South Dakota

Top 10 Places

(Pictures and places in bold are places I have been to.)

Mitchell's Corn Palace — Mitchell’s Corn Palace

10. Mitchell Corn Palace

- - Arena
  - Mural
  - Concessions

Wall Drug — Wall Drug, Wall, South Dakota

9. Wall Drug

- - Backyard
  - Restaurant
  - Shopping

Jewel Cave National Monument

8. Jewel Cave National Monument

- - Historic Lantern Tours
  - Discovery Talks
  - Scenic Tours

Mammoth Site

7. Mammoth Site

- - Mammoth Site
  - Hot Springs (a small town gem)
  - Former Fossil Cycad National Monument

Crazy Horse Memorial

6. Crazy Horse Memorial

- - Crazy Horse monument
  - Indian Museum of North America
  - “Legends in Light” multimedia laser-light show

Saloon No. 10, Deadwood

5. Deadwood (a small town gem)

- - Historic Main Street
    1. Saloon No. 10
    2. Historic Fairmont Hotel
    3. Historic Bullock Hotel
    4. Silverado Franklin Historic Hotel
  - Deadwood Alive re-enactment
  - Deadwood Stagecoach Ride
  - Broken Boot Gold Mine
  - Tatanka Story of Bison
  - Mount Moriah Cemetery

A bison at Wind Cave National Park

4. Wind Cave National Park

- - Above ground
  - Garden of Eden Tour
  - Natural Entrance Tour
  - Fairgrounds Tour
  - Candlelight Tour
  - Caving Tour

The Needles in Custer State Park

3. Custer State Park

- - The Needles
  - Sylvan Lake
  - Burros
  - Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway
  - Custer State Park Wildlife Loop Road
  - Nearby: Custer City (a small town gem)

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

2. Mount Rushmore National Memorial

- - Mount Rushmore
  - Presidential Trail Loop Trail (0.9 miles)
  - Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center
  - Sculptor’s Studio
  - Black Hills National Forest
  - Nearby: Keystone-Hill City – 1880 Train

Badlands National Park — Pinnacle Overlook, Badlands National Park

1. Badlands National Park

- - Badlands Loop Road
  - Sage Creek Rim Road
  - Black-tailed Prairie Dog Towns
  - Bighorn sheep
  - Pronghorn antelope
  - Nearby: Wounded Knee Battlefield (site of the Wounded Knee Massacre; part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of the Oglala Lakota)

State Info

A) State Nicknames

- - Mount Rushmore State
  - The Coyote State

B) State Symbols

- - Flower: American pasque (Pulsatilla hirsutissima)
  - Bird: Ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus culchicus)
  - Tree: Black Hills spruce (Picea glauca densata)
  - Animal: Coyote (Canis latrans)
  - Grass: Western wheat grass (Agropyron smithii)
  - Fish: Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum)
  - Jewelry: Black Hills gold
  - Dessert: Kuchen
  - Sport: Rodeo
  - Bread: Fry bread

South Dakota State Capitol Building, Pierre

C) Major Metros

- 1. Sioux Falls
  2. Rapid City
  3. Pierre (state capital; 8th largest city in state)

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

D) Military History

- - Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

E) Famous People

- - Crazy Horse