Distance from rapid city to sioux falls

The driving distance from Rapid City, South Dakota to Sioux Falls, South Dakota is:

348 miles / 560 km

Plan your road trip at  

Map of driving directions from Rapid City, SD to Sioux Falls, SD

View a map with driving directions using your preferred map provider: Google Maps, Bing Maps, or MapQuest. You can use DriveDistance.com to get the full driving distance from Rapid City to Sioux Falls with directions.

More trip calculations

The total driving distance from Rapid City, SD to Sioux Falls, SD is 348 miles or 560 kilometers.

Your trip begins in Rapid City, South Dakota. It ends in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

If you are planning a road trip, you might also want to calculate the total driving time from Rapid City, SD to Sioux Falls, SD so you can see when you'll arrive at your destination.

You can also calculate the cost of driving from Rapid City, SD to Sioux Falls, SD based on current local fuel prices and an estimate of your car's best gas mileage.

If you're meeting a friend, you might be interested in finding the city that is halfway between Rapid City, SD and Sioux Falls, SD.

Planning to fly a plane instead? You might be more interested in calculating the straight line distance to fly from Rapid City, SD to Sioux Falls, SD.

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Travelmath helps you find driving distances based on actual directions for your road trip. You can get the distance between cities, airports, states, countries, or zip codes to figure out the best route to travel to your destination. Combine this information with the fuel cost tool to find out how much it will cost you to drive the distance, or compare the results to the straight line distance to determine whether it's better to drive or fly. You can print out pages with a travel map.

The driving distance from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Rapid City, South Dakota is:

348 miles / 560 km

Plan your road trip at  

Map of driving directions from Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD

View a map with driving directions using your preferred map provider: Google Maps, Bing Maps, or MapQuest. You can use DriveDistance.com to get the full driving distance from Sioux Falls to Rapid City with directions.

More trip calculations

The total driving distance from Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD is 348 miles or 560 kilometers.

Your trip begins in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It ends in Rapid City, South Dakota.

If you are planning a road trip, you might also want to calculate the total driving time from Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD so you can see when you'll arrive at your destination.

You can also calculate the cost of driving from Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD based on current local fuel prices and an estimate of your car's best gas mileage.

If you're meeting a friend, you might be interested in finding the city that is halfway between Sioux Falls, SD and Rapid City, SD.

Planning to fly a plane instead? You might be more interested in calculating the straight line distance to fly from Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD.

related links

related links

Driving distance calculator

Travelmath helps you find driving distances based on actual directions for your road trip. You can get the distance between cities, airports, states, countries, or zip codes to figure out the best route to travel to your destination. Combine this information with the fuel cost tool to find out how much it will cost you to drive the distance, or compare the results to the straight line distance to determine whether it's better to drive or fly. You can print out pages with a travel map.

Wanderlog staff
Updated • updatedJul 19, 2021

How long is the drive from Rapid City to Sioux Falls?

The direct drive from Rapid City to Sioux Falls is 347 mi (559 km), and should have a drive time of 4 hrs 32 mins in normal traffic.

If you’re going on a road trip from Rapid City to Sioux Falls, we did the research for you and compiled some great stops along the way — with Roberts Prairie Dog Town and Wall Drug Store, or the ever-popular Badlands National Park.

30 stops

Cities / Attractions

I'll never travel to Rapid City without this trip planner again

Don't take our word for it

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Exactly what I needed to plan a trip. I can’t imagine anyone not loving this app!

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Amazing!! The organization this app provides has taken a huge weight off my shoulders.

This is the crème de la crème of planning apps! Don’t think about it - just click download right this minute.

The top stops along the way from Rapid City to Sioux Falls (with short detours) are Wall Drug Store, The World's Only Corn Palace, and Badlands National Park. Other popular stops include 1880 Town, Minuteman Missile Visitors Center, and Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center.

1

Badlands National Park

National park

Sights & Landmarks

Scenic Drives

244,000 rugged acres of geological formations, prairie grass & wildlife like bison & bighorn sheep.

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Pinnacled rock formations with vivid color bands, sharp-edged cliffs with tiptoeing bighorn sheep, and sprawling colonies of feverish prairie dogs are just a few of the images you'll find in South Dakota's most storied national park. Incredibly user-friendly, nearly all of its top sights lie along the 40-mile Badlands Loop Rd.

Hop on I-90 today after breakfast so you can get to Badlands National Park by lunchtime. In my opinion, this is one of the most underrated national parks in the United States!

Such an incredible and majestic landscape. Who would have thought natural erosion can cause such beautiful, fantastic and striking formations. It just feels like the best artist out there, took all the time in the world, and painted this landscape. It just feels so surreal, you just soak it in, and then after a while you realize what's in front of your eyes is just so real.

