Activities to Do with Kids in the Black Hills

The Black Hills have so much to offer for everyone, but it is especially awesome with kids. There is endless fun to be had! Here are the best things to do with kids or for the young at heart in the area. These activities are all within approximately one hour of Rapid City. There are SO MANY options, so I have broken down my recommendations by categories.

Custer State Park in the Black Hills with Kids

Custer State Park was a primary reason for visiting the Black Hills, and it did not disappoint! This huge state park has something for everyone. Hiking, kayaking, scenic drives, wildlife, lodging, restaurants, and of course, the bison.

1. Slyvan Lake. This was my favorite part of the park. A fantastic one-mile hike around the lake includes some rock scrambling. We rented kayaks from the lodge and took a paddle, and the kids insisted on swimming even though it was October!
2. Peter Norbeck Education Center. This building used to house the main visitor center but is now a children’s education center.
3. The Buffalo Safari Tour. It is an open jeep with a max of 6-7 people per vehicle. It is two hours long, and my very active children stayed entertained. You can package this with a chuckwagon ride and cookout as well.
4. The Wildlife Loop. We did over half the loop on the Buffalo Safari Tour, but you could do the whole loop in addition to the tour or instead of it. You can see buffalo, pronghorns, and plenty of prairie dogs! You also may be visited by the “Begging Burros.” If you are lucky, you may also see big horn sheep or elk.
5. Junior Ranger Badges. Like the National Parks, Custer State Park offers the kids a chance to earn a Junior Badge. Stop by a visitor center to pick up a booklet and let them get to work.
6. Needles Highway. This twisty, narrow road offers great views and two small rock tunnels. Keep an eye out for Mountain Goats.
7. Hiking and Beaches. Legion Lake has a 1-mile hike around the lake and ends by a beach and playground. Stockade Lake has a 1.5-mile round trip with some elevation gain. The parking lot is right across the street from a playground and beach.

FYI, there are lodges that have restaurants, gift shops, and light grocery items, but no gas stations in the park.

Caves and Caverns

Wind Cave National Park has lots of cool hiking in addition to a variety of cave tours. Sadly, the elevator was out of business when we visited, so we didn’t get to check this out. We were planning to do the Natural Entrance Tour, which looked best for families. You could try the Garden of Eden Tour if you have limited mobility. For their most strenuous tour, the Wild Cave Tour, you have to be 16. They also have plenty of hiking above ground.

Jewel Cave National Monument also has hiking and cave tours and is on the west side of Custer State Park. I recommend the Scenic Tour, but if your kids are over 8, you could also consider the Historic Tour. If you have kids over 16 that are not claustrophobic, try the Wild Tour. Consider the Discovery Tour if you have mobility limitations or want a shorter tour.

Black Hills Caverns is closest to Rapid city, has short tours, and is not associated with a National or Monument. This is a much smaller place and offers only two tours, both family-friendly.

For the Animal Lover

I can’t help myself, I always seek out animal attractions on vacations. There are lots of options in the Black hills.

1. Bear Country features a drive-through zoo. There are tons of bears! It also has bighorn sheep, elk, wolves, and more. Afterward, there is a traditional walk-through zoo with young bears, otters, foxes, and more.
2. Reptile Gardens. I remember going here as a kid and was pleasantly surprised at how fun it still was for me as an adult. The snake show was the most informative snake show we’ve ever seen, and the presenter allowed the kids to pet the boa after the show.
3. The Spearfish Byway (FREE) is the best place to find mountain goats. Check below with scenic drives for more information.
4. Custer State Park Buffalo Safari Tour and Wildlife Loop (details above).
5. Old MacDonalds Farm. As we live in rural Wisconsin, we skipped this place, but I was tempted to go every time we dove by and saw Billy Goat Bridge. There are over 100 farm animals. Bring extra money to buy animal feed.
6. Trail rides. There are plenty of trail ride services out there. We didn’t take a ride, but if you are interested, you could consider Rockin R Rides, Hollingsworth Horses, or Blue Bell Stables (which is in Custer State Park).

Fun Tourist Traps

Tourist traps….you love them, or you hate them. I usually feel like they are fun one time, but they don’t warrant a return trip. Here are some places to consider.

1. The Cosmos Mystery Center. This is my top recommendation. A friend told me her kids in late elementary loved it, and my kids at 4 and 5 also had a great time. It is a place of mystery where gravity doesn’t work the way you expect it to, and balls roll uphill! (It is a crooked house that messes with your senses, and I loved it!)
2. Gemstone Sluicing. This is offered all over. We did it at the Mammoth Dig Site but it was also available at Cosmos and many other places. Buy a bag of dirt and run water over them to “discover” the awesome stones within.
3. Old Time Photos. I have been wanting my husband to do this with me for years! Now that our 5 year old asked to do it, my husband finally obliged! It’s expensive for what it is, but if you have room in your budget, it can be a fun way to spend an hour. We used Buffalo Old Time Photo in Keystone, but there are several other options in Keystone as well.
4. The Big Thunder Gold Mine includes a tour of an old mine and a mining museum. This was on our list to check out, but we ran out of time.

Fossils and Dinosaurs

The Blackhills was once under a sea and due to it’s geologic history, a ton of cool fossils have been found here. That includes Sue, the largest complete T-Rex Fossil who now lives in the Field Museum in Chicago. There are lots of options in the Black Hills and surrounding area to check this stuff out.

