North and South Dakota

[PirateLover]

Hi friends! My brother-in-law is looking to tick all the stated off his list. The Dakotas are two of the few he has remaining. He asked if we'd like to tag along this year (looking at late spring-1st week of june probably).

Rushmore, Black Hills, Badlands. We will be anywhere from 4-7 adults (once we nail down the dates we'll ask people to commit), and we are debating bringing our daughter, who will be 3 1/2 at the time.

Any lodging recommendations? And any opinions about bringing our DD? She is usually well behaved at anything we take her to but, if we end up doing a lot of walking/hiking we will need to buy one of those hiking carry backpacks. She can stay behind with my parents if needed.

[Altair]

The town of Custer is in the middle of the action in the Black Hills.
Some other things to see are Needles Highway, Custer State Park, and Wind Cave. Not too far away is Devil's Tower in Wyoming which is well worth a visit.
Along the I-90 route, there's Falls Park in Sioux Falls and the Missouri River overlook in Chamberlain.

If you can stand the cheesyness check out Wall Drug, too.

You can avoid paying for the Crazy Horse Memorial by just looking at it from the road. You can see just about as much and avoid the rather steep fee.

Little Big Horn Battle field or Fort Laramie are also possibilities if you have time.

[dnickels]

If you have time try to check out Theodore Roosevelt national park in North Dakota. It's an often overlooked but beautiful park.

[PirateLover]

Thanks for the tips!!!