Love it! We came on a day when there was a wind advisory which probably wasn't the best idea, but it was the only day we could come and we didn't regret it one bit. You can easily spend hours here and I'm already planning on coming back soon. Buy the America the Beautiful pass for $80 and get unlimited admission to a ton of different parks around the country, including Devil's Tower if that's on your list.

Beautiful and scenic! We came here while on vacation in the summer of 2020. The scenery is just breathtaking! We came during the middle of the day, though the sunset views seem to be where it's at! Loved our time exploring this national park! Definitely be sure to give yourself ample time for exploring, we only drove through and stopped at several of the overlooks.

4.9(12630)

5.0(1743)

2

Roberts Prairie Dog Town

Nature & Parks

Nature & Wildlife Areas

Section of Badlands, reached via a dirt road, teeming with vocal, uninhibited wild prairie dogs.

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If you want to see a ton of prairie dogs in their natural habitat, then head to Badlands' Roberts Prairie Dog Town. Go at mid-day to see them at their most active: there are hundreds here, and even though many stay underground, there are always a few popping up, chatting, and bustling around. Don't feed these guys, or get too close, though.

We saw an abundance of prairie dogs scuttering about in Badlands National Park. In fact, there are so many, that there is a stop where you can get out and see them at Roberts Prairie Dog Town. As you approach you’ll see dozens of little heads sticking out of the sand.

This is one huge open flat grassland area with thousands of tiny holes in the ground and the odd head poking out to nosey around. The prairie dogs are interesting to watch scuttling around as they bark to one another. Again, telephoto lens required!

Prairie dogs have mounds at the surface to connect all of their underground tunnels to the above-ground world. Here they run around and play with each other. They make little chirping sounds to communicate.

For whatever reason this area of park is home to a huge number of prairie dogs. You won’t find the most amazing landscape, but if you are into prairie dogs, and lots of them, you will like this stop.

The prairie dogs are the cutest little things ever! So glad that we stopped here! The views are incredible, and the prairie dogs peek out of their mounds and run all over. Very fun place!

The Prairie Dogs are too cute for words. You can also see Bison on this road. BUT the road is is not very well maintained.

It was a blast hanging out with the prairie dogs. Several of them were very friendly....just short of being able to pet them.

4.8(263)

4.5(326)

Rim Rd, Wall, SD 57790, USA

3

Wall Drug Store

A drug store, gift shop & eateries are some of the amenities on hand at this 76,000-sq.-ft. sight.

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Wall Drug might have started off as a simple drug store in a tiny little town, but it quickly grew into a full-fledged tourist attraction after the owner's wife came up with a brilliant plan to offer free ice water to tourists on their way to Mount Rushmore. The pharmacy evolved into a virtual mall, complete with a Western art gallery, a chapel, souvenir shops, a soda fountain and restaurant, an arcade, and kitschiness galore. There are huge statues dotted around, including a giant jackalope, an apatosaurus, a tepee, a stagecoach, and more than a few cowboys and outlaws.

Hyped for hundreds of miles, Wall Drug is a surprisingly enjoyable tourist trap. It really does have 5¢ coffee, free ice water, good doughnuts and enough diversions and come-ons to warm the heart of schlock-lovers everywhere. But amid the fudge in this faux frontier complex is a superb bookstore with a great selection of regional titles. Out back, ride the mythical jackalope and check out the historical photos.

A very quirky road side attraction near Badlands National Park is the tourist attraction of Wall Drug. It all began with the idea to give away free ice water to attract road weary travelers and it has grown today to attraction 2 million visitors per year!. Aptly located in Wall, South Dakota, Wall Drugs is not to be missed with visiting Badlands National Park.

But there's one more stop you should make on the way, and that's at Wall Drug. Wall Drug is the perfect example of the American can-do attitude. Thanks to shameless self-promotion, Wall Drug grew from a tiny drug store into a tourist attraction that now covers an entire city block.

510 Main StreetWall, South Dakota 57790Phone:(605) 279-2175Website. The Western Art Gallery at Wall Drug Store seats 520 and features the largest privately owned art collection in the country. Famous homemade donuts and rolls, hot beef sandwiches, buffalo burgers and 5 cent coffee.

In addition to the free water and the 5¢ coffee, find a full menu at Wall Drug. With over 500 seats, getting a table won’t be a problem either. Wall Drug is located conveniently off Interstate 90 that cuts east-west across South Dakota.

