to the Badlands Website 

9am- Wake up, have breakfast, get ready, and get into car and head to the badlands! (if you are staying in or near Keystone it should take about 1.5 hours to get to the Badlands).

12pm- arrive at The Badlands. I recommend entering through the Northeast entrance.

            The entrance fee at The Badlands is $30

REMEMBER- this is a super amazing park, and you can climb ANYWHERE you want!! (Unless otherwise stated at the park) this is how you will be able to see even cooler viewpoints.

Here are a couple of places that I highly recommend stopping at (There are LOTS of stops on the drive through the park, but these are the ones I found most breath taking):

·        Big Badlands Overlook- this is an amazing view I highly recommend

·        The Ben Reifel Visitors Center- this is where you can get all the souvenirs you want, and it is a place to keep in mind for lunch!

·        White River Valley Overlook

·        Quinn Road Prairie Dog Town

·        Yellow Mounds Overlook

·        Pinnacles Overlook- High point view of the Badlands very beautiful!!

Other things to look out for are Prairie dogs and their holes, Bison, and Bighorn Sheep.

This took me 4 hours to drive through with stopping.

4:30pm- Leave Badlands and head back to home base, have dinner, and relax and enjoy your last night!