The Ultimate 5 Day South Dakota Road Trip Itinerary: Badlands + Black Hills!

When it comes to appreciating the wildlife and wide open spaces of the American West, there’s nothing quite like taking a South Dakota road trip through the Badlands and Black Hills!

With two national parks, stupendous sunsets, quirky small towns that call to mind the gold rush(es) of the not-so-distant past, roving bison, and otherworldly landscapes, exploring the best things to do in South Dakota is a exciting adventure for the whole family.

If you have 5 days in South Dakota to work with, here are our best tips for planning a short South Dakota road trip, based on our own adventures around the state… plus other nearby road trip stops that you might like to add on with more time!

Here’s how to organize the perfect itinerary for a 5 day South Dakota road trip.

How We Structured This South Dakota Road Trip

With a region as heavy on things to do and light on population centers as western South Dakota, it can be a challenge to plan the ideal road trip route!

We’ve structured this 5 day South Dakota itinerary without a specific start or end point, as many visitors (us included) visit South Dakota as part of a broader road trip through the American West.

However, this itinerary can easily accommodate all 3 major ways of structuring a South Dakota vacation: as a loop beginning and ending in Rapid City (if you’re flying in), as a road trip from east to west, or as a road trip from west to east (though you’ll want to reverse this suggested itinerary if you’re coming from Wyoming or Colorado).

We’ll offer some suggestions below on how to continue past South Dakota if that’s your plan!

If you’re flying in and out of Rapid City, the total drive time if you simply drove this route in a circle is a bit over 6 hours.

You will absolutely drive quite a bit more than that–it’s impossible not to double back a bit in the course of 5 days in the Black Hills and Badlands (especially if you don’t want to change hotels every night), and scenic drives feature heavily on the route, but it’s worth keeping that timeline in mind as you plan your vacation.

Renting a Car for Your South Dakota Vacation (+ Getting There)

While many travelers will drive their own vehicles through South Dakota, if you’re flying in and out of the state, you’ll want to rent a car in Rapid City.

South Dakota is essentially the literal opposite of a destination where you can rely on public transportation, and this itinerary is close to impossible without your own wheels (technically speaking, you could opt to cobble together a series of bus tours like this from Rapid City, but it would be extremely limiting over 5 days).

If you do need to rent a car for your trip to South Dakota, we recommend renting a car through Discover Cars, which will allow you to compare the prices and inclusions of multiple companies at the same time and choose the best car for you from there.

Check rates and shop rental cars for your trip to South Dakota today!

The Perfect South Dakota Road Trip Itinerary

Day 1 in South Dakota: Make your way to Badlands National Park and enjoy the sunset.

On the day you kick off your South Dakota road trip, head directly to the legendary Badlands National Park!

Arguably the most iconic place to visit in South Dakota (or perhaps a close second behind that one famous mountain), Badlands National Park is known for its incredible landscapes and endless wildlife viewing opportunities, including bison, prairie dogs, pronghorns, bighorn sheep (if you’re lucky!), and many more.

(Note that the wildlife spotting opportunities also include rattlesnakes, which the many signs throughout the park are sure to remind you of–be sure to watch where you step).

Visiting Badlands National Park generally involves more driving and less hiking than in some national parks, though there are plenty of short hikes scattered throughout the park.

Depending on what time you arrive, we recommend entering the park at the Pinnacles Entrance, driving (at least part of) Sage Creek Rim Road, and enjoying the sunset over the prairie.

The sunset we enjoyed here is one of the most memorable of our lives and was accompanied by many bison and prairie dogs (don’t miss the Roberts Prairie Dog Town viewpoint!).

Where to Stay Near Badlands National Park

The kitschy town of Wall is well-known not just for its (in)famous general store (more on that tomorrow), but for being about a 10-minute drive from the Pinnacles Entrance Station to Badlands National Park!

It makes a great first base for this South Dakota itinerary, and we recommend staying there for 2 nights.

We stayed at the Best Western Plains Motel and found that it met our expectations perfectly: convenient, comfortable, and unfussy, with an included breakfast that we took advantage of daily.

We were traveling South Dakota in the fall, but the Best Western also has a pool that we definitely would have been jumping into had we been visiting during the scorching summer.

For a cabin experience even closer to Badlands NP, Badlands Frontier Cabins get excellent reviews.

For a (slightly) more budget-friendly option, there’s also an America’s Best Value Inn in town that is popular.

Check rates & book your stay in Wall today!

Day 2 in South Dakota: Explore Badlands National Park + enjoy kitsch in Wall.

On your second day in South Dakota, it’s all about making the most of Badlands National Park… and a couple of nearby attractions.

We recommend driving the Badlands Loop Road today (AKA Highway 240) through the northern part of Badlands National Park, which will take you past many of the most iconic overlooks and to the most popular trailheads in the park.

And, for adventurous hikers, Badlands National Park even has an Open Hike Policy, meaning that confident, cautious, and prepared hikers don’t need to stick to the trails at all!

(That being said, there are 8 marked trails in the park as well, including the ever-popular Notch Trail).

It doesn’t get more choose-your-own-adventure than that, and you could easily spend all day slowly crawling along Badlands Loop Road with breaks to hike, admire wildlife, enjoy a picnic lunch, and simply soak in the views.

However, if you find yourself with a bit of extra time on your hands, a round-trip circle that begins and ends in Wall will also take you past the wildly interesting Minuteman Missle National Historic Site, where you can explore Cold War-era nuclear history (in other words, the complete opposite of the rugged nature most of this South Dakota itinerary focuses on).

And, at some point throughout the day, it’s worth stopping by the quirky and over-the-top Wall Drug.

While, yes, it’s more-or-less a ridiculously kitschy mall (complete with several stores, restaurants, and even a chapel), the homemade doughnuts are delicious, the ice cream tasty, and the famous $0.05 coffee surprisingly good for the price.

Since you’re already staying in town, it’s worth a few minutes to check out!

Day 3 in South Dakota: Get underground at Wind Cave National Park + pay a visit to Mount Rushmore.

As the midpoint of your short vacation in South Dakota, day 3 will include a change of hotels and, most likely, some of the most car time on your trip (a bit over 3 hours, not including possible detours or the driving you do within the park(s) themselves).

We recommend getting as early of a start as possible.

Morning: A Cave Tour + Wildlife Viewing

From one national park to the next: it’s time to head southwest to Wind Cave National Park.

Despite the name, Wind Cave National Park is known almost as much for its ample wildlife (hello bison!) as its namesake cave–but touring Wind Cave itself should be at the top of your list for today!

Ideally, you’ll want to reserve your cave tour in advance, though if you miss it, it’s still worth checking to see if a same-day ticket is available (there are a few different tours, depending on how intense of a cave tour you’re looking for).

Don’t want to deal with the hassle of timing a cave tour? You can peer into one of the cave’s natural entrances for free!

If you find that Wind Cave is closed (which has happened more than once over the last several years), alternative or additional options could include a visit to Jewel Cave National Monument and/or the Mammoth Site, where you can see more than 60 mammoths dating to the Ice Age!

Afternoon: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Mount Rushmore has the interesting status of being arguably the most iconic site featured on this 5 day South Dakota itinerary, as well as (deservedly) being the most controversial (long story very short, it was built on land held sacred by the Lakota Sioux people, and carved in part by an artist that has ties to the Ku Klux Klan).

It’s also the road trip stop that takes the least time to see of any in this guide.

If you’d like to visit, the memorial itself is open until 11:00 PM during the high season, and 9:00 PM in the off-season, and can be seen in just a few minutes if you’re in a hurry.

The interpretative museum and visitors center can expand your visit, and is open until 6:00 PM in the high season and 5:00 PM in the low season (you can the opening check hours for your dates here).

Regardless, it would be difficult to spend more than a couple of hours here at the absolute maximum, which is why we recommend checking it out this afternoon: it’ll leave more time to explore further afield in the next couple of days!

Note that while Mount Rushmore itself is free to visit, its parking garage is not. You can glimpse the monument for free from the road as you approach, though (the statues are much plainer than you might expect up close: its unfinished state is fairly obvious once you’re there).

If you’d prefer not to visit, Jewel Cave and/or the Mammoth Site, as mentioned above, could easily round out your third day road tripping South Dakota!

Where to Stay in Custer

For the final 2-3 nights of your South Dakota road trip, we recommend basing yourself in the town of Custer.

While Keystone is the more famous place to stay in the Black Hills, thanks to its proximity to Mount Rushmore, we found it hopelessly touristy–like Branson or Gatlinburg levels of touristy–and we say that as travelers with a higher love of kitsch than some!

It’s also incredibly small, and while it’s close to Mount Rushmore, Custer is closer to Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, and Jewel Canyon National Monument (if you get a chance to head that way).

Custer is also larger, with far more hotel and dining options, making it incredibly convenient on multiple levels.

There are several chain and local hotels in town, with the Comfort Inn & Suites Custer (complete with included breakfast and an indoor pool) being our pick for standard hotels.

If you’re looking for a local property, the Chalet Motel gets excellent reviews at the budget end of the spectrum, while the charming Bavarian Inn (featuring an on-site cafe and an outdoor pool and hot tub) is a popular pick at a higher price point.

If you would prefer to stay in Keystone, the Comfort Inn & Suites Mount Rushmore has the highest review rating in town.

Check rates & book your stay in Custer today!

Day 4 in South Dakota: Enjoy bison, burros, and beyond in Custer State Park + Take an Afternoon Detour

The bulk of your fourth day traveling South Dakota will be spent in the glorious Custer State Park–but depending on your priorities and how much you opt to do there, you might want to add on a second stop in the afternoon…

Morning: Custer State Park

While Custer State Park doesn’t hold national park status, it’s easily one of the highlights of any trip to South Dakota’s Black Hills!

Home to a stupendous amount of wildlife–including nearly 1,400 bison–incredible scenic drives, some extremely enthusiastic “begging burros” (as in, they will beg for snacks at your car window), and beautiful landscapes, Custer State Park is a fantastic place to spend a day.

Be sure to drive the Wildlife Loop Scenic Byway and Needles Highway as part of your visit!

For hikes, Cathedral Spires is the top hike in the park for balancing a short visiting time with appreciating the unique landscapes.

For something even easier, consider strolling around the beautiful Sylvan Lake–or if you’d rather skip a drive or two in favor of more time on your feet, hiking the 7.1 miles of the Black Elk Peak Loop will take you to the highest point in South Dakota.

Custer State Park’s third scenic drive, the Iron Mountain Highway, is said to be famously winding, which didn’t make it appeal to us!

It is, however, supposed to have excellent views of Mount Rushmore, as well as featuring some remarkable tunnels.

Afternoon: Potential Detour to Crazy Horse or Jewel Cave

While Mount Rushmore is iconic, it’s also famously (and deservedly) controversial: the four presidents were carved into land held sacred by the Lakota Sioux.

In eventual response, the Crazy Horse Monument–meant to celebrate one of many Sioux leaders who fought the US military–was born in 1939. If/when the monument is finished, it would far eclipse Mount Rushmore in size.

However, Crazy Horse remains far from completion nearly a century on (it currently consists of purely a face, finished in 1998), and it faces its own criticisms from the Lakota people, including that Crazy Horse himself was famously modest and likely would not appreciate such a monument being carved of him (you can read more about the history behind the Crazy Horse monument here).

All of this is to say, the Crazy Horse monument is certainly a unique fixture on the landscape, and if you’d like to visit, this afternoon is an excellent opportunity to do so (you can check ticket prices here)!

