6 Day Family Friendly South Dakota Itinerary

If you are looking for the perfect family friendly destination full of adventure, nature and history, then I have the perfect itinerary for you. The Black Hills of South Dakota is the perfect destination for families, offering a blend of outdoor adventure, rich history, and so much fun. From exploring the iconic Mount Rushmore to spotting wildlife in Custer State Park, this is a trip that the whole family will enjoy. Whether your family loves hiking, scenic drives, or hands-on learning, this itinerary will guide you through the best kid-friendly experiences in the Black Hills. Get ready for a trip filled with breathtaking landscapes, exciting discoveries, and so many memories!

Day 1

We started out our trip by exploring the town of Rapid City.  Our first stop of the day was Bear Country USA, which is a really fun drive-thru zoo. We saw so many bears, and one even rubbed his bottom on the front end of our car! After you complete the drive-thru portion, make sure to get out and walk around the rest of the park to see even more animals up close. Plus, the gift shop here is really great and has lots of fun finds. 

Next, we headed to Reptile Gardens. This place is kind of a botanical garden meets reptile zoo, and was definitely a hit with my kids. We packed a lunch and ate at one of the picnic tables here, which was perfect. 

We spent the afternoon exploring Storybook Island, a free park in Rapid City that should not be missed. Imagine all your favorite childhood fairytale or storybook characters in one giant, interactive park. 

Then we headed to the Main Street Square for some shopping and dinner. In the summer, they have concerts and activities going on here, and it turns into an ice skating rink in the winter. Bring your kiddos swim suits so they can cool down in the fountains. 

After dinner, we took a self guided walking tour of the presidential statues downtown. You can find them on every block, and they have QR codes you can scan to learn about each one. 

Day 2

We headed to Hill City this morning to take a ride on the 1880’s train. We took the first train to Keystone. The ride is so magical, and truly a beautiful way to experience the Black Hills! We saw lots of wildlife along the way. They offer concessions on the train (cash only) so make sure to bring a few dollars for popcorn. Each way takes about 45 minutes, and you can choose to ride back immediately, or get off the train and explore. 

When we got off the train in Keystone, we walked over to Tramway Adventures (about ½ mile), where we rode the chairlift up the hill, and took the alpine slide back down. My kids loved this so much (and so did the adults!), and we totally would have rode it again if it wasn’t so expensive. 

We grabbed lunch and explored some of the shops along main street Keystone before catching the afternoon train back to Hill City. The train ride back was nice and relaxing, and my little one took a nap. 

After we got back to Rapid City, the kids needed to burn some energy, so we headed to WaTiki Indoor Waterpark, which was a great spot for them to be silly and have some fun. There are lots of slides, sprinklers, dump buckets and a lazy river that they loved floating on. 

For dinner, we grabbed Happy Meals and headed over to the Dinosaur Park. There are picnic tables and benches along the way, perfect for a lunch or dinner stop. Then we wandered around and the kids climbed and played on the dinosaurs while we watched the sun setting over the city.

Day 3

We started day 3 by heading north into Spearfish, about 45 minutes outside of Rapid City. We spent the morning at the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, which is such a cool place to explore. Buy a bag (or 2) of fish food from the gift shop and feed the feed, then explore the historic buildings and grounds. It’s free to enter, and definitely a cool place to explore. 

We ate a picnic lunch at the park right next to the fish hatchery, then headed into the Black Hills for an afternoon of hiking and waterfalls. We started at the Community caves trail, a 0.6 mile out and back hike rated hard. It’s a tough hike that is basically straight uphill, but the payoff at the end is totally worth it. My bigger kids did well with it, but I would say this trail is best for 6+. 

After our hike, we drove on the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, stopping at several waterfalls along the way. Read more about how to see 3 epic waterfalls in one afternoon here.

Day 4

The next day, we headed southeast to the Badlands National park. It takes a little under an hour to get there, and we used our America the Beautiful Pass to get into the park.

We hiked some family friendly trails, including the Notch, Window and Door trail in the morning. We had lunch outside the Ben Reifel Visitor’s center, then browsed the museum and the kids worked on their Junior Ranger booklets and earn their badge. 

We drove the Badlands Loop, and stopped at the Fossil Exhibit trail to search for fossils, then we headed down Rim Road to see the bison and prairie dog town. Read more about our day in Badlands National Park here. 

After leaving the Badlands, we stopped by the Wall Drug Store in Wall, South Dakota. We did a little shopping here and grabbed dinner. Be aware, food prices here are steep considering it’s just burgers and fries, but it’s an iconic stop. Head to the back for some cool photo ops after you’re done inside.

Day 5

We started this day early because I wanted to get into Custer State Park first thing in the morning for the best chance at seeing wildlife. We started around 8 a.m. and drove the 18 mile wildlife loop, which took us about 2.5 hours to complete. We saw tons of bison, mule deer, burros, prairie dogs, and pronghorns, and it was totally worth arriving early. 

Next, we drove along Needles Highway to Sylvan Lake. We hiked the 1.1 mile Lake Shore Trail, which takes you in a loop around the whole lake. It’s a really cool trail that takes you along some amazing rock formations and gives you a beautiful view of the lake. We also rented kayaks from the store right next to the lake. It’s first come first served, and we did have to wait a little bit for 2 double kayaks to become available, but not too long. We did a 1-hour rental, which was plenty of time to paddle out and get a feel of the lake. There is a swimming area, but the water was very cold, and the day we visited was rather cool, so we just let the kids play in the sand. 

I really wanted to do the Cathedral Spires hike after we left Sylvan Lake, but our kids were worn out, so we headed back to Rapid City via Iron Mountain Road. If you have extra time and energy on this day, definitely check out this hike because it looks awesome.

Day 6

On our last full day in South Dakota, we headed to Mt. Rushmore first thing that morning. We arrived shortly after 8 a.m. and the crowds were thin. We hiked the Presidential Trail, our kids earned their Junior Ranger badges, and we ate some of Thomas Jefferson’s famous vanilla ice cream. You can read more about What to do at Mt. Rushmore with kids here. 

We had the intention of stopping by Crazy Horse Memorial, but spent longer at Mt. Rushmore than I thought we would, so just did a drive by view of it. 

We had cave tour reservations at Jewel Cave National monument early that afternoon, so we headed there next. When we visited, Wind Cave National Park was not doing tours due to elevator repairs, so we did a cave tour of Jewel Cave instead. Wind Cave National Park is not far, so we made a stop here after our tour of Jewel Cave and checked out the Visitor’s Center for the kids to earn their Junior Ranger badges. 

Note: If you are wanting to do either of these cave tours, I would highly recommend making a reservation beforehand, because they do sell out. Reservations can be made here.

Day 7

This was our departure day, and since our drive back home was straight south from Rapid City, we stopped at Mammoth Site in Hot Springs on the way out of town. This is the largest mammoth fossil dig site in the world, and is so full of history and information. Definitely one of our favorite places to visit on this trip, and highly recommend a stop here if you can!

Then, we headed south back to Kansas to end our full yet incredible week exploring the Black Hills of South Dakota. If you are thinking about planning a family trip to explore South Dakota, I cannot recommend it enough! We had such an amazing week full of adventure, and made so many memories as a family.