Mount Rushmore & South Dakota's Black Hills

Rapid City - Keystone. Welcome to South Dakota! You will be collected on arrival at Rapid City Regional Airport and taken to our hotel in the heart of the Black Hills, near Keystone. In the evening, join the rest of the group for a welcome dinner, so everyone can get to know each other.

Please note: Please ensure that you arrive in Rapid City by 15:00 at the latest on day 1.

Please also note: This tour involves extensive hiking on uneven terrain, covering an average of 5 to 8 kilometres at a time, but sometimes more. Elevation changes range from 50 to 1,000 feet, and both touring and overnight locations are situated at altitudes between 5,000 and 8,000 feet above sea level. Due to the physical demands of this itinerary, participants should be prepared for significant activity.

Keystone - Badlands National Park - Wall - Keystone. We’ll take a short drive to Badlands National Park for sightseeing and hiking. Badlands National Park is a dramatic landscape of layered, jagged rock formations in shades of red, yellow, and grey, carved by centuries of erosion. Towering rock formations rise above expansive prairies and lush grasslands teeming with bison, bighorn sheep, and prairie dogs.

After exploring this incredible park, we’ll stop at the world-famous Wall Drug store for lunch, and you will have some free time to explore on your own. Next, we’ll visit the Prairie Edge Trading Company in Rapid City, where we’ll have time to explore the charming shops and art galleries. We’ll then return to Keystone for the night.

Today, after breakfast, we set off for Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Mount Rushmore depicts the 60-foot-tall faces of four U.S. presidents - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, carved into its granite face and surrounded by dense pine forests and rugged granite peaks.

Next, we board an 1880s train at the Black Hills Central Railroad for a historic ride through the Black Hills. After that, we head to the Crazy Horse Monument, a colossal yet unfinished tribute to the famous Sioux warrior.

We’ll return to Keystone, where you’ll have some free time to relax and enjoy dinner on your own. Later, we’ll return to Mount Rushmore to experience the Evening Lighting Ceremony, a moving and patriotic presentation.

Keystone - Devils Tower National Monument - Deadwood - Keystone. This morning, after breakfast, we travel to Wyoming on our way to Devils Tower National Monument for a tour and a scenic walk around this magnificent monolith. Devils Tower National Monument is formed of volcanic rock and rises 867 feet above Wyoming’s rolling prairies. After our visit, we return to South Dakota and arrive in the notorious old West town of Deadwood for further sightseeing. After some free time to explore on your own, we’ll head back to Keystone.

Keystone - Wind Cave National Park - Custer State Park - Keystone. We start the day by visiting Wind Cave National Park, famous for its vast underground passages, including the unique "boxwork" formations. Known as one of the longest and most complex caves in the world, the cave is named for the barometric winds at its entrance. Above ground, we may spot wildlife such as bison, elk, and pronghorn. You’ll have free time for lunch today.

In the afternoon, we make our way to Custer State Park and the State Game Lodge, where we’ll embark on a thrilling Buffalo Jeep Safari through the park. After encountering a variety of wildlife, we return to Keystone to join the group for a farewell dinner.

Keystone - Rapid City. After breakfast, you will check out and be transferred to Rapid City Airport for your departure flight home.