Black Hills trip

[eyemaster]

Planning a trip to the Black Hills this summer. Any suggestions on where to stay and also things to see that are not the usual destinations?

[PEATMOSS]

There was alot of discussion about this here last year. You can find a thread on page 7.

What kind of trip are you planning, kids/no kids, camping or not, are you planning to fish/hike etc. or are you looking for more "touristy" activities?

[eyemaster]

we are camping and have young kids. Fishing for a day would be fun, we are planning on doing some hiking. Most of the touristy activities you can find on-line. ...I am looking for suggestions that aren't on the popular web sites.

[PEATMOSS]

I strongly recomend camping up at the Sylvan Lake campground in Custer State Park.The campsites actually leave a bit to be desired, but this is just a fantastic area.

Lots of hiking trails, rocks to climb, a swimming beach and you can catch stocked rainbows in Sylvan Lake really easily every morning and evening.

[traveler]

One must see for you thats not the usual.....the Booth Fish Hatchery in Spearfish. My 8 and 12 yr old girls loved it, as did my wife and I. You can buy food by the bag and feed the BIG trout:) We didn't want to leave........!

[Powerstroke]

I wasn't a fan of the sylvan lake area for camping because it was so busy. I'll look up the name of the place we stayed last summer. I liked them a lot, it was rustic, quiet, close and affordable, but it also had all the amenities of a KOA. Plenty of hiking in the area too.

[wally-eye]

I highly recommend Rafter J Bar Ranch campground in Hill City. Very nice place. We really enjoyed our stay there and it's kinda in the middle of all the attractions. I would go back for sure.

[Ray Esboldt]

We stayed at Sylvan Lake. Some of the campsites were good, some not so great. But, we did have a great camping trip. You can fish the stocked trout on Sylvan, hike just about anywhere (found geocaching to be a pretty entertaining activity for the kids), ride horses, see all the sites, and pretty much relax.

The Sylvan area was busy during the day, but very quiet between 8:00 PM and 9:00 AM. I would stay there again.

[echotrail]

The last time we were there we took a 1880's train ride from Keystone to Hill City and it was a great trip. It was cheaper to ride on the outdoor platform car than on an inside car but the soot from the engine boiler got you a little dirty. I don't know if they still have that ride but if they do, it's worth it. They filmed a 2 part episode of Gunsmoke titled "Snow Train" on that line. Beautiful scenary.

[Dan Brelje]

Custer State park is a great spot for camping. You can find campgrounds besides sylvan lake that are in beautiful areas, but close enough to all the tourist stuff.

The spearfish area also has some fun things to do. As mentioned before, the fish hatchery is very neat. Also, there is a wildlife sanctuary and plenty of hiking in the area. The city of spearfish has a great campground, very nice and well kept up. Savoy, is a good spot to visit as well, hiking,fishing, and camping (Rod & Gun is very nice)

Another cool spot away from the crowd would be Dalton Lake Campground.

I would strongly suggest stopping by a forest service office to get maps and info on campgrounds! http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills/

[MyFishHasRabies]

I've been down to the black hills probably a 15 times or more for family vacations. As a kid I greatly enjoyed the fish hatchery. I was about 12 when I hiked up Harney Peak. It may be difficult for younger children, but the view from up there is amazing.

My favorite thing to do was to get a USGS or USFS map of the area that has most of the roads marked and just go driving. Find a road that doesn't look too well traveled and just go for it.

[traveler]

I've been down to the black hills probably a 15 times or more for family vacations. As a kid I greatly enjoyed the fish hatchery.

I must still be a kid then:)

[ronhanson]

Sheridan Lake NFS Campground just north of Hill City is an excellent campground that hardly ever gets mentioned and is rarely busy when compared to the ones in Custer State Park. Very easy to get a site on the lake if you reserve through recreation.gov.

It is dry camping with minimal facilities, but the location is very central and you can fish right out your door if you desire.

Some Campground pictures here

If you need hookups Rafter J in Hill City is the nicest place in the Black Hills but it's more of an RV Park with a lot of space.

[leech~~]

What ever you do, don't bring your kids to Trout Haven fishing! You have to pay for any and all Starving trout that leps up on to your little rod with string a hook and corn on it, that most of the time doesn't even get to the water first! We went one time, and some guy that must have never been out of the geto, caught about 12 fish. When the girl who cleaned and wrapped them for him told him it would be about $75 dollars. I had to get my kids out of ear shot and maybe gun range as this guy went off big time. I ant payen no $75 dolla for a few fish! Plus other words left out. So, if you go make sure you know the prices before you start pulling in the fish!

[mrklean]

im also looking at maybe camping out there this summer sometime

[machohorn]

go the 1st full week of August! you will see plenty of wild life lol.

[Powerstroke]

I looked it up and we stayed at Horse Thief Campground. This is a full-service campground with everything. There are RV/camper sites with full-hookups to tent sites with and w/o power. The sites are roomy and shaded, not packed together like an RV/trailer park.

They have 2 bath houses, a lodge/store, WIFI, a playground and a heated swimming pool. This is NOT a KOA. It is a very nice campground. similar to our state parks, but it has all the amenities of an RV park. There is hiking in the campground and it is very near to Custer and the Sylvan lake area. I think it was on the Needles highway too.

Sites were very reasonable priced. I would definitely stay there again., Highly recommended for any camper.

[PickAxe]

Rafter-J-Bar

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[whitebassman]

Camped there last Sept, nice and quiet being it was post-Labor day.

Make sure you check out Deadwood City and the cemetery there that has Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane buried side by side. So interesting to read the true stories of them, as they barely knew each other, but legend has them in many stories. Visit the Bullock Hotel, it is supposedly haunted. At least check out the huge book in their lobby with stories and letters from past visitors. Chilling to read and see their photographs of paranormal activity.

Tatonka was interesting too, build by Kevin Costner, a museum tribute to the Native American tribes in the area.

Devils Tower in WY was a great sight. Little bit of a drive from Black Hills, but if you are a fan of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, then a visit is a must to Devils Tower.

If you like hiking, hike Harney's Peak in Custer State Park, highest elevation between the Rockies and the East Coast.

Of course the two caves, Wind Cave and Jewel Cave are cool if that is your thing. The kids should like it.

[Borch]

We've stayed in the area several times. Most of the time we have been turkey hunting but have also done the family trips. There are tons of things to do while out there. Many will be busy and others a little bit so. Rafter J is very nice. We have also stayed at Palmer Gulch KOA and Custer Mouintain Resort and Campground. The Sheridan Lake area is very pretty and definitely less traveled.

Some of the activities we enjoyed were hiking down many of the forest roads, horseback riding through the mountains, Reptile World, Badlands, especially at sunrise or sunset. Hit between Sturgus Biker weeks and Labor day and you won't have a lot of crowds to deal with.

[paul pachowicz]

I live just east of the Black Hills and could not have said it better what others have posted. Plenty of attivities regardless of where you stay. driving thru the Hills from the north (Spearfish)) to the south (Custer) is an an easy drive as well as from Rapid Cuty (east) to Edgemont (west) Hot Springs has the inside swimming attraction and the mammoth digs just outside Hot Springs. If you want a fun hike, go to Bear Butte just east of Sturgis and don't miss out on the little museum there, but stay out of the Si Senor cafe, the food is horrible. Any of the chuckwagon cowboy attractions offer great family evening entertainment and a good supper. If you are around Pactola res. take in the forest service building right on the dam. Be on the look out for mountain lions, the Hills is full of em. I'm only guessing but the way the spring is looking it could be another hot dry summer here. Gas is gonna be up there too.