South Dakota

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From PA to SD and back in 7 days!

An August 2004 trip to South Dakota by beesweet

crazy horseMore Photos

Although we were making a trip on business, we managed to catch of few of the beautiful sights of South Dakota.

  • 19 reviews
  • 8 photos

Ramada LimitedBest of IgoUgo

Hotel

We stopped late in the evening, so we weren't very picky! Fortunately, this turned out to be a decent motel. The outside was a little unkempt, but our room was exceptionally clean and big. It was reasonable in price - $51.00 after our discounts.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Ramada Limited
3484 Hanley Rd. Paarl, South Africa
(419) 837-9500

Holiday Inn ExpressBest of IgoUgo

Hotel

We really like Holiday Inn Express motels. This one was fairly new, and the room was clean and quiet. There was a pool, hot tub, exercise room and business center that were open until 11 p.m., and internet access was available as well as a guest laundry. Excellent complimentary breakfast offered.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Holiday Inn Express
2607 Broadway Ave. Yankton, South Dakota 57078
(605) 665-3177

Holiday Inn ExpressBest of IgoUgo

Hotel

Nothing surprising here, another clean, quiet motel. Pleasant staff, indoor pool, small fitness room and business center open till 11 p.m. Guest laundry available. Fairly good complimentary breakfast offered.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Holiday Inn Express
1360 E. Hwy 44 Winner, South Dakota 57580
(605) 842-2255

Best Western Hills InnBest of IgoUgo

Hotel

I think the prices here were up due to the Sturgis Rally - it was the nearest room to Mt. Rushmore that we could find for the night. The room was clean and quiet, but at $125.00 per night, I was hoping for more. There was a nearby restaurant, but we didn't eat at it. The complimentary breakfast in the morning was a disappointment. I had a slice of French toast, but nothing to drink because all they offered was coffee and I don't drink coffee.
  • Member Rating 2 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Best Western Hills Inn
1100 W. 10th. Chadron, Nebraska 69337
(308) 432-3305

Advance MotelBest of IgoUgo

Hotel

This was a disappointing experience. It was cheap, but we didn't get what we paid for! The price was $41.00, we put our luggage in the room and went for dinner. Upon returning, we found out that our key didn't work. We told the owner, who gave us another key - it didn't work either. The owner did come out with a master key and opened the room for us, but took all the keys with him.

All of the electricity in the room was controlled with one switch - lights (bathroom too), TV, refrigerator, microwave, and air conditioner. When the lights were out - so was everything else! It was cool the night we stayed here - no heat. I couldn't sleep much anyway, because it was noisy and I didn't feel overly safe.

  • Member Rating 1 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Holiday Inn Express Suites DickinsonBest of IgoUgo

Hotel | "Holiday Inn Express"

Another quality motel from Holiday Inn Express. This is a college town, and between the new students and the bikers from Sturgis, we felt fortunate to get a room. I didn't check it out, but I was told that they have a water slide and an indoor pool as well as all the usual amenities - laundry, business center, etc. Our room was, as usual, clean and quiet.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Holiday Inn Express Suites Dickinson
103 14th Street West Dickinson, North Dakota 58601
1-701-456-8000

Holiday Inn FremontBest of IgoUgo

Hotel | "Holiday Inn"

We had excellent accommodations - a king bed, TV, desk. They were exceptionally clean and quiet, but we felt they were overpriced at $121.00 per night. There was a pool on the premises. Although it was pricey, we were fortunate to have stopped. As we went to get in the car to find a place to eat dinner, we discovered that we had a flat tire. About 30 minutes later and less than $7.00, the tire center at the local Walmart had the tire repaired!
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Holiday Inn Fremont
3422 Port Clinton Rd. Fremont, Ohio 43420
(419) 334-2682

Gramma's KitchenBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

We had a wonderful waitress here - very friendly and helpful. The food was very good, I had homemade chicken noodle soup with half a BLT and my companion had the liver dinner with potato and vegetable. We had lemonade to drink, which was served in canning jars and when the glass was half empty the waitress brought another full jar. We paid less than $20.00 for this meal.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Ric's Rec (Richard's Recreation)Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant

This diner was recommended to us by one of the locals, and we were glad to have tried it. The food was outstanding and CHEAP! There were five of us dining here and the bill was under $40 including the beverages. Three of us ate 5 oz. sirloin steaks with potato and salad, while the other two had sizeable hamburgers and some onion rings. This is one of those places where everyone knows everyone else - very comfortable.
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Hong Kong BuffetBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Friendly staff and big selection of foods. We stopped quite late and most of the trays on the buffet were almost empty. Not to worry, though - we were assured that we could have whatever we wanted. All we needed to do was let them know what we'd like and they prepared it fresh. I had fried rice and General Tso’s Chicken, and my companion had beef and broccoli, lo mein, hot and sour soup, and sweet and sour chicken. All this and two beverages were about $16.00 - a super value and delicious food!
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Hong Kong Buffet
927 E North Street Rapid City, South Dakota 57701
(605) 716-4664

Gilbert's Family RestaurantBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

This was a pleasant surprise on our way home. I wish I'd had a better appetite, because the buffet that they offered for $9.50 looked scrumptious! Instead, I opted for the grilled turkey sandwich that has coleslaw and cheese on it and fries; my companion had the baked ham dinner with potato, vegetable and roll. I could only eat half of the sandwich, but took the remainder with me to eat later because it was SO GOOD! I also asked the waitress to package up a couple of their fresh cinnamon rolls for later in the day too. All this and a couple of beverages and the bill was a little over $20.00.
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Mount Rushmore National MemorialBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Mt. Rushmore"

Mt. Rushmore
We didn't go in any of the tourist shops, instead we spent our time enjoying the amazing sight of the faces carved in the mountain. The crowds are usually more manageable, but with the Sturgis Rally going on - there were bikers galore!
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Mount Rushmore National Memorial
13000 Highway 244 Keystone, South Dakota 57751
(605) 574-3171

Wind CaveBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

Wind Cave
What can you say about caves? This one has unique boxing that I haven't seen elsewhere. If you go - be sure to wear a jacket, because the temperature is in the upper 40's. And watch your head! Some of the passageways are low.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Wind Cave
26611 U.S. Highway 385 Hot Springs, South Dakota 57747
(605) 745-4600

Jewel CaveBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

We stopped here after Wind Cave. We found out that the concrete to make the walkways was carried in on foot by people wearing an inner tube that had been filled with concrete. I have to say...I appreciate having the convenient walkway with appropriate lighting along the way. Wear appropriate clothing and comfortable shoes for this tour.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Jewel Cave
11149 U.S. Highway 16 Custer, South Dakota 57730
(605) 673-2288

Badlands National ParkBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

Badlands
The scenery here is stunning. It's easy to see why they're called the "badlands." We saw our first wild bison here - they're huge! They also have quite big prairie dog towns to see. Although I'm sure they're a menace to ranchers, we found prairie dogs entertaining to watch.
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Badlands National Park
25216 Ben Reifel Road Badlands National Park, South Dakota 57750
(605) 433-5361

Crazy Horse MemorialBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

crazy horse
Although this was an interesting stop, we didn't get too close to the actual monument. And at $18.00 per car, we felt it was a little pricey. I believe the cost to go up to the monument was $250.00 for two people. There was a lot of interesting memorabilia inside the museum, and there was a theater showing a film that we opted not to see.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Crazy Horse Memorial
12151 Avenue of the Chiefs Crazy Horse, South Dakota 57730
(605) 673-4681

Mackinac BridgeBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

macinac bridge
This was my first sight of the Mackinac Bridge. We approached it from the Upper Peninsula going to the lower portion of the state. This is a BIG bridge - the toll for the bridge is $2.50. I was a little disappointed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but maybe I missed most of the highlights. One sight I regret missing is the Grand Hotel...maybe next time!
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Mackinac Bridge
U.P. of Michigan Mackinac Island, Michigan

Corn PalaceBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

While you're visiting SD in growing season, you see more corn than you could ever imagine. One of the inventive things that is created with some of this corn is the Corn Palace. With a lot of imagination at work; it's changed every year. There are the usual tourist shops surrounding the Palace as well as the shop inside of the palace. They have almost everything you can imagine concerning corn. We couldn't resist buying a jar of the corncob jelly and a little corncob-shaped scrub brush.
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Corn Palace
Corn Palace Convention & Visitors Bureau Mitchell, South Dakota 57301
(605) 996-6223

Wall Drugs StoreBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Wall Drug"

This is actually a drugstore - they even still fill prescriptions for people. But it's more than a drugstore too. There's a lot of history here. They have the usual tourist trinkets available too, but we enjoyed the old photographs hanging on the walls. I think they have everything from soup to nuts here, and it would easily take a day to tour the whole place.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by beesweet on August 17, 2004

Wall Drugs Store
510 Main Street Wall, South Dakota 57790
(605) 279-2175

About the Writer

beesweet
beesweet
New Milford, Pennsylvania

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