Actually we came to Wall Drug for a bison burger and I'll tell you it's not Ted Turner's bison burger, but a pressed patty like any fast…”more

This South Dakota original got its start in 1931 by offering free ice water to road-weary travelers. Today its four dining rooms seat…

Quite fun and unique place to stop by. If you are doing a road trip along the 90 interstate road, I'm pretty sure you seem a advertising for this store. A lot of them actually but it's worth it. This place is not just a drug store anymore, it's a place where you can eat, have fun, shop and learn a little more about that region! There is free Ice water, a small coffee for 5 cents, delicious donuts and more food options. The place is a agglomerate of lots of different stores like jewelry, clothing store, antique store, gift shop, etc. It does have a section where it explain the story behind this place (which makes you understand why so many billboards along the road) and fun activities for everyone. There are also good bathrooms if you just need a quick stop, a little church, the street where the wall drug store is located is quite interesting with the wild west style. I highly recommend you to stop at this place!

If your into old west it is a must see. Wall Drug takes up the entire block. There is something for everyone. The pharmacy is set up like your parents or grandparents would have been used to. The western store has most every article of clothing you need to walk out looking like buffalo Bill. They have a gift shop for all your tourist needs. The post office is conveniently located across the street for sending post cards to your family and friends. If the post office is closed the gift shop will put stamps on your post cards so you just have to drop them off in the mail box at the post office. Wall drug is like a mall for those that like the Old West.

Visited Wall Drug for the 1st time a couple weeks ago. I wasn't sure what to expect when we got there but it was wild! Loved how much there was to see and all of the cool shops. Definitely a must stop if you are in SD!! I was loving all of it! March '22

4.0(2526)

3.5(3525)

510 Main St, Wall, SD 57790, USA

4

National Grasslands Visitor Center

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If you are planning on stopping at Wall Drug then you should also stop here especially if you have kids. They have a junior ranger program and it's super cute. The kids fill out a questionnaire about the grasslands (they find all the answers in the gallery area) and then they are given a badge and "sworn in" It's great and educational!

Great informative national park run exhibits. Not a huge place,but a lot more things to look at than you would expect in a grassland. There is also a 25min video,gift shop, and jr. ranger program for the kids.

Helpful staff. Great educational and informative video. We got info and PDF map and went deep into some of the grassland property that's open to public use and found some cool rocks and awesome evening views.

4.6(109)

4.5(200)

708 Main St, Wall, SD 57790, USA

5

Wounded Knee the Museum

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Badlands is located near Wounded Knee, where the 1890 massacre of Lakota Indians by the US Army took place. In fact, the last Ghost Dance took place in the Stronghold Unit of Badlands National Park, the park's Southern half. The Ghost Dances were religious ceremonies put on by Paiute prophet Wovoka, who was determined to keep the US Government from taking Lakota lands.

WOUNDED KNEE in SOUTH DAKOTA I did not go in the museum, but they sell REAL native american hand made bead work, porcupine quill work, great blanket native prints, all kinds of nice work from the pine ridge Indian reservation... you go for MANY MILES, anticipating the walls exit, but once was enough for the downtown area, so now I just fill up the gas tank, get something to eat, and look through authentic native american items at the wounded knee...dont waste too much time downtown looking for these things, because you will not find them there....

We checked online for the hours so stopped as we were really interested. Sign said Closed for the Season! June 10th? What season?

Offensive on many levels. When you walk in, you're charged 6 dollars for admission. Then you're given a fake white feather, with the tip painted black.*offensive As you then walk around the museum, decorations are made of western print towels, sectioned up wool blanket, more fake plastic feathers and rugs. Some of the historic information is useful, and some of it is odd. There is a movie room where you can watch an informations movie, but there is no display of what the name of the movie is. This room is decorated with rugs on the wall. As you get done and ready to leave, there is then a display of "prayer ties", which you can scribble what ever you want on to ribbon of precut material, and tie it on the chicken wire they have. Its noted that these will later be taken to the monument. ***Offensive I will give props for the accurate historical facts provided, including the listing of those murdered at Wounded Knee.

4.1(61)

4.0(142)

600 Main St, Wall, SD 57790, USA

6

Ben Reifel Visitor Center

Visitor center

Nature & Parks

National Parks

Badlands' main visitor center, open year-round, offering maps, exhibits, a theater & a bookstore.

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The visitor center is on our recommended list of things to do at Badlands National Park, not just because of what you’ll learn about the park, but the views are pretty fantastic. We reached the visitor center around lunchtime, and it was the perfect place for a picnic. Related Reading: 85 Awesome and Unusual Things to Do In Colorado

I also recommend stopping at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center to see the Fossil Prep Lab, where they work on the many fossils found in the Badlands. Just one note: There's little shade in the Badlands, meaning it can get HOT during the summer. Be sure to bring plenty of water with you, even on the shorter walks!

While not an overlook, we love visiting the National Park visitor centers to grab souvenirs (we collect patches and send out postcards to our Patrons!) and to speak with a ranger about the best stops and any tips for the park!. You can also see them prepare fossils, which we will cover in a bit.

