SOUTH DAKOTA ROAD TRIP: Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, Iron Mountain Road, Badlands

We started the morning by visiting Crazy Horse! We then traveled to Mount Rushmore via the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road. We also made a detour through Custer State Park to drive the Wildlife Loop were we saw a lot of Bison! The following Day we explored Wall Drug and the Badlands National Park which was a perfect way to wrap up our South Dakota road trip.
This vlog was filmed in the National Park before October 28th, 2022 (in July, 2022)
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[@moonpup66]

As a new resident of the Black Hills, here’s some tips or suggestions: Mt. Rushmore is free but parking is not. You could park near offsite and walk in (as many hikers of the Centennial Trail (89) do. But your parking ticket (approx $10) is valid for up to a year so you can visit multiple times during your trip, such as visiting early and coming back for evening flag lowering and evening lighting all for same price. Just scan ticket when entering. Custer State Park has an annual bison roundup in late September that is a must. You can hike to the top of Crazy Horse 2x per year in early June end of September (same weekend as bison round up). Has been $3 for hike and admission to facility with can good donation for this Volksmarch. IMO, best route to take (as dine in this video) Needles Highway from Sylvan Lake and backup Iron Mountain Road to Mt. Rushmore. Seriously consider great hikes including around Sylvan Lake, Sunday Gulch (behind Sylvan Lake, easier going CCW), Black Elk Peak, Little Devils Tower, and Cathedral Spires.

[@mikeandheather]

Thank you so much for all of the great suggestions, we really do appreciate it and you watching! We will have to add those things to our bucket list, especially the Bison roundup, that sound like it would be right up our alley. We are traveling international now but plan to return to van life in the USA in the future and cannot wait to get back to that area! Thanks again 😀

[@marksheppard2829]

When our son was younger he wanted to go to the Badlands to dig up a T Rex :)

[@mikeandheather]

That sounds like a great vacation! Heather really wanted to go to Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado for that same reason haha

[@marksheppard2829]

@@mikeandheather Happy Holidays. Hopefully you are staying safe on Buffalo. Weather and Buffalo has made the weather this side of the pond.

[@moonpup66]

The Thomas Jefferson ice cream lives up to the hype. Don’t sleep on the Huckleberry though. It’s awesome. Another tip for Badlands, in addition to Notch Trail, the Door & Window trails are right there. Window is a 1/4 boardwalk to a spectacular view. The Door Trail is fun to get off the boardwalk and follow the numbered posts out and through other worldly scenery (under a mile round trip).

[@mikeandheather]

We were so bummed to miss out on the Thomas Jefferson ice cream but are happy to hear it lives up to the hype! That just makes us more excited to go back and try it 😀 Thank you so much for watching, we really do appreciate it and you!

[@coastskyadventures2752]

Will be doing like two weeks in South Dakota exploring all of these places. But that badlands roads is questionable. However, I am still going.

[@mikeandheather]

Have an amazing time! Safe travels 😊

[@RealProVanR]

Thanks Mike and Heather. Keep on keeping on. Love watching.

[@mikeandheather]

Thank you for watching, we really do appreciate it!

[@roadtripmitch]

It's nice that Heather thinks of Ice Cream over Mt Rushmore, LOL. Nickolas Cage was not my first "movie thought" regarding Mt Rushmore, actually Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, my fave came first. Glad you took the cool road in to Mt Rushmore! dude No Way am I going up the ladder. And you are right, going down is harder and now you have to - more anxiety. Grab the long lens. Wonderful Travels!

[@neilmorrlle8197]

Another bucket list place (virtually) ticked off..... the bad lands are somewhere I have wanted to visit for years. The Crazy Horse monument and Mt. Rushmore look amazing also, I bet the drive was exhilarating! I would have been so peeved if you had found a T Rex in the Bad Lands but I think we can let the one at Wall Drug slide LOL 😀😆😀 Thank you for sharing!

[@mikeandheather]

You are too funny! Thank you for watching, we really appreciate it!

[@skpjoecoursegold366]

I was there in 1993, I don't know if they had the ice cream store.

[@mikeandheather]

We will all have to go back and try the ice cream then! Thank you for watching, we really appreciate it!

[@llorylloyd]

I just realized who the guide voice sounds like the voice on Jurassic Park where the explore the lab

[@mikeandheather]

That is too funny! You are right! The GyPSy guide does kinda have that vibe, which makes it that much more fitting it leads us through the wilderness haha Thank you for watching!

[@3generations393]

Jeez-glad you didn't feed the poor prairie dogs 😳 I wonder if ground hogs carry the same type of flea? Thanks y'all-loved the drive 😎❣️

[@billmoore4996]

I am enjoying following your adventures as you approach your goal of visiting all 50 states. My converted town and country (Redrover) and I have visited 49 states. We’ve driven the Alaska hwy and the Million Dollar Hwy in Colorado and other challenging hwys . We live in a beautiful country full of beautiful people. I plan on driving Route 66 from Chicago to LA beginning April 1, 2023. I have followed your Route 66 adventure. Oh! by the way, I already have my Route 66 passport. I would very much appreciate any advice you can give me before I start. I am particularly interested in where you spent the night. In my journeys I stayed at Loves Or Pilot truck stops. Any direction you give will be greatly appreciated. Thank you and Safe Travels.

[@mikeandheather]

We have never heard of the Million Dollar highway, we will have to add that to our bucket list! Our best advice for Route 66 is to plan out your must do stops and make sure the places you want to visit are open on the day you are going to be passing through. There were a few times when places we were really excited to visit were closed like the Launching Pad and the Dairy King (they have famous Route 66 cookies.) If we planned our trip to make sure we were there on the days the businesses were open we wouldn't have missed them. That being said, unfortunately not everything will be open when you travel down Route 66! A lot of places are run by volunteers so they have irregular hours but going with the flow and "taking it easy" is all part of the experience haha You will be able to find truck stops along the way, the main highway parallels Route 66 the majority of the way. A lot of the time you will be driving right along side it so you are never too far away from a truck stop if you are needing a place to stay for the night. There is also free camping on BLM land and boondocking places along the way as well. The app we use to find these places is the iOverlander app! We hope that helps, please let us know if you need more information! You are already more prepared than we were when we left for our trip if you already have your passport :) Best of luck and safe travels!

[@billmoore4996]

@@mikeandheather Thanks so much for the advice. The million dollar hwy is a beautiful drive through the San Juan Mts. It is a bit of a white knuckle experience since there are no guard rails and a sheer drop off but most definitely a must do.

[@CoViN88]

The TJ ice cream was good and I think they had a story board with the recipe on it.

[@mikeandheather]

Oh really?! We should have grabbed information on the recipe! I guess that means we will just have to go back some day haha Thank you for watching, we really appreciate it!

[@putteringaroundtheworld]

Hey guys, loving your videos! Which month did you visit the Badlands?

[@mikeandheather]

Thank you for the kind words, we really appreciate it! We visited the Badlands in July, hope that helps! Thank you for watching!

[@putteringaroundtheworld]

@@mikeandheather That helps a ton, thanks! We're looking into the Badlands, and are estimating passing through mid to late May- please let us know if you have any tips 😉! Cheers!

[@philarieno3602]

You'll love the Black Hills in South Dakota. so much to see and do there. wife and I have been there three times made the road trip from Texas