Custer State Park — Blog - Traveling Newlyweds

South Dakota is a special place for us.

It was one of our first trips together as the Traveling Newlyweds. It was our first trip that we took after finding out we were pregnant with Jude. It was even the inspiration for Jude’s middle name—Dakota!

This was our fourth visit to the Mount Rushmore State, and it’s crazy how different our life is each time we’re there. South Dakota with a toddler was a little more tricky logistically (nap times are tough), but it was as fun (and memorable) as ever! Seeing the sights through Jude’s eyes was something we’ll never forget, and we already can’t wait to go back.

Enjoying our stops along Needles Highway

The following is our guide for 2-3 days in SoDak that is geared for the whole family.

STAY

With a variety of options in Rapid City, it really depends on what you're looking for. We opted for the Howard Johnson, just on the outskirts of downtown, because of the proximity to Memorial Park. It was a short walk to the park (more on that later) and downtown, so it was perfect for us!

If you want to be right in the heart of downtown, we recommend a splurge on the Hotel Alex Johnson. Boasting handcrafted décor and German Tudor-inspired architecture (look it up, it’s cool), you’ll be loving the luxury and stunned by the rooftop views. Kids or no kids… this is a great spot!

If your trip is more wildlife focused, we’d recommend staying at the State Game Lodge in Custer State Park. This stone and wood lodge, which served as the Summer White House for President Calvin Coolidge, has you nestled among the wildlife and the ponderosa pines. From there, you can meander the roads of the park at your own pace, and have a good base camp if you have a kid in need of nap time. You’ll also have the option to enjoy Buffalo Safari Jeep Tours, which originate from the lodge. Either way, you’ll enjoy the escape of this stunning mountain valley!

We have quite a few blogs on our time in South Dakota, so we have a variety of activities we’d recommend. While traveling with a toddler, here’s how we spent our time.

Reptile Gardens: Considering it has more species or subspecies of reptiles than any other zoo or wild animal park in the world, this is an absolute must-do when in South Dakota. Start in the Sky Dome, where you’ll encounter snakes, crocodiles, amphibians, and other reptiles. While Jude was entertained running laps around the dome, his real highlight were the giant Aldabra Tortoises. You can get up close with them, and Jude really pushed the limits of “up close.” ;)

Mount Rushmore: Obvious, we know. But it’s iconic and 100% worth the trip. And you really can be there for as short as 30 minutes or as long as a full afternoon. There is so much history to take in, but it’s even worth the quick stop just to take in the amazing view. (And the ice cream there is REALLY good too!) If you’re traveling with kids and they don’t have the patience for an audio tour or a history lesson, consider a visit to Rushmore Tramway Adventures. Here you can enjoy ziplines, downhill tubing, the aerial park or their relaxing, scenic chairlift. Many of their adventures have views of Mount Rushmore, so it’s a win-win!

1880 Train: Quite possibly the highlight of our 2021 trip, the 1880 Train is so much fun. A vintage steam train that offers a relaxing 20-mile round trip ride between Hill City and Keystone, it’s perfect for the whole family. The motion of the locomotive was therapeutic to little Jude, and we were cry-laughing as he fell asleep with his head out the window. Priceless!

Needles Highway: One of the best attractions in Custer State Park (and South Dakota), driving this windy little highway is always a thrill. Go as slow as you can through this 14 mile stretch of highway to truly enjoy the soaring granite rock formation known as the needles. Budget a minimum of two hours, but we’d recommend taking the drive in the morning and packing a picnic for a stop (maybe even a swim) at Sylvan Lake. You’re welcome.

Memorial Park: For anybody traveling with kids, Memorial Park may have been Jude’s favorite place in South Dakota. With a variety of features and slides, it has the potential for hours of fun! And if your kids are a little older, make sure you check out the famous Dinosaur Park!

Up close with the tortoise… look who’s dashing away on the right side of the frame!

The motion of the train was a little to much for Juders :)

EAT

As we mentioned above, we have several other blogs on the area where we highlight all the yummy food around South Dakota, so we’ll focus mostly on our new favs (shoutout to Prairie Berry Winery and Harriet & Oak, we love you too!).

Essence of Coffee: An Australian-owned coffee shop in the heart of Rapid City? Yes, please! Breakfast, lunch, and amazing coffee. That’s all we need. We may or may not have been there two of our three mornings in town. And we’ll definitely be back!

Black Hills Bagels: How have we never been here?! This is THE spot for bagels in Rapid City, with homemade bagels, spreads, and hearty bagel sandwiches. We will be here at least once on every future trip. Totally lived up to the hype!

Firehouse Brewing Company: A lively atmosphere, good beer, and delicious pub grub. Since it’s a bit on the noisier side, it’s a perfect spot to bring the kiddos.

