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Badlands National Park – Badlands Rabbit AWRB-1📷 Shadowmeld Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0

Road trips in South Dakota

5 road trips and 18 hand-picked places in South Dakota, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping.

Trip guides
5
Places
18

Campsites in South Dakota 216

Trip guides

Road trips through South Dakota

Up the Missouri River through South Dakota – Corn Palace summer 2016 02© Runner1928 · CC BY-SA 4.0
34
Classic American drives

Up the Missouri River through South Dakota

340 mi8 stops4 days
Southern Black Hills: Crazy Horse, the Needles and Wind Cave – Large specimen of cave bacon at Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota, US© Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0
385
National park loops

Southern Black Hills: Crazy Horse, the Needles and Wind Cave

108 mi9 stops3 days
Bison, needles and prairie: by camper through the Badlands and Black Hills – Mather Plaque in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, US© Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0
16
In-depth road trip guides

Bison, needles and prairie: by camper through the Badlands and Black Hills

257 mi10 stops5 days
Badlands and the Black Hills with kids – Corn Palace summer 2016 02© Runner1928 · CC BY-SA 4.0
90
RV & family trips

Badlands and the Black Hills with kids

565 mi8 stops4 days
Deadwood and Spearfish Canyon – Homestake Mining Company Hydroelectric Plant No. 2© TCMemoire · CC0
14A
RV & family trips

Deadwood and Spearfish Canyon

107 mi5 stops2 days
RouteSuggested daysDistanceDrivingStops
Up the Missouri River through South Dakota4340 mi6 h 04 min8
Southern Black Hills: Crazy Horse, the Needles and Wind Cave3108 mi1 h 56 min9
Bison, needles and prairie: by camper through the Badlands and Black Hills5257 mi4 h 35 min10
Badlands and the Black Hills with kids4565 mi10 h 06 min8
Deadwood and Spearfish Canyon2107 mi1 h 55 min5
Editor's picks

Places worth the detour in South Dakota

Badlands National Park – Badlands Rabbit AWRB-1© Shadowmeld Photography · CC BY-SA 4.0
Editor's pick
Nature

Badlands National Park

Interior, SD
Dignity – 67º Período de Sesiones de la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas (8020913157)© Cancillería Ecuador · CC BY-SA 2.0
Editor's pick
Views

Dignity

Chamberlain, SD
Editor's pick
History

Crazy Horse Memorial

Custer, SD
Swimmers at Sylvan Lake 01© Runner1928 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Editor's pick
Nature

Sylvan Lake

Custer, SD
Custer State Park Wildlife Loop – Bison, Custer State Park - Flickr - Chad Davis.© Chad Davis from Minneapolis, United States · CC BY 2.0
Editor's pick
Nature

Custer State Park Wildlife Loop

Custer, SD
Mount Rushmore National Memorial – Mount Rushmore (52518385834)© Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand · Public domain
History

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Keystone, SD
Wall Drug Ext. Day© BakedintheHole · CC BY 4.0
Oddities

Wall Drug

Wall, SD
Corn Palace summer 2016 02© Runner1928 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Oddities

Corn Palace

Mitchell, SD
Cedar Pass Campground – Coloful Sunset in the Badlands - Flickr - aparlette© Andrew Parlette from Elkridge,MD, US · CC BY 2.0
Camping

Cedar Pass Campground

Interior, SD
Spearfish Canyon – Homestake Mining Company Hydroelectric Plant No. 2© TCMemoire · CC0
Nature

Spearfish Canyon

Spearfish, SD
Oahe Dam – a large brick building sitting on the side of a riverPhoto by Wolfgang Weiser on Unsplash
Views

Oahe Dam

Pierre, SD
Sitting Bull Monument – a statue of a horse on a pedestal in a parkPhoto by Manuel López on Unsplash
History

Sitting Bull Monument

Mobridge, SD
Large specimen of cave bacon at Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota, US© Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nature

Jewel Cave National Monument

Custer, SD
Needles Highway and Needles Eye Tunnel – Needles Eye Tunnel© Little Mountain 5 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Views

Needles Highway and Needles Eye Tunnel

Custer, SD
Mather Plaque in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, US© Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nature

Wind Cave National Park

Hot Springs, SD
The Mammoth Site – Mammoth Site 2© Ajheindel · CC BY 4.0
History

The Mammoth Site

Hot Springs, SD
Bridge, Falls Park, Sioux Falls, SD© w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0
Nature

Falls Park

Sioux Falls, SD
Deadwood Historic Downtown – A Look at the Deadwood Historic District in South Dakota© Robbschultz69 · CC BY-SA 4.0
History

Deadwood Historic Downtown

Deadwood, SD

FAQs

What are the best road trips in South Dakota?

Popular routes include Up the Missouri River through South Dakota, Southern Black Hills: Crazy Horse, the Needles and Wind Cave, Bison, needles and prairie: by camper through the Badlands and Black Hills and Badlands and the Black Hills with kids. CampingSpirit has 5 trip guides that pass through South Dakota, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map.

Which places in South Dakota are worth a detour?

Our editors recommend Badlands National Park, Dignity, Crazy Horse Memorial, Sylvan Lake and Custer State Park Wildlife Loop.

Nearby

Nebraska 5North Dakota 3Wyoming 15Colorado 20Kansas 3Manitoba 3Minnesota 8Iowa 6