North and South Dakota are not top of mind when it comes to travel destinations, but I was surprised by the number of things to do in these two oft overlooked states! Although my focus was on the 3 national parks, I found there were plenty of other things to do. There are even a couple of sites on the list should I ever return to this area.
How to Get There
Most people fly in and out of Rapid City, South Dakota. Since I was coming from Portland, OR and wanted a non-stop flight from there, I flew in and out of Billing, MT. Both Billings and Rapid City are about a 4-hour drive from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The itinerary below will work either way except for the last day, which I’ll note below.
When to Visit
Summers are notoriously hot, especially in Badlands National Park. Winter is obviously not a great time to visit unless you’re perhaps into hunting. May, September and early October would be best. I visited in mid-June and temps were on already warmer than I wanted (several days in the mid- to upper 80s) but not unbearable.
Where to Stay
The closest town to Theodore Roosevelt National Park is Medora, ND. The south unit is just a quarter-mile away, while the north unit is about an hour’s drive. We stayed at the Americinn by Wyndham. We had a huge room although it was a bit dated. Medora is tiny and has less than 50 year-round residents. If you want a slightly bigger town, try Dickinson, ND, about 40 minutes away.
In South Dakota, we based ourselves in Custer, SD. There are plenty of hotel chains serving the area; we stayed at the Comfort Inn & Suites. It’s worth considering staying in Wall, SD for one night the day before you go to Badlands national park, especially if you’re visiting in the peak of summer. Custer is a two-hour drive from Badlands, while Wall is only 30 minutes away. For convenience sake, we stayed in Custer the whole time we were in South Dakota.
Because we were flying in and out of Billings, we spent our last night at the Hampton Inn in Sheridan, WY. It also made since with the activity we had on that way, which brough us half-way to Billings anyway and it didn’t make sense to go back to Custer that night.
If you know me well, it will come to no surprise to you that all 3 hotels have indoor hot tubs.
Itinerary
Our exact itinerary is below. You may want to keep an eye on the weather and decide the exact order of things (within each state, of course) based on that. The two units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park are far enough away where one might have rain while the other one stays dry. In South Dakota, shuffle things around based on the temps. That’s one reason to stay in Custer the entire time rather than book a night in Wall. I’ve linked up the blog posts for each day so you can get the details!
| Day | Activity | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | travel day, Medora Musical if you can get into town early enough. | Medora, ND |
| 2 | Theodore Roosevelt National Park – South Unit | Medora, ND |
| 3 | Theodore Roosevelt National Park – North Unit | Medora, ND |
| 4 | drive to Custer, SD. Sturgis and Mt Rushmore | Custer, SD |
| 5 | Wind Cave National Park & Cathedral Spires hike in Custer State Park | Custer, SD |
| 6 | Badlands National Park | Custer, SD |
| 7 | Black Elk Peak hike; Crazy Horse Memorial | Custer, SD |
| 8 | Devils Tower National Monument | Sheridan, WY |
| 9 | fly out | n/a |
Itinerary notes
If you’re flying in and out of Rapid City, stay in Custer again on day 8. You can add Jewel Cave National Monument to this day. It requires advanced reservations and I felt like I’ve seen a good variety of caves with all of my national park trips, including this one, so I didn’t book it. I also wanted to keep some flexibility in the schedule and didn’t want to lock in another full day with a reservation.
Day 4 involves driving through Sturgis, SD. It hosts the largest motorcycle rally in the world for 10 days in early August. Expect delays and traffic if your visit coincides with the event, even as far down as Custer. It is best to avoid those days and the week leading up to it if you can.
Advance reservations to tour the cave are strongly encouraged for Wind Cave national park. Same-day reservations are limited and sell out quickly; plan to be at the visitor center when it opens for those. We reserved the Fairgrounds tour in advance. I chose that one because it’s one of the longest ones.
Custer State Park requires a Park Entrance License (PEL). You can get it as you drive in, which is what we did. If the first time you enter the park will be outside daylight hours, get one online beforehand.
If you follow the itinerary as is, you will drive a good portion of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. If you want to get it all checked off though, you’ll have to add some sections in addition to the itinerary above.
If you have more time, you can also add Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway as a mini-road trip from Custer. A couple we talked to at our hotel had done that one the same day as Devil’s Tower.