Your guide to the South Dakota National Parks

All of the South Dakota national parks are located within a 2 or so hour drive of each other. While you can easily visit them in one day, I would recommend splitting the trip into at least two days to be able to explore as much as possible. You could easily spend a week or so exploring if you want to visit one site a day. As of early 2020, all of the Black Hills sites have undergoing construction that will affect your ability to explore the full sites. So be sure to check the individual park websites before you head out. Here’s my guide to the South Dakota national parks.

I-90 Exit 131

You’ll find Minuteman Missile National Historic Site and one entrance of Badlands National Park at the same exit off I-90. Both sites can be visited in one day. If you want to tour the Delta missile sites at Minuteman, you should plan at least a day for each of the parks. Be sure to reserve those tours ahead of time. You will have some driving to get to everywhere you want to see.

The Black Hills

The remaining South Dakota national parks are all in the Black Hills. You can stay in Rapid City or in Custer and visit all of the sites in one day. Mount Rushmore National Memorial only needs a few hours, even if you plan to hike to the studio. I would recommend reserving cave tours ahead of time for both Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park. The tours can sell out. Give yourself a few hours at each of the caves to make sure you can finish the tour and explore more of the site. If you need to schedule your cave tours on different days, you’ll be able to find plenty of other things to explore in the Black Hills.

Bonus stamps: You can also find stamps for the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the Missouri River Recreation Area in South Dakota.

Have you visited any of South Dakota’s national parks?