Rapid City, gateway to mid-Western history and wondrous natural beauty, is a proud hub to attractions, activities and adventure and is seasoned with great shopping, fine dining, and excellent accommodations.
The town overflows with museums and places of interest. From beautiful parks where buffalos roam free to the wild Black Hills and the magnificent Mount Rushmore, Rapid City is the point of origin.
Scenic wonders spread out in all directions. Mount Rushmore awaits 25 miles away and 44 miles of tunnels weave through the undergrounds of Wind Cave National Park leading tourists into the earth's cavernous belly. Devil's Tower, Jewel Cave, and the Badlands beckon, igniting an explosion of awe in the hearts of all who visit.
Other points of interest include: City of Presidents, Dahl Arts Center, Dinosaur Park, and Cleghorn Springs Fish Hatchery. Of exceptional interest is Cosmos of the Black Hills, where natural forces defy the laws of gravity.
Golf greens get a full range of natural scenery from pine forests to rippling streams and majestic mountains. Hiking and camping facilities are unmatched, accommodating up to 25,000 campers in territories running through some of the most thrilling scenery in the country.
Riding the saddle is one of the most pleasurable means of transportation through Custer State Park. Numerous outfitters offer expeditions to Centennial Trail and the Dakota Badlands. And there are abundant dude ranches and horse camps throughout the area. And what better place to go mountain climbing than the Black Hills? More than 5,000 tourists each year scale the 865-foot Devil's Tower, and there are more than 1,000 other peaks in the region to explore.
With 14 man-made lakes offering swimming and diving, sailing and wind surfing, canoeing and water skiing, water bugs are kept smiling. Naturalists, too, get much to be excited over. With buffalo and bald eagles, elk, and antelope running wild and free, there are many subjects for photographing nature as it was meant to be.
Rapid City, a thrill of a town, is located on the south central border of South Dakota on I-90.