We decided at the last minute to take kids to SD tomorrow morning. We’ll be driving up from CO-6 and half hours not including stops. We’re staying at Black Hills Health Retreat that I found on Airbnb. Have you heard of that place? It was cheap so that’s why we picked that place rather than a Holiday Inn etc.

1-since SD is north of CO and its almost daylight savings time-what time does it start getting dark?

2-If we leave by 6:30AM tomorrow morning and arrive around 2PM-ish after stops, is there something that we can see before it gets dark. Mt. Rushmore? Badlands? Custer? Anywhere else? We had thought about doing Mt Rushmore on Saturday and Badlands on Sunday on our drive back home to CO.

3-Is there anywhere cool to see/eat/visit on the highway between CO and Hermosa that we should stop by for a break? We know about Buccee’s and it’s already on the agenda since they have clean bathrooms ha.

4-Recommendations for good places to eat in the Mt Rushmore/Keystone/Hermosa?

5-How much time should I give it at Mt Rushmore, Custer, Badlands etc.?

6-I thought about taking kids to Rushmore Amusement Park on Saturday early evening. Kids are 12 and 17. Is it worth it?

Thank you kindly for your suggestions. I usually book trip months in advance/plan ahead but we just decided last night to do this.

We decided at the last minute to take kids to SD tomorrow morning. We’ll be driving up from CO-6 and half hours not including stops. We’re staying at Black Hills Health Retreat that I found on Airbnb. Have you heard of that place? It was cheap so that’s why we picked that place rather than a Holiday Inn etc.

1-since SD is north of CO and its almost daylight savings time-what time does it start getting dark?

2-If we leave by 6:30AM tomorrow morning and arrive around 2PM-ish after stops, is there something that we can see before it gets dark. Mt. Rushmore? Badlands? Custer? Anywhere else? We had thought about doing Mt Rushmore on Saturday and Badlands on Sunday on our drive back home to CO.

3-Is there anywhere cool to see/eat/visit on the highway between CO and Hermosa that we should stop by for a break? We know about Buccee’s and it’s already on the agenda since they have clean bathrooms ha.

4-Recommendations for good places to eat in the Mt Rushmore/Keystone/Hermosa?

5-How much time should I give it at Mt Rushmore, Custer, Badlands etc.?

6-I thought about taking kids to Rushmore Amusement Park on Saturday early evening. Kids are 12 and 17. Is it worth it?

Thank you kindly for your suggestions. I usually book trip months in advance/plan ahead but we just decided last night to do this.

My sister's dog went missing yesterday in the Sturgis area. Reward offered.

What issues in Lead/Deadwood or the area do you think deserve more attention or you feel should be fixed? (stole question from Rapid City sub)

When we visited in May, it was cool to get to see this film site of the final winter camp scene in Dances With Wolves movie not to far from Roughlock Falls and Spearfish Falls.https://youtu.be/CyqFxh79cKk

I took some fun pictures at Spearfish Canyon on Oct 1

Going to be in the hot springs, windcave, Custer state park, argyle area. So far I have been very unimpressed with the food here 😕.
Would love to find a good Italian place. Would also like a good brewery WITH good food. But send any good recs

We visited in May. I finally got this video up on Spearfish Falls. I would have to say this is one of the coolest looking waterfalls I have seen so far with it splitting up into muliple streams. Definitely a must see when you visit the Black Hills area.

https://youtu.be/UNfqGhKJ3ok

Does anyone have friends, family, or a connection that's located close, or even in the Black Hills? Just wanted to see if there are any Black Hills residents that know local photographers.

Boy I hope y’all don’t get pissed off and talk shit about this one like y’all did my last one about Harney Peak.
I was so happy to get up there and explore but sadly y’all didn’t think so. Thanks for ruinin a guys vacation.

What an awesome and beautiful hike! My second time up there, ain’t a bad view from anywhere.

This is a complete shot in the dark as it’s a distant memory but my family and I have been talking about it and I’m too curious…

My mom remembers it looking like a nice place from the outside, maybe light blue and maybe two stories. She recalls it as a stand alone building that was not on Main Street and was on a side street of some sort.

Upon entering the vibe was genuinely insane. There were super bright colors all over, specifically teal. There were horses painted everywhere and it was very kitschy. We sat in a booth and the table I think was also wildly colored. We already had a weird feeling then the server came up an unreasonable amount of time later and he had no teeth and my parents decided we should leave. We went to a different restaurant that was nearby.

If anyone has any clue at all what restaurant this could have been please do share!

I know that this (Sep 26) is the weekend of the big Buffalo Roundup at Custer SP. We will be in the area exactly a week later, Oct 3-4. Will the buffalo be back to ranging freely around the park, or will we have to see them only in one specific area?

FWIW, just a few days earlier we'll be at TR Natl Park so I'm pretty sure we won't entirely miss out on seeing them.

Hello everyone! My name is Nadia, and I live in Rapid City. I’ve always loved art and am looking for places to work on murals. I plan to make this my career, and I’m looking for anyone willing to let me do a mural to get practice and build my portfolio. I will charge little since I’m just starting, and I'm willing to commute and work with you to make sure you love it. For pricing, I charge a small hourly fee. Let me know if you know anyone, or if you're looking for one yourself! I’m specifically looking for small businesses, as I feel that will help me move forward. Thank you!

My family is looking to move to the South Dakota Black Hills area from rural Missouri. We spend time chasing mountains, camping, dual sport riding, snowmobiling etc. and would like to have these things closer to home. Our rural community also has a terrible school system which wasn't a consideration when we moved here. Therefore, we are entertaining a move to the SD Black hills in 5-7yrs based on affordability, weather, recreation, etc.

It seems as if all of the outdoor recreation is covered between Terry peak, national Forest, dirtbike/snowmobile trails etc.

We hate the heat, and snowy winters are no foe for us. There are some concerns about the high winds and ice. For those who've experienced time in the Midwest, is it comparable or on its own level?

Schooling. It's one of the biggest factors in consideration. So far I've seen the ratings looks something like Hill City, Stevens, and Spearfish. For perspective, the school in our current town is rated 11,500ish nationally, the school I went to is 2600ish, and Hill City, Stevens, Spearfish are 2602, 5691, 5891 respectfully.

For those with first hand experience, either as a consumer or educator, how are these schools? I'm purely interested in the academics; STEM focus, SAT/ACT, AP dual credit opportunities, overall college preparedness in a likely STEM field.

Bio: I'm a mechanical engineer working in the power industry. It seems my greatest opportunity for a career will be Rapid City, however commuting 40-60miles one way isn't a concern and has been standard in my profession. My wife is a nurse, and that has the largest geographic impact on our home location relative to a hospital or surgery center. We will be coming from heavily forested land and a modest house, and would be looking for something similar. I've noticed those 10acre parcels aren't nearly as common in these areas, but ultimately looking for some mature trees and privacy areas like Lead, Keystone, NW rapid City all stand out.

Overall, looking for some first hand experiences. Would love to connect with other young families or self proclaimed Rad Dads in the area.

Came to see the tower and night sky. Got up early and this drown out my eastern view. 60 plus campers, all dark but this one.

They briefed me at check in that all lights out after 9:30 pm for dark skies enjoyment. I bet they briefed them too.

National Park campground just down the road has no electricity at campsites. Probably because of campers behaving like this.