8 Great Things For Kids to See and Do in South Dakota

In South Dakota, Mount Rushmore National Memorial may be the best-known draw, but this state has far more to offer. One of the few states in the nation to boast five or more national and state parks,  landscapes here range from the striking Badlands to the Black Hills to the Great Plains that perfectly embody the true American West. Families have long been loading up their modern day wagons to experience South Dakota’s many wonders and fascinating history.

Long ago a vast sea met the land, and the bones of many of these fierce prehistoric creatures are still discovered. Then there was Earl Brockelsby, keeping rattlesnakes under his cowboy hat to surprise Rushmore-bound travelers stopping by his pop-up roadside attraction – which later grew into a Guinness World Record holding collection of critters called Reptile Gardens.

Meanwhile, Ted and Dorothy Hustead started their kitschy-road side attraction by serving free ice water and 5-cent coffee to those crossing the vaunted Badlands, but today it’s the collection of surprises and delights known as Wall Drug.

South Dakota is one world-class family destination full of things to see and do for kids. Its mix of parks and attractions, from border to border, make it one big playground. It’s where kids (and adults) are encouraged to run, climb, dig, fish, explore and use their outside voices until they go hoarse.

Take kids to visit these incredible experiences and develop your own SoDak spirit.

1/8 Walk Other-Worldly Landscapes

Badlands National Park is 244,000 acres that more resemble the moon than the neighboring prairie or the nearby Black Hills. Beautiful spires, striated buttes and colorful canyons will inspire awe. But what makes this park so kid-friendly is the many trails that encourage exploration of this surreal landscape. The littlest ones will enjoy the Fossil Trail and the older kids love finding the surprise on Notch Trail.

For the full impressive experience the Badlands can offer, plan to rent a cabin in the park, pitch a tent overnight or stay in nearby Wall. Because the whole of South Dakota experiences minimal light pollution, especially Badlands National Park which is over a hundred miles from any larger towns, the stargazing in the park is an unparalleled experience not to be missed.

2/8  Discover History through Play

The Children’s Museum of South Dakota encourages imagination and wonder while also creating a connection with the history of the South Dakota prairie and culture. This engaging children’s museum – which fills half a city block in a converted old school – is mind-blowing. Every exhibit here is hands-on, and little ones can climb clouds, farm the prairie, run a grocery store, create the news, run a restaurant and meet a life-size, animatronic T-Rex.

3/8 Explore Caves

The wonder of South Dakota’s diverse landscape extends below ground too. Wind & Jewel Caves also happen to be two of the world’s longest cave systems, with over 325 miles of mapped passageways between them. Easy ranger-led tours are an excellent way to discover their mystery. Of course, being national park units (Wind Cave is a national park and a little-known fact, also a buffalo preserve; Jewel Cave is a national monument) each has a Junior Ranger program available for kids up to 12.

4/8 Handle Snakes and Wrestle Gators

What Earl Brockelsby started so many years ago has become Reptile Gardens and it still delights hundreds of thousands of visitors yearly as they head to and from Rapid City to Mount Rushmore along US Highway 16. This Guinness-world-record-holding wild animal attraction has everything from colorful reptiles, birds and botanical gardens, to venomous snakes and giant century-old tortoises. It also boasts a variety of daily animal shows including gator wrestling.

5/8 Unearth Dinosaur Bones

South Dakota’s diverse landscape is rich with fossil beds like those at the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs. The site is the world’s largest concentration of prehistoric mammoth remains with the fossils of 61 different mammoths unearthed to date.

Kids ages four to 12 are welcome to get dirty and join in the site’s active dig through their Junior Paleontology program.

6/8 Live the Little House on the Prairie Life

The Laura Ingalls Wilder series of popular Little House on the Prairie books has been, for many late-elementary-aged kids, a look at what it took to settle this nation’s vast expanse of prairie. In De Smet, fans can visit Laura’s homestead, school and other places from her life, or in July, check out the popular pageant. Every year, a village of volunteers works to preserve and share the pioneering spirit with visitors from around the world through the annual performance and production.

7/8 Roam with Buffalo

Custer State Park, the crown-jewel of South Dakota’s park system, features over 71,000 acres and is home to a herd of 1,300 bison, plus elk, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, Bighorn sheep, burros, mountain lions and goats. The park is one of the truly wild places left in the country, a place where the buffalo really do roam.

And, like most things in South Dakota, it’s the easy accessibility that makes it so family-friendly. It’s all right there, from the diverse landscape through an extensive trail system to the wildlife you’ll encounter on crisscrossing roads to a popular buffalo safari that lets you get up-close-and-personal with the animals. Here, you can find yourself in a buffalo traffic jam or get stopped by the locally-famous “begging burros” looking for handouts.

8/8 Get a Taste of American History

Of course, Mount Rushmore and its iconic faces carved into a mountain are what have drawn generations of visitors on a great American road-trip to the state. America’s Shrine of Democracy is an excellent way to introduce kids to American history in a fun and memorable way. Between the Junior Ranger program, Youth Exploration Area and Presidential Trail, Mount Rushmore is an engaging experience and fun way to learn about the history and development of our country.

And, if all else fails, there’s always Thomas Jefferson’s ice cream to be had at the Memorial Ice Cream shop. It’s the first known ice cream recipe in America.

But in a place so open and encouraging of exploration and play, sweet bribes won’t be needed to avoid groans and complaints of “I’m bored.” Visitors tend to stay too busy for that.

Discover more about South Dakota by visiting Travel South Dakota.