Activities
From the Badlands National Park to Mount Rushmore, from the historic small town of Interior to an abundance of unique wildlife, there is no end to the exciting adventures in South Dakota’s Badlands and Black Hills.
The renowned 244,000-acre Badlands National Park is home to stunning, rugged landscapes, rich fossil beds, and unique wildlife, including bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and more.
Dating back to the 1880s, Interior, South Dakota, is the oldest town in the Badlands. Just outside the Badlands National Park’s south gate, public lands near the town offer spectacular landscapes, unique wildlife, and natural treasures for premier agate rock and fossil hunters.
“Must see” nearby destinations include Badlands National Park, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Badlands Loop Scenic Byway, High Plains Big Gaming, Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, and Lakota Heritage.
From 1963 until the early 1990s, the missile silo at Delta-09 contained a fully operational Minuteman Missile, bearing a 1.2 megaton nuclear warhead. The Delta-09 missile silo was one of 150 spread across western South Dakota. In total there were 1,000 Minuteman missiles deployed from the 1960’s into the early 1990’s. Visitors can now tour the site daily.
The iconic Wall Drug has been a Great Plains tradition for decades. This free, family attraction features an old-time five-and-dime, art gallery, animated dinosaur exhibits, gift shops, and restaurants. Still offering free water for road weary travelers.
Located in Quinn, South Dakota, the Badlands Observatory was founded in 2000 by amateur astronomer Ron Dyving, The observatory offers both daytime tours of the exhibits and a variety of nighttime programs.
Surrounded by South Dakota’s Black Hills, the iconic Mount Rushmore National Monument tells the nation’s story through the iconic faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt.