Alright folks, I am going to wrap up our trip to South Dakota by filling you in on all of our fun adventures from the last 3 days... they were certainly the busiest...
Day 5 -
Mount Rushmore: Sadly, this was a little disappointing. Pretty much the entire park and all of the trails were closed for renovations (as you can see in the image above). The closest you can get is the spot we were standing (where everyone was standing and trying to get a good pic without the construction equipment in the background). However, there is no fee to enter Mount Rushmore (it is FREE) and only $10 per car for parking (plus the parking ticket is good for a whole year, so you can take multiple trips). We would have loved to check out more of the park, but could barely get through the entrance. Some members of our group did go to the evening lighting ceremony, where they talk about the Presidents and light up the mountain, and it sounded pretty cool if that is something you would like to check out.
Rushmore Tramway Adventures: This adventure park is right down the mountain from Mount Rushmore, in Keystone, so we decided that tackling it on the same day as Mount Rushmore (especially since we didn't do any hiking there), was a great use of our time! Our family got the Ultimate Package, which is significantly discounted from purchasing each experience separately. They have a huge slide, tubing hill, an 800' zipline and zipline course, chair lifts to the top of the mountain, an aerial ropes course, and a freefall jump. The Ultimate Package included everything except the ziplining course (which is a separate 2 hour tour) and is about 40% cheaper than purchasing each attraction separately. My kids are STILL talking about Tramway Adventures, even my 6 year old LOVED the short ziplines on the ropes course (If you didn't see the FB live video, here you go). P.S. They may have made fun of me for screaming on the freefall, but seriously, who wouldn't...
We rode the chairlift to the top of the mountain to have lunch at the Mountaintop Grille, mostly because I heard the views were amazing and the kids wanted to do the chairlift, then slide down anyway. The food was priced decent for a theme park ($6ish for a burger/sandwich, $2 drinks), but the view of Mount Rushmore, waterfall, and floral gardens made it worth it.
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Day 6 -
Spearfish: This was more of a free, relaxing day for us. My husband went golfing and me and the kids did some hiking in search of waterfalls. All of the hiking trails are FREE and I saw several toddlers on a few in Spearfish Canyon, so I know there are some that are easy, short walks with beautiful scenery.
Day 7 -
Andy's Trail Rides: Horseback riding through the mountains you guys! There were about 10 of us that did a 1 hour ride and everyone LOVED IT. Andy is very helpful and spends the time to find out each rider's comfort level so that he can pair them with the appropriate horse. Our first time riders were on smaller horses, while I got a bigger horse that likes to lead because of my experience. My 6 year old got a pony that walked along side Andy the whole time and helped him with his whistles and calling the horses... he legit wants a pony now... I did not think that one through... Even my teenage boy had a blast and is on the "lets get a horse" bandwagon...
Andy offers hunting and fishing excursions, sleigh rides in the winter, and trail rides of pretty much any length. We only did an hour, but experienced riders could spend a whole day checking out the mountains. They had a ramp to help everyone get onto the horses and can accommodate riders up to 300 pounds.
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Overall, we had a fantastic trip! The kids did better in the car for 11 hours than I expected and I feel like we did as much as we could. The only major attraction that I feel like we missed was Custer State Park and the Crazy Horse memorial. We just ran out of time and it was about an hour away from where we were staying. The kids definitely had a blast and keep talking about the different things they did. The folks at the Broken Boot Gold Mine, Days of 76 Museum, Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center, Rushmore Tramway Adventures, and Andy's Trail Rides were all nice (like Iowa nice), knowledgeable, and super helpful with the kids. I highly recommend them! And if you decide to take a trip out to South Dakota, tell everyone you talk to that Celia from Macaroni Kid sent you!
**I did receive some complementary tickets during our stay in exchange for sharing our adventures with you guys, but all opinions are my own**