Blue Bell Lodge: This cozy Western-themed lodge in Custer State Park serves up tasty ranch house fare. We loved the Buffalo Brisket and the Mac and cheese! As a side note, they have 29 secluded cabins and offer a variety of Western-style adventures (cookouts, horse trail rides, etc.). We might need to stay here on our next trip to SoDak!

Skogen Kitchen: Yes, we talk about Skogen Kitchen in other blogs. But it’s truly that good. The ambiance, the fresh, seasonal menu, the warm and friendly service… it’s undoubtedly the BEST restaurant in South Dakota. Perfect a date night, but worth it to go with the kids too. Jude enjoyed it just as much as we did!

Ultimately, what we’ve learned traveling with a toddler is that you have to hold everything loosely. We were fortunate enough to be able to do everything we wanted, but if you can’t… just plan another trip back.

We already can’t wait to come back with kids that are just a tiny bit more functional when it comes to hiking and exploring, because there is so much natural beauty in South Dakota that we’ve yet to explore. We’ll see what our next trip entails! :)

A flatbread and brussel sprouts on the rooftop of Hotel Alex Johnson

For us "city folk", South Dakota is the ULTIMATE escape. It has gorgeous blue skies, majestic landscapes, and diverse wildlife (something we don't have in LA!!). It is here, away from the hustle and bustle, that you can enjoy silence, nature, and an epic bison burger (another thing we don't have!). While you may desire to avoid your alarm clock in favor of rest, we STRONGLY advise that you spend one of your mornings in Custer State Park on the Sunrise Buffalo Safari Jeep Tour. You can do this tour throughout the day, but the sunrise (or possibly sunset) tours are the best for seeing wildlife - and totally worth the 5am wake up call!

During our time in Custer State Park, we stayed at the Custer State Park Game Lodge. It is a beautiful stone and wood lodge built in 1920 that served as the “Summer White House” for President Calvin Coolidge! It's recently been updated and is a truly stunning property. (While we're at it - we highly recommend having a glass of wine on the porch before dinner!) The Jeep tours originate here at the lodge, and for the sunrise tour you have to get there quite early.

We found our guide waiting for us outside of an awesome open-air jeep. If you go at sunrise like we did, be sure to bring a jacket because it was definitely chilly until the sun came up. While the tour is called “Buffalo Safari”, we really were in search of a LARGE assortment of critters: buffalo, deer, elk, pronghorn, wild turkey, pronghorns, prairie dogs... and more!

When everyone arrived, we set off. The air was brisk, but our coffee in hand definitely helped. Within about two minutes we saw our first elk and deer, as well as a beautiful Mountain Bluebird.

Shortly after, as the sun was just peaking over the Black Hills, we saw our first herd of buffalo. You never know how many buffalo you are going to see, so every opportunity is a great time to take a photo... but little did we know, we were about to see a LOT of buffalo. The first herd we saw was a little farther away, and at our closest point we were maybe 50 feet from the nearest buffalo.

We continued on, and came upon another big herd of buffalo. This is where we want to pause and mention our #1 reason for taking this tour. The Buffalo Safari Jeeps ARE THE ONLY VEHICLES ALLOWED TO GO OFF THE MAIN ROADS. That being said, this next herd was maybe 300 feet off of the main road. There was a couple sitting in their truck looking at the buffalo, and we went right past them, off the road, and headed in for a closer look. We preceded to drive THROUGH the herd.... So close that we could have touched them! It was INCREDIBLE (and mildly terrifying)! At one point we just stopped the Jeep and sat in the middle of this herd. Many of the buffalo were staring at us, while others were just doing their thing, not bothered by us at all! This was probably one of the coolest moments of our trip. No joke.

Following this unforgettable buffalo encounter, we came upon our first prairie dog “town”, which we learned is what you call a prairie dog community. Apparently prairie dogs are highly social animals, and they live in towns full of extensive underground burrows, tunnels, and chambers. They’re cute little critters, but according to the locals, highly annoying!

Throughout the tour our guide shared tons of fun facts and details about the animals and parks. Like, how did the “Black Hills” get their name? The Lakota Sioux Native Americans named this area “Hills that are black” because of their dark appearance from a distance, since they are covered in trees.

The Sunrise Buffalo Safari was truly the highlight of our trip to South Dakota... it was a morning we'll never forget! (And we have about 2,000+ photos to make sure we never do!!) ;) So get over to South Dakota, sign up for the sunrise tour, and make sure to have a warm jacket and charged camera. It will be an epic adventure!

Thank you to South Dakota Tourism for sponsoring this post!

South Dakota with Jude Dakota: What To Do in South Dakota with a Toddler

South Dakota MUST-DO: SUNRISE Buffalo Safari Jeep Tour