The park's Ben Reifel Visitor Center has an awesome Fossil Prep Lab that educates tourists on the region's incredible prehistoric features. Fossils are wildly abundant here. In fact, in 2010, a seven-year-old girl found an incredibly rare and very well preserved saber tooth tiger skull.

The visitor center here has a small gift shop, restrooms, and information on the park. There is also a picnic area here with a pretty view of rock formations.

Wow!! What a great visitor center. If you like fossils this has a fantastic museum quality diorama and best of all a working Fossil Lab. Dont miss the fossil lab where you can watch and talk to the 2 wonderful women paleontologists. They work on the specimens under microscope and are happy to answer all of your questions as they work on saber tooth tiger and other mammal fossils. I learned so much. The movie is excellent and the bookstore provide a really good orientation to the Bad Lands. Have fun!!

We stopped by to get magnets and t-shirts. It was so tiny and so crowded 😳 I was shocked! But the staff was very nice & helpful. The kids each picked out what they wanted and left and I stayed alone to pay. The bathrooms are here too and most people were there to use restrooms and fill up water bottles it seemed like, which is completely fine, but the gift shop area is just so so small for that many people at one time.

Just made it there before closing. Nice little interpretive displays. Only wish I would have planned more time to spend there. Lots of information about the formations in the park. I was lucky to see several bighorn sheep. Crowd of people viewing maintaining a safe distance.

4.7(1675)

5.0(658)

25216 SD-240, Interior, SD 57750, USA

7

Ben Reifel Visitor Center

Visitor center

Nature & Parks

National Parks

Badlands' main visitor center, open year-round, offering maps, exhibits, a theater & a bookstore.

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The visitor center is on our recommended list of things to do at Badlands National Park, not just because of what you’ll learn about the park, but the views are pretty fantastic. We reached the visitor center around lunchtime, and it was the perfect place for a picnic. Related Reading: 85 Awesome and Unusual Things to Do In Colorado

I also recommend stopping at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center to see the Fossil Prep Lab, where they work on the many fossils found in the Badlands. Just one note: There's little shade in the Badlands, meaning it can get HOT during the summer. Be sure to bring plenty of water with you, even on the shorter walks!

While not an overlook, we love visiting the National Park visitor centers to grab souvenirs (we collect patches and send out postcards to our Patrons!) and to speak with a ranger about the best stops and any tips for the park!. You can also see them prepare fossils, which we will cover in a bit.

The park's Ben Reifel Visitor Center has an awesome Fossil Prep Lab that educates tourists on the region's incredible prehistoric features. Fossils are wildly abundant here. In fact, in 2010, a seven-year-old girl found an incredibly rare and very well preserved saber tooth tiger skull.

The visitor center here has a small gift shop, restrooms, and information on the park. There is also a picnic area here with a pretty view of rock formations.

Wow!! What a great visitor center. If you like fossils this has a fantastic museum quality diorama and best of all a working Fossil Lab. Dont miss the fossil lab where you can watch and talk to the 2 wonderful women paleontologists. They work on the specimens under microscope and are happy to answer all of your questions as they work on saber tooth tiger and other mammal fossils. I learned so much. The movie is excellent and the bookstore provide a really good orientation to the Bad Lands. Have fun!!

We stopped by to get magnets and t-shirts. It was so tiny and so crowded 😳 I was shocked! But the staff was very nice & helpful. The kids each picked out what they wanted and left and I stayed alone to pay. The bathrooms are here too and most people were there to use restrooms and fill up water bottles it seemed like, which is completely fine, but the gift shop area is just so so small for that many people at one time.

Just made it there before closing. Nice little interpretive displays. Only wish I would have planned more time to spend there. Lots of information about the formations in the park. I was lucky to see several bighorn sheep. Crowd of people viewing maintaining a safe distance.

4.7(1675)

5.0(658)

25216 SD-240, Interior, SD 57750, USA

8

Notch Trail

Nature & Parks

Hiking Trails

4.5(320)

Interior Township, SD 57750, USA

9

Enter The Door Trail

Nature & Parks

Hiking Trails

4.5(200)

Interior Township, SD 57750, USA

10

Minuteman Missile Visitors Center

Visitor center

Sights & Landmarks

Visitor center with Cold War exhibits at 2 Great Plains ballistic missile control centers.

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South Dakota is the setting for one of America's most incredible top secret projects: a field of 150 Minuteman II nuclear missiles, armed and ready for launch at a moment's notice during the Cold War. In the 1990's, the whole site was unarmed and preserved for future generations to visit and learn from as the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site; it's currently the only National Parks System unit dedicated to Cold War history.

