Road trip guide
Badlands spires, Mount Rushmore through a tunnel, bison jams on the Wildlife Loop, and the narrowest granite tunnels you'll ever fold your mirrors for.
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Western South Dakota packs a remarkable amount into a small area. An hour east of Rapid City, Badlands National Park is a wall of eroded spires and striped buttes rising out of the prairie. An hour southwest, the Black Hills are a forested granite island with Mount Rushmore, the bison herds of Custer State Park, and two of the most entertaining roads in America — Iron Mountain Road and the Needles Highway — built by a governor who wanted the drive itself to be the attraction.
Three days covers it as a loop from Rapid City, with one day in the Badlands and two in the Hills. Here's the route, the stops, and the plan, including the tunnel sizes that matter if you're in an RV. Let Wanderply build your version around your dates and narrate every switchback and pigtail bridge.
The route
SD-240 runs about 39 miles through Badlands National Park between I-90 exits 131 and 110, past overlooks of banded spires and grassland. Near the Northeast Entrance, the Door, Window, and Notch trails start from one lot — the Door Trail is an easy 0.75-mile round trip into the formations. Watch for bighorn sheep and prairie dog towns. Half a day.
The roadside empire that grew from a struggling 1931 drugstore whose owners started offering free ice water to thirsty travelers. Hundreds of billboards later, it's a block-long maze of shops, a cafe serving 5-cent coffee and homemade donuts, and animatronic cowboys. Corny and unmissable; an hour.
Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lincoln, carved between 1927 and 1941 under sculptor Gutzon Borglum, each face about 60 feet tall. Walk the Avenue of Flags, then the 0.6-mile Presidential Trail loop for the closest views. Summer evenings bring a lighting ceremony. Entry is free; parking has its own fee. 1–2 hours.
US-16A between Keystone and Custer State Park: about 17 miles of curves, switchbacks, and three wooden 'pigtail' bridges that loop over themselves to gain height, plus narrow rock tunnels aligned so Mount Rushmore appears framed at the end. Designed under Governor Peter Norbeck in the 1930s. Take it slowly — about 45 minutes.
An 18-mile road through rolling prairie with one of the largest publicly owned bison herds in the country — roughly 1,300–1,500 animals — plus pronghorn, prairie dogs, and the famously bold 'begging burros' descended from old pack animals. Stay in your car near bison. Early morning and evening are best. 1–2 hours.
SD-87's 14 miles thread between granite spires and through tight one-lane tunnels — the Needles Eye Tunnel is only about 8 feet wide, so check posted dimensions before bringing anything big. At the top, Sylvan Lake is a mirror-calm reservoir ringed by boulders, with an easy 1-mile shoreline loop. Allow 1.5–2 hours.
A mountain carving of the Lakota leader Crazy Horse, begun in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski at the invitation of Lakota elders and still in progress; the 87-foot face was completed in 1998. Privately funded, so admission is charged. The visitor complex holds the Indian Museum of North America. 1–2 hours.
Suggested plan
Day 1
East on I-90 to the Badlands' Northeast Entrance. Hike the Door and Window trails, drive the Loop Road west with stops at the overlooks, then Wall Drug. Stay for sunset in the park, then back to Rapid City or overnight in Wall or Interior.
Day 2
South to Keystone and Mount Rushmore in the morning light, then Iron Mountain Road's tunnels and pigtail bridges into Custer State Park. Evening on the Wildlife Loop for bison. Overnight at a Custer State Park lodge or in Custer or Hill City.
Day 3
Early on the Needles Highway before tour traffic, a walk around Sylvan Lake, then Crazy Horse Memorial. Return to Rapid City via Hill City (about 1 hour).
Wanderply doesn't just plan the Rapid City → Mount Rushmore route — it narrates every stop like a podcast you play in the car, with the history and the story of each place. And it all works offline, the whole way.
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Good to know
Badlands charges a vehicle fee of about $30 (7 days). Mount Rushmore has no entrance fee, but parking costs extra and isn't covered by the America the Beautiful pass. Custer State Park requires a temporary vehicle license (roughly $20–25 for 7 days) to drive its roads, including the Wildlife Loop and Needles Highway. Crazy Horse charges its own admission.
Small RVs can, but the tunnels are tight: the Needles Eye Tunnel is only about 8 feet wide, and Iron Mountain Road's tunnels are also narrow and low. Large RVs and trailers should skip both and use US-16 and US-385 instead. Dimensions are posted at each end — measure your rig, mirrors included.
Typically from spring through fall; both close for winter snow, roughly November to April, depending on the year. The Badlands Loop Road and Mount Rushmore are open year-round, weather permitting.
Usually on the last Friday in September, when riders round up the herd for its annual health check and the park hosts an arts festival the same weekend. It's hugely popular — book lodging well ahead and expect closures on the Wildlife Loop that day.
Late May through September, when all the scenic roads are open; September brings smaller crowds and the roundup. Avoid the first half of August if you don't want to share the roads and motels with the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which fills the region for about ten days.
Tell Wanderply your dates, pace, and who's coming — it builds a day-by-day plan around your must-dos and narrates the whole drive.
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