A Summer Trip To South Dakota: a house log

I will be the first to admit that South Dakota was not high on my vacation bucket list. But I ended up there this summer on a dad-and-daughter trip I took with some family members: and WOW, we enjoyed it. It was a surprising and wonderful departure from our usual family trips, so I hoped to share some highlights in case anyone else is interested in breaking out of the more typical beach or theme park vacation routine.

Horseback Riding Outside Badlands National Park South Dakota

Growing up on the East Coast and now living in Florida, I have not spent much time in the upper Midwest. So these sights may be old hat for some of you. But simply like our trip to the California desert earlier this year, this was a chance for us to soak up some new-to-us geography.

Kids Exploring Rock Formation In Badlands National Park

Why We Vacationed In South Dakota

South Dakota is home to plenty of epic vistas, charming towns, and outdoor adventures. They have six major national parks, monuments, memorials, and historic sites including Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore, and the Crazy Horse Memorial. There are also iconic “Western” towns like Sturgis, Rapid City, and Historic Deadwood. So there is no shortage of places to explore.

Kids Walking On Boardwalk Hike In Badlands National Park South Dakota

But our reason for going was also personal. When my grandfather immigrated to America as a kid, his family landed in South Dakota. He moved away as a teen, long before my father was born, so it has been straightforward to forget that my family has roots in the state. So my dad suggested this trip to see some sights AND reconnect with extended family still living there.

The plan blossomed to include my uncle and cousins on my mom’s side, including one cousin whose daughter is close friends with our daughter – even though they live several states apart. So it became a chance to give the girls quality time together, while some other family members got together without being too large of a travel group. (Sherry and I have also learned how strong one-on-one trips with our kids can be – highly recommend).

Where Did We Go In South Dakota

We were only in South Dakota for 3 nights, so it was a fairly swift trip. Still, we managed to squeeze in a lot. My dad and uncle were in charge of the itinerary (which was a pleasant change of pace for me) and they did a strong job of making the most of our time there. Here were our main destinations:

Downtown Rapid City
Circle View Guest Ranch
Badlands National Park (seen below)
Wall Drug in Wall, SD
Mount Rushmore
Custer State Park
My extended family’s cattle ranch

Musk Thistle Sweet Clover In Badlands National Park South Dakota

Our daughter and I did not get to see much of Rapid City or Custer State Park because of our flight schedule, but the others seemed to truly enjoy them. At Custer State Park they even had to wait for a herd of buffalo to cross the road!

Where We Stayed In South Dakota

One of my dad’s goals with the trip was to stay on a working farm and the whole trip came together once he found Circle View Guest Ranch. It is about 60 minutes from the Rapid City Airport (where we all flew in) and simply about 5 minutes outside the entrance to Badlands National Park. I cannot say sufficient good things about this place.

Circle View Guest Ranch Sign in Interior South Dakota

It is a bed & breakfast with several rooms in the main house and a separate “bunkhouse” that sleeps 8. There is also an 1880s homestead cabin with no running water or electricity if you want to truly rough it! (spoiler alert: we did not). The spaces were all clean, comfortable, and more than well-stocked with amenities like coffee, books, games, and even foosball and ping pong.

The highlight for us adults was the breakfast every morning. The Kruse family, who operate Circle View and live on the lower level, invite all guests downstairs for a generous hearty family-style breakfast in their kitchen. This picture does not do it justice, but it is the only one I got because I was too busy stuffing my face. They truly outdo themselves and I would come back for the food alone.

Hearty Midwest Breakfast With Eggs Sausage Biscuits Granola

As much as the kids enjoyed the breakfast (pancakes! smoothies!), they enjoyed the farm and the animals even more. There were dogs, puppies, cats, chickens, and even some hilariously vocal peacocks roaming around. At one point while I was on the phone with Sherry, one was screaming in the background.

Albino Peacock In Front Of Red Barn At Circle View Ranch

The Kruse children even showed our collective kids some of the chores they do, like gathering eggs and cleaning out the chicken coops. I am fairly sure more than one of our kids hoped to sneak a chicken home on the airplane.

Basket of multicolored eggs collected on farm

Mostly it was pleasant seeing our daughter and her cousins having lively together against the striking backdrop of the Badlands.

Kids Playing On Swing At Ranch Badlands National Park South Dakota

They likely could’ve stayed at Circle View the whole time, simply enjoying each other’s company and chasing chickens around.

What We Did In South Dakota

One of our days in South Dakota was mostly spent road-tripping a few hours to visit my dad’s cousin’s ranch. We learned a bit more about the cattle business, visited my strong-grandfather’s grave, and had a fascinating chat with my dad’s uncle, who is a WWII vet. So while that was a high point of the trip for us personally, here are the other things we enjoyed.

Horseback Riding

I am largely indifferent to horses, so I nearly opted out of this activity. I am SO GLAD I did not. Simply down the road from Circle View Ranch, another family member operates a small horseback riding excursion (we coordinated it through our hosts). She leads you on a gentle hour-ish ride on the outskirts of Badlands National Park. I cannot remember the last time I was on a horse (if ever) and it was a comfortable, straightforward ride.

John Riding Horse In South Dakota In Front of Barn

My photos do not capture how striking and serene it was, especially since we caught an especially vibrant bloom of yellow sweet clover. The wild thing about this trip is that so many of the photos we came home with made Sherry say: this does not even look like it was taken in the US! What is this, the Netherlands!?!

Girl On Horseback In Field Of Yellow Wildflowers In South Dakota

Badlands National Park

Since Circle View was so close to the park entrance, we went there (or through it) a few times.

During our main visit, we did a couple of short (and flat) hikes from the Notch Trail parking lot. The views were spectacular and the kids enjoyed scrambling up the rock formations.

Kids Playing On Rock Formations in Badlands National Park South Dakota

Even if your kids do not enjoy hiking, these were crowdpleasers because there was so much lively terrain to explore.

Wall Drug

About 45 minutes from Badlands is the town of Wall, home to the famous and kitschy Wall Drug.

It is certainly a bit of a tourist trap, but it was still a lively stop (and lunch spot) for our group. This “drugstore” is more like a maze-like mall with souvenir shops, western gear, toys, books, and much more than we had time to explore.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

I had visited Mount Rushmore once in high school on a family road trip (we’d also stopped at Wall Drug then), but it was not until this visit that I realized it is more than simply a carved mountain.

40-something me appreciated the educational displays MUCH more than 17-year-old me did. It was interesting to learn the complicated history and engineering behind the project. There is also a short but stair-heavy hike (seen below) that offers some distinct angles of the site.

Hiking stairs at Mount Rushmore National Memorial South Dakota

I would not say this stop was a large hit with the kids, so we could’ve likely spent more time in Badlands instead.

Overall, I did not go into this trip expecting much more than simply some quality time for my dad, cousins, and the girls – but I was so pleasantly surprised by how striking it was, how many new experiences we crammed into our three days there, and how much lively the kids had. My dad is not consistently known for his trip planning, but he knocked this one out of the park.