South Dakota (SD)

South Dakota State Flag

 

"The Mount Rushmore State"

"Coyote State", "Land of Infinite Variety", "The Artesian State", "The Blizzard State", "The Sunshine State" and "The Swinged Cat State"

Why visit South Dakota?

Prefect for the laidback outdoorsy traveler seeking to bike, birdwatch, caves, fish, gamble, hike, hunt, national monuments, natural scenery and wildlife.

 

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, SD. Photo Credit: skeeze/Pixabay 

At a Glance

• Capital: Pierre
• State Bird: Ringneck Pheasant
• State Dessert: Kuchen
• State Flower: Pasque Flower
• State Gemstone: Fairburn Agate & Black Hills Gold
• State Mammal: Coyote
• State Rock: None

The World's Only Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD. Photo Credit: ArtTower/Pixabay 

Fun Facts

• In 1876, struck gold (Custer).
  
• During droughts and the Great Depression (1930's) their economy shifted from farming and ranching to financial services, manufacturing  and tourism.
  
• Hosts (Sturgis) one of the largest annual gatherings (August) of motorcycles in the world.
• "Black Hills" earned its name due to the dark color of the pine and spruce trees that cover the region. 
  
• Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), Author wrote semi-autobiographical books based on her experiences as a child and young adult homestead near De Smet. Novels included By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years and The First Four Years. 
  
• Does not host any major league professional sports franchises.
  
• Features 4 National Forests and 12 State Parks.

Deadwood, SD. Photo Credit: David Mark/Pixabay 

Thank You!

• Spotlight Celebrities: Adam Vinatieri (Athlete), Amy Hill (Actress), Brock Lesnar (Athlete), Caleb Grimm (Musician), Chad Greenway (Athlete), Cheryl Ladd (Actress), Dallas Clark (Athlete), January Jones (Actress), Madison Lawlor (Actress), Mary Hart (TV Host), Michael Andrew (Athlete), Mike Miller (Athlete), Tom Brokaw (TV Journalist) and Tomi Lahren (TV Host), just to name a few.
• Movies to Inspire You: Armageddon (1998), Dances with Wolves (1990), Head of State (2003), How The West Was Won (1962), Into the Wild (2007), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2004), Nebraska (2012), Starship Troopers (2007) and The Neverending Story III (1997), just to name a few.
• Reads Set in South Dakota: Betrayal in the Badlands (written by Dana Mentink), Buried Truth (written by Dana Mentink), But That Was Yesterday (written by Kathleen Eagle), Dakota Dreamin' (written by Janet Dailey), Deadwood: The Golden Years (written by Watson Parker), Escape from the Badlands (written by Dana Mentink), Flight Or Fight (written by Dirk Greyson), Infinite West: Travels in South Dakota (written by Fraser Harrison), Little Town on the Prairie (written by Laura Ingalls Wilder), M is for Mount Rushmore: A South Dakota Alphabet (written by William Anderson), The Journey Home (written by Linda Ford) andThe Prodigal Cowboy (written by Kathleen Eagle), just to name a few.

Hosmer (Edmunds County), SD. Photo Credit: David Mark/Pixabay 

Good to Know

• State capital, Pierre is pronounced Peer.
  
• Not the big city, diverse shopping or nightlife destination.
  
• It's a  Federal Law to touch or remove Native American artifacts.
• There is no Amtrak service to the state.
  

Subject to blizzards, humidity, ice storms, snow storms, strong winds and tornadoes.

• Best Time to Visit: June - October
• Coldest Month: July - August
• Hottest Month: July
• Peak Season: May - October