In the 1960s and '70s, a thousand Minutemen II intercontinental ballistic missiles, always at the ready in underground silos spread across the Plains, were just 30 minutes from their targets in the Soviet Union. The missiles have since been retired (more modern ones still lurk underground across the northern Great Plains). The first national park dedicated to the Cold War preserves one silo and its underground launch facility.

Cool spot! The rangers on site were very helpful and shared a ton of information about missiles and also what to see nearby. Budget a half hour or so if you want to look through everything and there is also a video that you can watch if you have extra time to spend.

Surprisingly fun stop! Very interesting to learn about the missiles that exist beneath the plains in the Dakotas. The rangers were informative and great to learn from, and gave us some tips about places to go to learn more.

We discovered this upon accident; and glad we made a visit. It’s incredible that all these muscles were underground And you could drive by and never know never mind live in the area! Lots of information here and we’re at the stop!

4.5(797)

4.5(710)

24545 CottonWood Rd, Philip, SD 57567, USA

11

Badlands Distillery LLC

Distillery

Food & Drink

Bar

Coffee shop

Liquor store

Store

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Small place, operated by descendents of prohibition era bootleggers. They have a number of trendy flavored liquors, a rye whiskey, a vodka.a corn whiskey and an original recipe bootleg product. A newly produced brandy is excellent. The corn whiskey and rye are good. I did not try the flavored products

I try a small sample of apple 🍏 flavor In town bar On Friday night 2/4/22 Fri night Friendly people. It was good. I also try lemon 🍋 shady on tap It was good. By the second one.

The whiskey was good. Some great flavors to pick from. I enjoyed the honey but Apple was a close second

4.7(82)

5.0(11)

425 SD-73, Kadoka, SD 57543, USA

12

Badlands Petrified Gardens

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A very interesting stop! We enjoyed being able to get out of the car and walk around and view all of the petrified wood that they had on display. We really liked that they had an area where you could buy your own pieces of petrified wood. The indoor displays were really informative and cool to look at. The gift shop had a lot to choose from at very reasonable prices. Along with all of the fun displays we also met an extremely friendly, resident cat outside! I definitely recommend a stop!

First off between Wall Drug and the Petrified Gardens, they know how to get your attention with billboards! They did a great job. It's probably a bit pricey for a family, but overall if you're a rock lover it's worth the trip. I think it's bargain though to get a pound of rocks for $3, especially in a very touristy place! They have a crazy gift shop inside as well, that's definitely worth a look.

Friendly staff. We enjoyed the indoor exhibit. Spray for mosquitos before you go outside. The kids had a nice time picking out souvenirs in the gift shop

4.2(165)

4.0(49)

E Highway 16, Kadoka, SD 57543, USA

13

1880 Town

History museum

Sights & Landmarks

Cultural center & village featuring 19th-century buildings, a museum, entertainment & artifacts.

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Oh my goodness!! Thought we'd stop for a little bit, ended up there for 2 hours!! Amazing place, lots to see!! Great to see the preservation of the buildings and equipment of days gone by!! Take your time, Enjoy!

We stopped by during our trip to the national parks. We are so glad we did! What an awesome place! Very rich in history and artifacts. If you enjoy history or just want to learn more about what it was like "back then", you will definitely want to stop here. It also has lots of memorabilia, artifacts and pictures from the movie Dances With Wolves. Just a great visit!!

The round barn with all the exhibits for “Dances with Wolves” is very well maintained and is the highlight of the visit. Once you enter the rest of the town, it starts to get a little disappointing. There are many buildings that are in need of restoration. More interpretative panels explaining the history of the building would be nice. The Saloon was awesome, you could explore the upstairs area and it had music Old West Music playing. Some of the other buildings had mouse droppings everywhere that made them smell and some structures are rotting and it felt unsafe walking on them. However, other buildings were displayed much better with accurate artifacts in them. Would be neat to have some actors around the town in costumes interacting with visitors. If you do enjoy old artifacts, check this place out. But if you’re looking for a lot of hands on and interactive activities, this would not be an ideal stop.

4.3(2238)

4.0(501)

24280 SD Hwy 63 I90 Exit, 170, Midland, SD 57552, USA

14

Pioneer Auto Museum

Long-standing museum featuring 275+ classic cars, tractors & motorcycles, plus a gift shop & diner.

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A must stop place if your passing on the way through Murdo. The Pioneer Auto Museum has a large number of antique cars, trucks, tractors, vintage motorcycles, & so much more antique memorabilia and buildings. You could literally spends hours here if you wanted too.

It's not just cars...it's a mini village with displays as varied as lunch boxes and washing machines. The cars are definitely the main feature, but don't let that "steer" you away if you're not into cars. It's worth spending about an hour to an hour and a half. Conveniently located off the freeway. I would have liked to have seen a few more descriptions of the cars and some nicer display buildings, but I did enjoy the overall quirky vibe.