Want to add a different stop to your afternoon? Visiting Jewel Cave National Monument is another option, as is simply savoring your time in Custer State Park.

Jeffreylcooke, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Day 5: in South Dakota: Explore Deadwood and Spearfish Canyon.

As your 5 days in South Dakota draw to a close, it’s time to head north to see yet another side of the state!

The mining towns of the Wild West and the tree-and-waterfall-covered Spearfish Canyon both feel worlds away from the Badlands.

Morning: Head up to Deadwood.

Deadwood is one of South Dakota’s most famous gold mine towns, and the spirit of the Wild West lives on here (in the form of gambling for some, though you don’t need to gamble at all to appreciate Deadwood–we didn’t).

Top things to do in Deadwood include visiting the Adams Museum and Black Hills Mining Museum, exploring walkable Main Street, and checking out Mount Moriah Cemetery, the final resting place of many famous Wild West figures like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok.

If you’re visiting in the summer, panning for gold at the Broken Boot Gold Mine is a classic thing to do (and a hit with kids visiting South Dakota).

With limited time, seeing one Wild West town is probably enough–but it’s worth noting that the nearby towns of Lead and Sturgis have lots to offer as well!

Afternoon: Explore Spearfish Canyon.

The 19-mile Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway packs a punch in a fairly short distance!

Spearfish Canyon itself is beautiful and features gorgeous hikes, waterfalls, and wildlife. We were lucky enough to spot a family of mountain goats right off of the scenic byway!

If you’re up for a short-but-steep ascent, the 76 Trail will take you to a gorgeous overview of the canyon.

Alternatively, visiting Roughlock Falls and/or Spearfish Falls is a great way to appreciate a very different kind of natural beauty than you’ve seen in South Dakota so far!

After Your 5 Days in South Dakota’s Badlands + Black Hills…

Ready to say goodbye to South Dakota after 5 days?

Here’s where to go next, depending on your direction of travel!

Flying out of South Dakota: Rapid City

If you’re leaving South Dakota by plane, odds are that you’ll be headed to Rapid City to do so.

If you have time before departing, consider stopping by downtown Rapid City for the City of Presidents walking tour (essentially a bunch of statues of various presidents in a pretty downtown shopping district), visiting the Dinosaur Museum, or if you’re visiting in the summer, checking out the Norwegian-style stave church of Chapel in the Hills (open seasonally).

Jake DeGroot, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Drive west from South Dakota: Devils Tower National Monument

If you’re driving west after your South Dakota road trip, you won’t have far to go before seeing one of the top places to visit in Wyoming!

Devils Tower National Monument lies just an hour west of Spearfish, and it’s a marvel to visit.

We weren’t sure what to expect, but it exceeded our expectations for visiting (even in the rain) and we highly recommend checking it out.

It also gives you another chance to take advantage of your national parks pass if you’re traveling with one!

Drive east from South Dakota: Sioux Falls

If you’re driving east after visiting the Badlands and Black Hills, you’ll almost certainly be driving through Sioux Falls!

We loved our stop in this unexpected city and found the falls themselves to be a beautiful place to rest and stretch during a long road trip.

Less worth the stop was the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, which was one of the weirder “attractions” we’ve visited anywhere in the world (think high school gymnasium with a corn decor aesthetic).

You could do worse for a place to stretch your legs, though, if you’re due to get out of the car for a bit!

Packing Essentials for a Black Hills + Badlands Road Trip

There’s no getting around it: whether you’re flying in and renting a car in South Dakota or driving in from another state, taking a South Dakota road trip includes spending lots of time in a vehicle and using it as your base of exploring.

You can browse our detailed road trip packing list here, but to get started, here are some of the top road trip essentials we recommend bringing along with you as you explore:

Hands-Free Phone Mount — This is especially important if you don’t have a reliable co-pilot: the last thing you want to do is fumble with the GPS on your phone when driving on unfamiliar roads.