Badlands National Park, SD. Photo Credit: Klaus Stebani/Pixabay 

Your Must-See & Do

• Historical Sites: Arzberger Site, Battle Mountain Sanitarium, Bear Butte, Blood Run Site, Bloom Site, Crow Creek Site, Deadwood Historic District, Fort Pierre Chouteau Site, Fort Thompson Mounds, Frawley Ranch, Langdeau Site, Mitchell Site, Molstad Village, Vanderbilt Archeological Site, Verendrye Site and Wounded Knee Battlefield.
• Museums: Adams House, Adams Museum, Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, Austin Whittemore House, Badlands Petrified Gardens, Black Hills Mining Museum, Borglum Story, Brandon Area Museum, Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center Museum, Children's Museum of South Dakota, Cramer-Kenyon Heritage Home, CCC Museum of South Dakota, Custer County 1881 Courthouse, Dacotah Prairie Museum, Dakotaland Museum, Dakota Discovery Museum, Dakota Sunset Museum, Dakota Territorial Museum & Mead Cultural Education Center, Days of '76 Museum, D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery & Archives, De Smet Depot Museum, Eureka Pioneer Museum, Fort Meade Museum, Four Mile Old West Town Museum, Garretson Area Historical Society & Heritage Museum, Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History, Heritage Hall Museum & Archives, High Plains Western Heritage Center, Indian Museum of North America, International Vinegar Museum, Irene Hall Museum Resource Center, Kadoka Depot Museum, Keystone Museum, Lakota Dream Museum & Monument, Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, Moody County Museum, Motion Unlimited Museum & Antique & Classic Car Lot, Museum at Black Hills Institute, Museum of Geology, Museums of Visual Materials, National Music Museum, Museum of Wildlife Science & Industry, Old Courthouse Museum, Pettigrew Home & Museum, Pioneer Auto Museum, Prairie Edge Trading Co & Galleries, Prairie Village, Pyle House Museum, Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center, Sioux Empire Medical Museum, Siouxland Heritage Museum, Smith-Zimmermann Museum, South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum, South Dakota Air & Space Museum, South Dakota Art Museum, South Dakota Discovery Center, South Dakota National Guard Museum, South Dakota State Historical Society, South Dakota State Railroad Museum, South Dakota Tractor Museum, Stockyards Ag Experience, Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame, Telstar Mustang-Shelby-Cobra, Termesphere Gallery, The Guns Of History Gun Gallery, The Journey Museum & Learning Center, The Klein Museum, The Mammoth Site, The National Presidential Wax Museum, Trails Trains And Pioneers Museum, Tri-State Museum, W. H. Over Museum, World Fossil Finder Museum and Wounded Knee the Museum.
• Popular Attractions: Badlands National Park, Badlands Petrified Gardens, Bear Country USA, Big Thunder Gold Mine, Black Hills, Black Hills Caverns, Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, Bramble Park Zoo, Bridal Veil Falls, Broken Boot Gold Mine, Buffalo Gap National Grassland, Butterfly House & Aquarium, Cathedral of Saint Joseph, Center For Western Studies, Chapel In the Hills, Cosmos Mystery Area, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Dinosaur Park, Downtown Sioux Falls, Evans Plunge Mineral Springs, Falls Park, Fort Sisseton State Park, Fossil Cycad National Monument, Good Earth State Park, Horse Thief Lake, Ingalls Homestead, Jewel Cave National Monument, Landstrom's Original Black Hills Gold Creations, McCrory Gardens, Mickelson Trail, Minuteman Missile Visitors Center, Mount Rushmore, Needles Eye Tunnel, Nicollet Tower & Interpretive, Porter Sculpture Park, Prairie Edge Trading Co & Galleries, Queen Bee Mill Ruins, Redlin Art Center, Reptile Gardens, Roughlock Falls Road, Rushmore Cave, Rush Mountain Adventure Park, Rushmore Tramway Adventures, Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center, South Dakota State Capitol, Storybook Island, Storybook Land, Sylvan Lake, Tatanka Story of Bison, Terry Peak, The Mammoth Site, The World's Only Corn Palace, 1880 Town, Wade's Gold Mill, Wall Drug Store, Washington Pavilion, WaTiki Indoor Waterpark Resort, Wildlife Loop Road, Wild Water West Waterpark, Wind Cave National Park, Wonderland Cave and Yellow Mounds Overlook.
• Popular Cities/Towns to Visit: Aberdeen, Brookings, Custer, Huron, Mitchell, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Spearfish, Sturgis, Vermillion, Wall, Watertown and Yankton.
• Special Events: (January) Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, (June) Black Hills Bluegrass Festival, Czech Days, Fort Sisseton Historical Festival, Wild Bill Days, (July) Brookings Summer Arts Festival, Days of '76 Rodeo, Grow It, Hills Alive, Jazzfest, Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant, Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Festival, (August) Riverboat Days, Sioux Empire Fair, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Yankton Riverboat Days & Summer Arts Festival,(September) Crazy Horse Volksmarch, Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup, Deadwood Jam, Mount Rushmore Lighting Ceremony, Sidewalk Arts Festival, South Dakota State Fair, Stratobowl Historic Hot Air Balloon,(October) Black Hills Powwow, Bierbörse, Davis Flea Market & Festival, Spirit of Dakota Award and (November) Lutefisk Meatball & Lefse Supper.

Roughlock Falls, South Lawrence, SD. Photo Credit: Pixabay

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