Black Hills Travel
Point your compass for your next adventure
By Territory Media
Black Hills Travel; travel by snowmobile, horseback, motorcycle, 4x4, atv, suv, ski, snowboard, boat, sail, plane, jet, helicopter, balloon, car, or just take a pleasant walk. No matter which way your travel leads you, you’re surely going to be pleased that you:
 Travel to Mount Rushmore National Monument, this epic sculpture features the faces of four exalted American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. South Dakota's Black Hills provide the backdrop for Mount Rushmore, the world's greatest mountain carving. These 60-foot high faces, 500 feet up, look out over a setting of pine, spruce, birch, and aspen in the clear western air.
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began drilling into the 5,725-foot mountain in 1927. Creation of the Shrine of Democracy took 14 years and cost a mere $1 million, though it's now deemed priceless.
The Avenue of Flags leads from the Concession Building to the Grandview Terrace. The flags of the 56 states and territories fly below the memorial. Here, the avenue provides direct and easy access to the Grandview Terrace and Presidential Trail, a half-mile walking trail that offers spectacular views of the mountain sculpture.
The memorial offers interpretive programs, exhibits and a film at the Lincoln Borglum Museum. Rangers provide interpretive walks and talks, including the Evening Sculpture Lighting Ceremony. The lighting program takes place at approximately 9 p.m. nightly (May-September) in the park's amphitheater. The amphitheater is fully accessible via the Avenue of Flags to elevators at the museum.
Other programs being offered include guided walks to the Sculptor's Studio, Presidential Trail walks, talks on the Grandview Terrace, afternoon children's activities and studio talks.
Travel to Crazy Horse Memorial, “My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too.” These are the words Chief Henry Standing Bear wrote to sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski in 1939 urging him to visit the Black Hills and carve a mountain sculpture honoring American Indians. Fifty-five years after Ziolkowski began carving Crazy Horse Memorial; his family continues the dream and work progresses on the world’s largest mountain sculpture. When finished, Crazy Horse will stand 641 feet long and 563 feet high.
Travel through sky-piercing granite peaks and  forested mountains that dominate the skyline of western South Dakota. America’s oldest mountains rose above the surrounding flatlands 60 million years ago, about the time the dinosaurs disappeared, and even after eons of erosion their granite peaks still soar as high as 7,242 feet to the dizzying heights of Harney Peak. The Lakota Sioux named the area Paha Sapa or Black Hills because a thick forest of pine and spruce trees cover the slopes making them appear black from a distance.
Black Hills National Forest stretches for 1.2 million acres, offering outdoor adventure like hiking, biking and camping amidst stunning scenery. Find grassy mountain meadows, towering granite peaks, deep canyons, cascading trout streams and clear, clean lakes.
Travel in time, Black Hills Caves - Of all the caves in the United States, none contain the vast  variety of rare formations found in Black Hills caves. These caves display more box work than any other in the world. They also form some of the largest concentrations of passageways in the world. Eight Black Hills caves are open to the public. Two are part of the National Park Service: Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park.
Jewel Cave is the third-longest cave in the world. Nearly 130 miles of passages have been surveyed. Calcite crystals that glitter when illuminated give the cave its name. The cave’s most common crystals are dogtooth and nailhead spar. The cave is located about 13 miles west of Custer.
Wind Cave is one of the longest caves in the world, with more than 110 miles of mapped passages. It contains the world’s largest display of a rare formation called boxwork. Above ground, the park is comprised 28,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine forest that is home to bison, elk, prairie dogs and other wildlife. Follow link for hours of operation and tour schedule.
Travel in the wild, Custer State Park will take you through the last remaining wild frontiers, Nearly 1,500 magnificent bison wander the park’s 71,000 acres, which they share with swift pronghorn, shy elk, sure-footed mountain goats and a band of curious burros. Slender granite formations called “Needles” dominate the skyline and grassy meadows fill the valleys. Amidst pure nature, you’re free to explore via trail rides, scenic drives, mountain bikes, paddle-boats, hay rides and safari tours. Each September, cowboys, cowgirls and park staff round-up the park’s herd of bison. They are moved to buffalo corrals along Wildlife Loop Road. Once in the corrals, the animals are sorted and some are readied for auction.
Travel on the wild side - Wildlife Loop State Scenic Byway (SD 87 and 16A) in Custer State Park is pure nature at its best. There are open grasslands and rolling hills speckled with pine. Many of the park’s wildlife species occupy this area and are commonly seen. They include buffalo, bighorn sheep, antelope, deer, elk, coyote, prairie dog and numerous birds. Also, some of the park’s wild “begging” burros live at the southernmost end of this road. This 18-mile route follows the diverse landscape offering views of mountain foothills, prairie meadows and lush streambeds. The park is home to one of the world’s largest buffalo herds.