We had a blast. My friends Ben and Kate would love this so much, I've heard them say that they haven't seen an old car museum in like for ever... well I have the place for them.

4.6(581)

4.5(220)

503 5th St, Murdo, SD 57559, USA

15

South Dakota Discovery Center

Science museum

Zoos & Aquariums

Playful museum offering over 60 interactive science exhibits for young children.

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Great spot for a quick break with the kids. Good activities for all ages. My 14 year old had as much fun as my 5 year old.

This is such a fun place to discover all kinds of science principles. Children up to age 12 will have a ball! Adults can learn things too!

We had some time to kill do we took our son and grandson. We had a great time. So many cool things to "discover".

4.7(135)

4.0(36)

805 W Sioux Ave, Pierre, SD 57501, USA

16

South Dakota State Capitol

State government office

Sights & Landmarks

Early-1900s neoclassical government seat with a marble staircase & rotunda, plus paintings & murals.

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I was so pleased to go through one of the friendliest security checks I have ever seen. There is a lovely brochure that takes visitors through the various floors with interesting tidbits along the way. I really enjoyed my visit to the capitol building. If you follow the brochure, plan on a little less than an hour. More if you tour the outside areas.

As a politically engaged citizen, it's enlightening to tour the places where our Representatives make decisions for us on a day-to-day basis. South Dakota is a sparsely populated state and is one of only four in the US where elected officials work on a part-time basis and maintain day jobs. The Capitol grounds are excellent, and almost always deserted. After going through a basic security screening, you are able to freely roam the inside of the building and rotunda. I particularly enjoyed the informational exhibits that documented how Pierre was chosen to be the capital city as well as showcasing the biographies of former Governors.

So happy to vist the capitol building inside and out on the grounds. Walked all the levels from the basement to the top floor house and senate chambers, enjoying the marble stairs and pillars. Looking at photo's on the wall of court Justice ⚖ along with the dresses worn by the first Lady of the governor at the time and current husband to Governor Christy Noem. Worth the time to see and visit South Dakota big Home.

4.6(142)

4.5(199)

500 E Capitol Ave, Pierre, SD 57501, USA

17

South Dakota State Historical Society

Historical society

Sights & Landmarks

Historic Sites

History Museums

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The museum was much larger than I thought it would be. A lot to look at/learn about - loved that there were interactive activities and videos. Definitely a great place to capture some neat pictures, too!

It's the best thing for a tourist to see in Pierre. It's basically a history of South Dakota starting with Native Americans and progressing to modern times. Very well laid out. Price is reasonable. Plan on 1.5 hours here.

The South Dakota Cultural Heritage Museum does a great job of sharing our amazing state's history! Fascinating artifacts and information! I explored the museum with a group of students and they enjoyed learning more about South Dakota! The museum captured their interest as did the tour guides with their wealth of knowledge!

4.7(146)

5.0(97)

900 Governors Dr, Pierre, SD 57501, USA

18

Chamberlain Information Center

Tourist information center

Visitor Centers

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Great place to stop and enjoy the scenery the rest stop was clean and there are trails to enjoy if you have been in the car a long time the statue was huge and beautifully sculpted to represent the Native Americans that owened South Dakota until it was savagely taken away from them. Beautiful stop you can see the Missouri River off a hill and it has a pet area for your besties. Fun for the whole family on your drive through South Dakota.

I loved this stop. This should be an intentional stop for anyone passing through the area. We stopped to use the restroom. We were pleasantly surprised. The views of the Missouri River are spectacular. The displays and information on the Lewis and Clark Expedition that passed through the area is nice. The "Dignity" statue is beautiful. I hope to stop again with future travels.

Don't miss that place while visiting nearby. Out of 10: Place - 10 Cleanliness - 10 Hygiene - 10 items available - N/A Driving - 10 walking - 10 Hiking - N/A Cycling - 10 Food cost - 8 Washroom - 10 People/staff - 10 weather - 8 Area environment - 10

4.8(32)

4.5(172)

I-90, Chamberlain, SD 57325, USA

19

Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center

Museum

History museum

Non-profit organization

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This excellent museum and cultural center at St Joseph's Indian School has Lakota cultural displays and contemporary art from numerous tribes. Check the gift shop for locally made jewelry, quilts and dream catchers.

One of the best museums, my family visited! We never expected such a detailed depiction of the history of Lakota Indians, their life style, issues, and some really wise philosophy. Museum is exceptional! And on a Missouri River! Plus it's free but they appreciate the donations!

AKTA-LAKOTA~~“for the people” We were thrilled with this museum and their wonderful displays. It was really a “special” museum and we loved all of the history inside. There is also a very nice gift shop and I bought several things one of which was an Ironwood carving of an American Indian. We were passing through Chamberlain and we also saw the beautiful “Dignity” statue. I recommend seeing the museum and the statue when in the area, there was no cost for either but I recommend you leave a donation at the museum.

