South Dakota Badlands Road Trip

The historic town of Deadwood, a key stop on the route, was established in 1876 during a gold rush. Gambler and gunslinger James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was famously killed there that same year during a poker game, holding a hand of black aces and eights, now known as the "Dead Man's Hand." The Wild Bill Bar now stands on the site of the original saloon. Terry Peak, the featured ski area, has the highest lift service between the Rocky Mountains and the Alps, with a summit elevation of 7,100 feet. The resort operates on 450 acres with over 30 trails and typically runs a season from late November through early April, thanks to an average annual snowfall of 150 inches supplemented by extensive snowmaking. Mount Rushmore National Memorial attracts approximately 2.5 million visitors each year. The carving of the four presidential faces took 14 years to complete, from 1927 to 1941. In 2022, visitors to the memorial spent over $385 million in nearby communities, supporting thousands of local jobs. The Black Hills are home to a vast network of over 100 known caves. This includes Jewel Cave National Monument, one of the longest caves in the world with more than 220 miles of mapped passages, named for the shimmering calcite crystals that line its walls. Another local cave, Wonderland Cave, was discovered in 1929 by loggers searching for a lost dog. Badlands National Park saw over one million visitors in 2023. That year, tourism to the park contributed over $193 million to the local economy and supported 1,916 jobs. While summer is the peak season for a Badlands trip, it brings large crowds and temperatures that can exceed 100 degrees. For milder weather, fewer people, and blooming wildflowers, late spring (May-June) and early fall (September-October) are often recommended as the best times to visit.