1. There is a very inexpensive fossil museum in Hill City put on by the Black Hills Institute of Geographical Research. This company puts together fossils and exhibits for some of the top museums in the world.
2. The Mammoth Site is in Hot Springs, an hour south of Rapid City. If you are interested in Wooly Mammoths, this is the place to go! If you are there in the summer, check out their kids and family paleontology dig programs.
3. The World Fossil Finder Museum in Hot Springs focuses on education, pre-historic animals, and fossils of all sorts. You can see people working on fossils. Advertised to give “free fossils to children.”
4. Petrified Forest. I have wanted to see a Petrified forest for years! The rocks look JUST LIKE downed trees. This little place has a limited website presence. For admission (approximately $50 for two adults and two kids), you get a short presentation, a movie, and an approximately 1/2 mile self-guided hike with plenty of petrified trees. As a heads up, the guide discusses the history of petrified forests from both an evolutionist and creationist perspective.
5. The Black Hills Dinosaur Museum between Reptile Gardens and Bear Country boasts fossils and life-size replicas of dinosaurs.
6. The Badlands. There is a 0.25 mile Fossil exhibit trail, you can see the fossil center at the Bed Reifel Visitor Center, or you can try to find your own! Here is my list of top things to do in Badlands with Kids.

Badlands National Park

This park is only an hour from Rapid City but feels like a different world. Drive through for scenic views, or head to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center if you want to hike. Check out my top things for Kids at Badlands National Park. This includes animal sitings, fossils, great hikes, and more.

Awesome Drives

This whole area is beautiful and sometimes simply driving and enjoying the view is the perfect activity.

1. Needles Highway, as mentioned in the Custer Park section above. This twisty, narrow road offers great views and two small rock tunnels. Keep an eye out for Mountain Goats. This road leads from the southern/central portion of Custer up to Sylvan Lake, one of my all-time favorite parts of Custer.
2. Iron Mountain Road (16A) has three tunnels. One gives the infamous view of Mount Rushmore (Doane Robinson Tunnel) through it if you drive from South to North.
3. The Spearfish Byway. This approximately 15-mile drive goes from the town of Spearfish to Cheyenne Crossing. It has several waterfalls and hikes along the way and is a great place to see mountain goats. If you are in Spearfish, you might as well top by the Fishery. I recommend starting in Spearfish and stopping at their information center to grab maps and activity ideas. Consider stopping at Cheyenne Crossing for Indian frybread.
4. The Wildlife Loop, as discussed above, in Custer State Park. See the Buffalo, the burros, and the prairie dogs, as well as get a tour of the southern end of Custer State Park. It takes about 2 hours to complete the drive.
5. 1880s Train. Want a nice view without the drive? Check out this train. It is an hour trip and goes between Keystone and Hill City. Consider looking for the “shoot out” dates and other special events.

History in the Black Hills for Kids

Are you the kind of parent always trying to pull some education into your trips? The black hills has plenty of opportunity. I like to check out what our local library has and get the kids interest piqued as we start talking about the upcoming trip.

1. Mount Rushmore is the most well-known monument in this area. Grab the Junior Range booklet and take the short trail at the base.
2. Crazy Horse. This rock carving is still under construction and will be for decades. It memorializes Crazy Horse. We checked out this book from the library before visiting to get some information ahead of time.
3. Consider checking out the FREE President walk in Rapid City Take a stroll downtown and learn about prior presidents of the USA. While you are walking check out stores and restaurants.
4. The Journey Museum and Learning Center is in Rapid City and focuses on Black Hills history and Native cultures.
5. The Black Hills Mining Museum is near Keystone and includes a tour underground of a replicate mine shaft.

Playgrounds

While I love to keep moving and see new things, sometimes what the kids really need is some low pressure time at a playground. Any playground will do but it is always fun to find unique ones. Spearfish has a ton of great ones as does Rapid City.

1. Rapid City has Storybook Island is a free storybook themed playground in Rapid Ciy that is open in the summer and a fun place to stop and play. There are paid carousels and train rides as well. Memorial Park has 6 connected playgrounds. Dino Park in Rapid City has 5 concrete dinosaurs to run around by but no playground equipment. Run Wild Indoor and Outdoor Playland does charge admission and is just north of the city.
2. Spearfish. Check out a wooden structure at the City Park or Evan’s Park for a cool spaceship-type playground. Salem Park playground also looks fun.

Biking

Mickelson Trail is the best known bike path in the Black Hills. It is a 108 mile long mostly gravel path. You can pick it up a variety of places. For an affordable shuttle, check out this company. We ended up skiping out due to lack of time and young kids but with a few more days I would have added this for sure!

Rides and Zip Lines

Need a little excitement or some heights? Check out Rushmore Tramway Adventure, located in Keystone. It has zip lines, alpine slides, a ropes course, and more. Rush Mountain Adventure Park has an alpine coaster, zip lines, caves, and more.

In Conclusion…

I cannot wait to go back! We spent over two weeks between the Badlands, the Blackhills, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and there was nowhere near enough time to do everything. The whole family had a great time, and there are plenty more things to explore on a return trip at this age or when they get a bit older. What is your favorite part of the Black Hills?