Wonderful center and museum! Absolutely must visit!! Need many hours if you want to read and experience it all. 2 hours and we skimmed a lot of the informational and artistic plaques. My pics don't do it justice at all.

4.8(470)

5.0(270)

1301 N Main St, Chamberlain, SD 57325, USA

20

Shakespeare Garden & Anne Hathaway Cottage

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The amazing thatched roof is worth the visit. And the hillsidr gardens and cottage are lovely. Near the opera house and the main street wonderful-delicious Sweet Grass eatery for food, coffee, treats....

Very nicely done amazing place. Have a great walk with family or friends or just enjoy it yourself!

Such a beautiful place in an amazing, everybody is Super amazing very nice town

4.9(14)

5.0(4)

501 Alene Ave N, Wessington Springs, SD 57382, USA

21

Boss Boutique

Women's clothing store

Shopping

Gift & Specialty Shops

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Love Boss Boutique and everyone who works there! They are amazing at helping you find the perfect outfit every time! So many clothing options as well as a range of sizes. Definitely would recommend.

Boss Boutique is my favorite store to shop. The Ladies that work there are always super friendly. From clothes, shoes to accesories, and some extras everything is so cute. Best of all,I always find my size.

Boss carries a wonderful selection of small to large and plus size clothing. I shop there because the prices are unbeatable, the service is impeccable, and the fashion is very comfortable and trendy. I'm consistently complimented on my outfits from Boss. Since its opening, one truly doesn't have to travel far to get the best in fashion.

4.5(18)

4.5(4)

2929 Dakota Ave S, Huron, SD 57350, USA

22

Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village

Archaeological museum

Sights & Landmarks

Site of an Indian village discovered in 1910, now an archaeological dig & an educational museum.

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Incredible experience. Super cool to be at an actual dig site. There are staff available to help you and educate

This was an interesting and engaging experience. We are a full-time RV homeschooling family that travels with two English Setters - they were welcome at the village too (we adhered to the reasonable guidelines). We all enjoyed the different displays that depicted the way these native Americans lived. The indoor dig site was fascinating - we plan on visiting again while the students will be working at the site. All of the staff were kind and welcoming. They supplied us a great homeschool packet. Thank you for all that you do!

Most amazing historical experience. What a shock to literally see where these amazing people lived and learn how they survived as a society! Thank you to your amazing team

4.6(346)

4.5(205)

3200 Indian Village Rd, Mitchell, SD 57301, USA

23

Dakota Discovery Museum

Large spot for artifacts, historical information & art relating to Native Americans & pioneers.

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The visit took about 90 minutes and we had the place to ourselves. Admission was $5 per adult and well worth the cost. The museum is on campus but parking was not an issue. My husband is a visit nut and he admitted to learning as well.

This was an amazing exhibit! So informative and very well curated! Exceeded our expectations and I truly learned so much. The upstairs gallery is equally excellent. Highly recommend a visit. It wasn't busy so we were able to take our time. The price was perfect as well!

I found the Dakota Discovery Museum quite fascinating. From the Lewis and Clark statues by the entrance to being welcomed when I walked in the door it was a great experience. Hannah did a great job showing me around and my favorite part was the tipi exhibit!

4.4(24)

4.5(33)

1200 W University Ave, Mitchell, SD 57301, USA

24

The World's Only Corn Palace

Sights & Landmarks

Architectural Buildings

Roadside attraction & arena featuring an ornate Moorish Revival exterior with corn-made murals.

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The Corn Palace is the king of roadside attractions, enticing more than half a million people to pull off I-90 each year. Close to 300,000 ears of corn are used annually to create a new tableaux of murals on the outside of the building. Ponder the scenes and you may find a kernel of truth or just say, 'aw, shucks.' Head inside to see photos of how the facade has evolved over the years.

Never been inside before, but they were having a basketball tournament which I wasn't aware there was even a gym in there, quite a large and nice gym. I mean, it's not the most exciting tourist attraction but it is the ONLY corn maze in the world, apparently!

I thought it was going to be an interactive museum with exhibits based on the name and how many billboards I passed on I-90 but it wasn’t much. At least it was free. There is a tractor, an old corn sheller, a few photo ops, coin press, and snacks. I was here for a total of 5 minutes. The outside is more impressive honestly. If you have a few minutes to kill, stop by but you’re not missing out on much if you skip it.

We just couldn't drive by without stopping! We were driving by on a Sunday, it said the Corn Palace was open until 5 pm but not the case. The Palace was closed as well as most all the shops around there. We didn't care we still enjoyed being tourists taking photos and silly stuff. The good news Jolie had to potty so it was worth the stop We got some good photos and a couple of us compliments of couple we met there! The building really had corn and grasses on the outside made into beautiful murals. I highly recommend to stop it's something to see.

