South Dakota

The Mount Rushmore State

In South Dakota, the wild frontier and wind-swept prairies blend with towering granite peaks and jagged spires. It is what we call the land of Great Faces and Great Places. Treasures like Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Custer State Park hold adventure for everyone. Roam with Buffalo, see the blasts at Crazy Horse Memorial or explore one of the world’s longest caves. View majestic landscapes as you travel winding scenic byways. One of the most complete T-Rex skeletons and the largest collection of Columbian Wooly Mammoth bones are being unearthed in the Black Hills. Hikers in Badlands National Park can watch ongoing digs in one of the richest fossil beds in the country.

Step back in time to the Old West in Deadwood, with re-enactments of Wild Bill Hickok’s last card game, and visit the gravesite of Calamity Jane. Retrace the steps of explorers while roaming the rolling prairies or explore a frontier fort. Experience Native American culture and history of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota peoples. Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about her family’s pioneer adventures on the prairies of DeSmet. Tour her childhood homestead and see places that inspired her books and the television series.