1 Day in Rapid City, SD

Most people that are traveling to Rapid City, SD are stopping to see Mount Rushmore in Keystone. It’s about 30 minutes away from Rapid City. During our time, we visited Bear Country USA, Mount Rushmore, Tramway Adventures, and the Chuckwagon Dinner Show.

Bear Country USA: Get there early!! It’s coolest in the morning and the animals were very active. It’s a wildlife park where you drive through with your windows rolled up and see various species of animals. The bears were of course the highlight. The bears would walk in-between the cars and in the road so you got a good view of them. After the drive through tour, there is a place to park and get out and walk. That’s where you can see the baby bears!! They were so cute! There other species of animals to see too like badgers, porcupines, and bobcats. It’s well worth the price.

Mount Rushmore: It is important to note that is not a national park but a national monument. National Park passes will not get you into the park for free but fret not because it was only $10 for parking. Unfortunately, we went to Mount Rushmore during construction so the amphitheater will the film and museum was closed off. However, you can still go to the Sculptor’s Studio and walk up hundreds of stairs. We invested in the audio tour phones and it definitely enhanced the experience. I feel from what we missed because of construction we gained from the audio tour. It’s only $6 and it’s self guided. I would also recommend getting to this early too because it was very crowded and limited space because of construction. Bring plenty of water if you plan on climbing all the stairs.

Tramway Adventures: As soon as you get to the town of Keystone, you will see many attractions. We chose to do the Tramway Adventures for the Alpine Slide and Zipline. There are different packages on their website to choose from. We were not able to do the 2 hour zipline but instead the 800 ft. zip which was still fun. We also did the chair lift while some of our group did the Alpine Slide. There is a view of Mount Rushmore on the top. If we had more time, I’m sure we would have done some of the other attractions at Tramway.

Chuckwagon Dinner Show: Ever been to Branson, MO to Pigeon Forge, TN and seen the dinner shows? Then, you’ll enjoy this! It takes place right outside of Rapid City and it’s where some of Dancing With Wolves was filmed. Before dinner, you walk around the movie set and I even got a penny from a real penny press! Then, we go in for dinner on long picnic tables. We got our dinner served on tin plates with tin cups. It was time for the show! The music was great and it was a big variety so all ages could enjoy. It was a highlight for sure.

I don’t know if I’d go back to this area just because the reason to go was for Mount Rushmore and I felt I don’t need to see it again. It was a great experience and I recommend going at least once in your life to see the amazing sculpture in the Black Hills.