4.2(6458)

3.5(2021)

604 N Main St, Mitchell, SD 57301, USA

25

Valtiroty Shilo's Tabernacle

Association or organization

Sights & Landmarks

Points of Interest & Landmarks

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Educational exhibits with a cute gift shop. The store owner was very sweet. He was happy to hold conversations and answer questions. Overall a very interesting experience.

This place is very strange and honestly a little creepy. There are hundreds of dolls and mannequins dresses up in “biblical” costumes. In reality, these dolls are dressed in whatever the owner could find at a garage sale. While it’s supposed to be a Bible experience, it’s just random. There are Christmas reindeer decorations, stuffed dinosaurs, and hokey displays. The owner is friendly and welcoming, but comes across as somewhat overbearing. He’s also a little in your face and tapped my husband’s forehead when he believed he gave us a great nugget of wisdom. “See, you need to read your Bible, sir!” I also noticed in reading reviews of this place that he gets very defensive of people’s opinions. Not worth your time, unless you want a good story.

Lone employee in the shop offered to adopt me and told me about his daughter who he was very disappointed with for studying drama, otherwise lovely ma who was very caring and kind. Mannequins killed my father. Overall great place!!

4.6(11)

4.5(127)

650 N Main St, Mitchell, SD 57301, USA

26

Dimock Dairy Products

Cheese manufacturer

Shopping

Gift & Specialty Shops

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They make the best homemade cheese & butter. I drive 1 1/2 hours, one way, to buy their dairy products. The staff is always very helpful and extremely nice.

Amazing cheeses and butter, one of my favorite cheeses is Garden Medley.

Amazing new location! Their curds are great! Fun suggestion is to offer a free Squatty Potty with any purchase over $250.00. Will make this a must stop when going by again!

4.9(49)

4.5(6)

400 S Main St, Dimock, SD 57331, USA

27

Potter's Fields Outfitters & Lodge

Hunting area

Outdoor Activities

Other Outdoor Activities

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Second year there. Zach and his father are great to hunt with. Tons of birds, great dogs and great scenery. Thanks Zach.

5.0(1)

5.0(4)

27945 431st Ave, Freeman, SD 57029, USA

28

Prairie Village

History museum

Museums

Campground

Historical place

Historical society

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Totally awesome place during the tractor jamboree. Awesome place for the flea markets people were friendly and very efficient I will definitely go back next year.

Enjoyed our visit very much. Being abke to step back in time and see real articles that were used in day to day life is simply amazing. Gives us a great appreciation for the modern conveniences and also the hard work individuals did back in the day. Lits of real prairie history to see here.

Love it. Have went for many events. Always beautiful, clean and friendly staff.. go every year to Pumpkin Train

4.6(218)

5.0(4)

45205 SD-34, Madison, SD 57042, USA

29

Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area

Park

Outdoor Activities

Other Outdoor Activities

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Beautiful can't wait to come back to south Dakota as we are from central Pennsylvania.

Camped right on the lake and watching the #waterskiers and relaxing. This is a beautiful and well maintained park. LOL this has turned out to be an alarmingly expensive overnight because there is an $8 per vehicle per day use fee ($16 for a overnight) on top of the $35.26 campground cost and various fees and taxes. The website does not make that at all clear. Not really a good deal for non water sports visitors.

I love this park. Its really a good place to get away from the city. Catch decent fish and not bad to swim in when the weather is warm. We love this park so much we got married at cabin 3 back in 2013. Highly recommended. Cabins are always well taken care of and the park help is always courteous.

4.5(354)

5.0(17)

26140 451st Ave, Canistota, SD 57012, USA

30

Porter Sculpture Park

Sculpture museum

Sights & Landmarks

Park

Monuments & Statues

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I am always looking for fun roadside attractions when making my annual trip from Austin to South Dakota, and we finally made it to Porter Sculpture Park this time! It's $10 for adults and free for kids. There are attendants on-site as well. I was impressed—there were way more sculptures than I expected, and they were bigger than they appear in photos. I'd recommend spending 15-20 minutes walking through at a minimum.

A perfect spot to enjoy odd creativity. The art is well maintained, as it's outside. Some are large and others small. All are accompanied by poems or explanations. The artist is there for conversation.

Stopped by this place along the HWY to ✅ it out! Met the artist and found the place to be absolutely amazing!!! Who knew in the middle of nowhere such a place existed! As you can see the sculpture has real artistic talent and we were blessed to have discovered it by random chance on the way to Mitchell, SD!!

4.6(362)

4.5(83)

45160 257th St, Montrose, SD 57048, USA

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