My hop over to the Black Hills of South Dakota
By Nick July 27, 2006
Well, this weekend will be heading out to West River, South Dakota. This will be close to my twenty-ninth visit to the area, because I have a family event to attend. More specifically, I will be going to Spearfish.
So now that I’m talking about the area, I thought I would give a little guide of what you can see and do in the area, even though it is a bit off topic of budget international travel.
The Black Hills of South Dakota are actually home to a number of tourist destinations and traps. Most notably, Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore, aka the trademark of Dakota Territory, is a usually a must see if you have never seen it before. It’s one of the places where it’s nice to say “Hey, I’ve been there.” when the image pops up on some generic patriotic commercial.
Since the weather and climate has taken a toll on Mount Rushmore, a new monument is destined to take its place. Crazy Horse monument is slated to be the world’s largest statue when it is completed. It honors the famous Native American war hero himself. It is free to view the monument while driving by, but they do charge to actually go inside and see the museum and gift shops.
Those big sculptures make up what I call the ‘big two’ in the Black Hills, but there is plenty else to see in the area. One tourist trap that I enjoy is Cosmos Mystery Area. Cosmos is a crazy house that really messes with you.
There are plenty other tourist traps in the area that you will find brochures for, but most are just rip offs. Instead of going to the traps like the Rushmore Caves or Wall Drug, check out the Badlands and Spearfish Canyon. Both are really beautiful places to spend a day exploring. Get on a hiking path and walk around to enjoy the nature.
Another place to hike would be Harney Peak, the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains. However, one drawback is that the trail at Harney peak is usually pretty busy, so expect a small crowd.
So, there is my short guide to visiting the Black Hills of South Dakota. I don’t expect that I inspired anyone to rush out and get tickets to visit, but I just wanted to fill you in on the area I will be visiting. And, maybe, you learned something new about the the Hills.
[tags] black hills, rushmore, [/tags]
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2 Responses to “My hop over to the Black Hills of South Dakota”
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Thanks for the info., I def. want to tour that area, including Montana and other nearby scenic areas. I'm from the beautiful Pacific NW, where there is a lot of scenic areas and lots of hiking. Look me up if you want to do some hiking out here and I can point you in the right direction.
Wow, someone actually got something out of this post...how flattering haha. But yeah, my family has been toying around with the idea of going to Washington to see some relatives around Seattle. I'll get in touch if we decide to do it. Thanks.