Travel in scenery, Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway. This 70-mile drive offers breathtaking views of some of the Black Hills’ most stunning scenery. The popular Needles Highway (SD 87) and Iron Mountain Road (US 16A) are both part of the byway. Needles Highway features tunnels, hairpin curves and slender granite pinnacles. Three granite tunnels on Iron Mountain Road perfectly frame the faces of Mount Rushmore in the distance. Also on the route area series of pigtail bridges, built in the 1930s, which have a corkscrew shape.
Travel in richness & splendor through the Spearfish Canyon State and National Forest Service Scenic Byway flanked by towering limestone cliffs, this 20-mile route along US 14A, cuts through Spearfish Canyon. A forest of spruce, pine, aspen, birch and oak covers the hillsides while Spearfish Creek flows along the canyon bottom. Bridal Veil and Roughlock Falls are highlights along the route. Summer’s lush greenery gives way to brilliant fall foliage.
Travel the Badlands Loop State Scenic Byway - This approximately 30-mile drive on SD 240 cuts through the middle of breathtaking formations of Badlands National Park. As the byway follows the natural contours of the Badlands escarpment, it also weaves in and out of the native grasslands full of hundreds of species of plants and animals. Scenic overlooks, with names like Seabed Jungle, Pinnacles and Prairie Wind, offer outstanding photo opportunities. Badlands National Park encompasses 244,000 acres of striking formations – spires, pinnacles, buttes and gorges of multi-colored sandstone – blended with mixed-grass prairies. Enjoy scenic drives and watch for buffalo, deer, pronghorn antelope, coyotes and other wildlife that freely roam this striking area. The balance of the region is high plains, short-grass prairie. Predominantly rolling upland, irregularities such as Castle Rock, Slim Buttes and Thunder Butte rise to 600 feet above the surrounding landscape. The Cheyenne and other rivers meander through the region, providing water for large-scale cattle and sheep ranching operations.
Travel back in Time to Historic Deadwood - Meet legendary figures such as Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok who shaped this wild frontier town, General George Armstrong Custer, who led his 1874 expedition into the Black Hills, starting the last great gold rush and the numerous other characters that now have become everyday names because of the prominence of theater, movies and the series on HBO Deadwood. Adventure where the Chinese tunneled underground or stop in the #10 Saloon and play a hand or two of old west poker with limits up to $100 or drop a couple quarters into the one armed bandits that are in many of the casinos that line both side of Main Street in the west newest gaming mecca. Let your travel and tours take you back into the heart of the Old West.
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Travel to Ghost towns, nestled quietly in remote areas of the Hills, many still can be explored during your adventure.
Truly a part of, but not exclusively Old West, this regional showcase of diverse terrain, scenery and history is more open today than ever before for your travel and exploration. The Black Hills are a beautiful, accessible extension of the Rocky Mountains. Thick forests of tall ponderosa pine, spruce and aspen alternately blanket and reveal towering granite peaks, deep canyons, cascading trout streams and clear, clean lakes. The granite faces of Mount Rushmore National Memorial gaze out over this mountainous landscape. Buffalo herds, elk, deer, antelope and mountain goats make their homes in public parks. Private parks add grizzly bear, wolves and cougars to the list, displayed in their natural environment.
When you are directing your compass for your next adventure, point it to one of these beautiful Black Hills communities: Rapid City, Belle Fourche, Custer, Wall, Benchmark, Bethlehem, Big Bend, Black Hawk, Box Elder, Brownsville, Buffalo Gap, Canadaville, Caputa, Central City, Cheyenne Crossing, Deer Field, Dudley, Edgemont, Ellsworth AFB, Elmore, Enlgewood, Fairburn, Farmingdale, Fruitdale, Spearfish, Deadwood, Hill City, Ft. Meade, Greenwood, Hanna, Heart Ranch, Heppner, Hermosa, Hisega, Hot Springs, Johnson Siding, Loring Siding, McGee, Minnekahta, Myersville, Mystic, Nemo, New Underwood, Newell, Nihart, Nisland, Novak, Sturgis, Lead, Keystone, Oelrichs, Riedmont, Pringle, Redfern, Rochford, Rockerville, Roubaix, Sanator, Savoy, Schaeferville, Silver City, St. Onge, Tigerville,Tilford, Tomahawk, Vale, Whitewood, Gillette, Beulah, Sundance, Newcastle, Hulett, Fuffalo, and Douglas
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