Approaching Rapid City via Interstate 90 from the east, you may notice traffic in addition to the RVs and motorcycles sharing the highway with you. Air Force jets soar overhead, flying into or out of Ellsworth Air Force Base, seven miles from Rapid City. Developed during World War II, Ellsworth … Read More
This ain’t your daddy’s beer vacation! A generation ago the term meant going to Florida over spring break, baking in the sun, and maintaining hydration by guzzling uniform, mass-produced beers. A Black Hills beer vacation means sampling an incredible variety of locally brewed craft beers. Black Hills waters seem especially … Read More
Here’s that “big” theme again. The world’s largest collection of reptiles — snakes, alligators, crocodiles, giant Aldabra tortoises — is found at Retile Gardens, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Reptile Gardens is located just outside Rapid City on highway 16, the main route to Mount Rushmore. Of … Read More
Come because you love vintage architecture. Or wood carvings. Or for religious reasons or because you want to celebrate your Norwegian roots. Whatever your reason, come and marvel at the Stavkirke, an exact, full-size replica of Norway’s 850 year-old Borgund Church. The majestic yet intimate structure, also known as the … Read More
You reach Thunderhead Falls by pulling off highway 44 west of Rapid City, feeling lost on a gravel road that’s not well marked, buying a ticket, and trudging unguided into an old horizontal mine drift. A cold stream rushes along the underground path for a couple hundred yards, fed by … Read More