South Dakota Vacation Guide by mail.  Allow a couple months. Check our state tourism links.
Once you get near, Rest Areas have a huge selection of literature.
While driving through us, a true student of contemporary upper-plains life would tune his radio to WNAX  - 570 on the AM dial.
It's hard-core farm markets, local sports, and home journals, and - late at night - those creepy UFO abduction call-in shows.
But, it has a HUGE broadcast signal and audience. Out in the country, it's what we listen to. Learn from it.  Otherwise, press SEEK.
Japanese Gardens at Terrace Park.
A relatively new attraction is the Sioux Falls Sculpture Walk.
At a few select park locations, but mostly lining Phillips Avenue's downtown sidewalks all year long.
Four or five on a block, on each side of the street.
Not a nice stroll in the winter, but on a summer afternoon, I was impressed, and even my jaded 19-year-old daughter stayed interested.
in Sioux Falls, the nation's largest-ever individual gift to a health-care facility.
The newly renamed Sanford Health System will rival Rochester's Mayo Clinic, especially for pediatric care.
several small and specialized museums. If you're here for a couple days, you can stay busy and stimulated.
If you are looking to come to SD and find a career, Sioux Falls is the place. It's gonna grow like gang-busters.
If you are a driving tourist, you'll most likely head west.
that can sometimes be seen in the valley just before the fort.
Check both sides of the highway.
A few miles further, watch for the giant bull head sculpture on the left.
There is a whole Sculpture Park to view, but I've never got off the Interstate to do it.
The football team is the Kernels.
the Worlds Only Corn Palace.
on the outside of the city auditorium.
except when there is an event.
You came to see the *outside* anyway.
Lit at night. Gift shop inside, in the summer.
Archaeological Landmark in South Dakota open to the public.
excavation in spite of our famous Dakota Winters.
Highlights of the museum's collection are "Dakota Woman"
who later became famous for designing the buffalo nickel.
Mitchell will be that last stop for gas.
Did Laura Ingalls Wilder mean anything to you?
"Little House on the Prairie" is in De Smet.
I have not been there. I keep promising I will go, when my daughter is older.
An hour and a half north of Mitchell.
(2007 note: my daughter has grown and moved away from home, and we've still never been there.
The biggest danger for motorists on the Interstate (or any highway in SD) is hitting a deer.
They are mostly active around sunset.
Those little "anti-deer" whistles that screw on your bumper DO NOT WORK.
Reduce your speed at night, please.
River, is one of the great scenic views in the state.
You be Lewis. Ill be Clark.
Note: this might be the first place you'll see real Native Americans.
There are a couple Reservations nearby, and Al's is a favorite stop for groceries.
They dress like you and me, but have a great year-round tan.
is no fun. Be wary after dark.
mountain time zone, near Murdo.
Somewhere between Murdo and Wall, I think, there is a metal-sculpted statue of a man leading a dinosaur.
parking lot, when I was little.
The KOA nearby has been recommended by another traveler.
You are an hour out of Rapid City.
and increase tourism and economic development.
Unfortunately, they are not located on the major tourist route, Interstate-90.
The Sioux are proud people who have been horribly mis-treated by the US Government. See Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Red Cloud.
and have turned down MILLIONS in government funds in exchange.
Wall Drug. Free ice water, and 5 cent coffee.
Rapid City... the gateway to the Black Hills - or Paha Sapa as the Sioux would call them.
The Black Hills is extremely family-friendly to tourists, and the reason most people visit South Dakota.
there's the skyline dinosaur drive, in Rapid.
Most notably, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (early August) will fill almost every room in the Hills and for 150 miles around.
and the   Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in Hill City are two of the top in the nation.
Don't miss Mt Rushmore... .
The night lighting ceremony is worth special planning.
are not wide enough for big RVs and trailers.
for directions to Seth Bullock's grave.
Midnight Star Casino and (the attached) Jake's restaurant.
machine, if you are playing.
for Bar or gas station that sells beer.
entertainment... popular with bus tours.
SD skiers head for Terry Peak and Deer Mountain in the winter.
buffalo herd. Do not approach the buffalo herd.
Mt Rushmore could fit under the Indian's arm.
again. In truth, a very sacred Native-American place.
see 4 states. Keep an eye on your kids.
anti-gravity places when she was seven, and still thought it was great when she as 19.
Water runs uphill. Actually, I've never talked to anyone who wasn't mystified by the place.
One of the least-touted and most fun attractions in the Black Hills.
16 miles south of Rapid City. Probably takes an hour including the tour.
1880 train ride in Hill City.
on the road to Mt Rushmore.
horse rides to the top of Harney Peak.
Kids quickly congregate near the video games and gift shop.
(in Deadwood) fall on consecutive weeks in August.
500,000 bikers. Make sure your room is booked well in advance. Can fill up every room in the Hills and for 150 miles around.
clutter. There is no motorcycle helmet law.
Temperatures in July can be way over 100.
In the winter, sometimes 20 below zero.
won't need to add a product for that, such as Heet.
reprinted without express permission of the author.