Pack a cell phone holder to attach to the car and you’ll be able to drive much more safely!

America the Beautiful Pass — We are big fans of the America the Beautiful Pass, AKA the National Parks Pass! For only $80–less for certain groups like seniors and military personnel–the park covers day-use fees to over 2,000 federally managed lands, including all 63 national parks, for an entire year.

While you won’t break even with the pass over the course of 5 days in South Dakota (Wind Cave National Park is free to visit aboveground, and the pass doesn’t cover “interpretive services” like the cave tour), the $30 per vehicle entrance fee to Badlands National Park alone goes a long way toward recouping the value.

If you plan to visit more national parks in the next 365 days (like, say, continuing your road trip into Wyoming and visiting Devils Tower National Monument and/or Yellowstone National Park, and/or Grand Tetons National Park), the America the Beautiful Pass may just be an incredible deal!

Portable USB Charger — Don’t stress about your phone dying while you’re spending long days driving from overlook to overlook: add a portable charger to your packing list.

Windshield Shade — If you’re driving your own car to South Dakota this summer, you’ll want to bring a windshield shade along! Growing up in places with summer temperatures that regularly topped 100 F, these handy things were daily driving essentials.

Downloaded Maps — Online maps with real-time navigation are an enormous asset to any modern road trip–but they don’t work everywhere, and there’s a good chance you’ll lose signal at several points when visiting South Dakota.

Make sure to download your essential maps before setting off on your road trip.

Reusable Water Bottle — Save both money and plastic during your vacation and add a reusable water bottle to your packing list for South Dakota! I love this metal one.

Travel Cooler (With Snacks) — We love having a cooler with us on road trips and try to bring one with us whenever we can. We’ve eaten everything from chicken tacos to sandwiches to chili out of ours, and find lots of joy in picnicking at beautiful overlooks when on the road.

We adore our cooler and have had it for 5+ years, but this popular one is a more budget-friendly option.

Hand Sanitizer — We’ve never been on a road trip where we were sorry that we brought hand sanitizer along! I usually stash one in the center console of the car and another in our day bag.

The Best Time to Road Trip South Dakota

Summer is, without a doubt, the most popular time to road trip South Dakota: after all, a cross-country road trip is a classic summer vacation, and many routes go right through South Dakota!

Certain businesses, including some restaurants and even the popular Broken Boot Gold Mine in Deadwood, are seasonal and only open for the summer, and the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is a summer event too.

However, spring and fall are arguably more pleasant times to visit on many levels, with decreased temperatures and crowds both making the experience lovely.

If you’d like to see (or participate in!) the annual Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup, it takes place in late September (you can learn more about the roundup here).

The fall foliage (particularly in Spearfish Canyon) is stunning, too!

While technically you could take this South Dakota road trip as outlined in the winter, there’s a good chance that parts of it would have to be adjusted due to snow and road closures. Many seasonal businesses will be closed as well.

Read More About Visiting the American West

Planning a great American road trip that extends beyond the borders of South Dakota? If so, you’re in for a wonderful adventure!

Road-tripping the USA is one of our favorite ways to travel, and we’ve covered quite a bit of the country over the years!

Here are a few other places you might enjoy setting your GPS to after your South Dakota road trip:

• 33 Stunning Places to Visit in Summer in the USA
• Horseshoe Bend, Arizona: The Ultimate Travel Guide
• 21 Captivating Mountain Towns in Colorado (Getaway Ideas!)
• 3 Days in Las Vegas: The Perfect Weekend in Vegas Itinerary
• 33 Unknown + Underrated Vacation Spots in the USA

Your South Dakota Road Trip Itinerary Map

Take This Map With You! Click each highlight to pull up the name of the destination. To save this map to “Your Places” on Google Maps, click the star to the right of the title. You’ll then be able to find it under the Maps tab of your Google Maps account! To open the map in a new window, click the button on the top right of the map.