Rapid City Travel Guide

Known as the "Star of the West," Rapid City is a great place to station yourself for a vacation in the Black Hills. It is just 30 minutes from Mt. Rushmore, 45 minutes from Custer State Park and Wind Cave, 30 minutes from Sturgis, and about an hour from Deadwood. If you are looking for a good campground with cabins, look no further than Lake Park Campground on Jackson Boulevard on Canyon Lake.

Rapid City itself is just okay.  But the Black Hills are gorgeous and worth seeing.  There are lakes with huge boulders tucked back into the hills, sheer rock faces that line the roads, and it smells like fresh pine trees everywhere.  Some mountain drives never let you near the scenery, but in the Black Hills, you are right up in it.

There's only one reason I went to Rapid City, South Dakota:  Mount Rushmore.  And it was worth the trip to this town.  Mount Rushmore has a lot of American history at this monument. My dad and I were able to stay in town in a small motel for very cheap, not hiked up touristy prices, which we appreciated!!