Spotlight on South Dakota

Welcome to the West. Your tour opens in Rapid City, long known as the gateway to the Black Hills. As travelers arrival times vary greatly, we have no group activities planned during the day. Tonight, you and your fellow travelers gather for a welcome dinner featuring a Native American chronicler who shares stories about the Lakota and Sioux way of life.
Dinner Included
Hotel Name: Hyatt Place

Learn the history of enterprising Westerners at the Chapel in the Hills. Continue to Mount Rushmore to spend time with the epic figures of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln as you stroll along the Presidential Trail, offering the closest view of this iconic sculpture. This evening, return to Mount Rushmore for the nighttime lighting ceremony.*

Breakfast Included

Admittance: Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota. Mt. Rushmore features 60-foot sculptures of the heads of four U.S. Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The faces were sculpted between 1934 and 1939. Mt. Rushmore attracts more than 2 million people annually.

This morning, visit the Oglala Lakota Living History Village. The Oglala Lakota are one of the seven tribes that make up the Great Sioux Nation. In their own voices, hear about their history, relationship to the land and modern-day culture. Then, embrace the allure of wide-open spaces and explore the larger-than-life Badlands National Park. At the visitor center, the stage is set for your adventure, with informative exhibits, displays and video to introduce you to the area. Travel the Badlands Loop Road, home to vibrant colors and rock formations created by mineral deposits. Visit the legendary Wall Drug, a store barely changed since 1936. Do a little browsing, have a seat at the soda fountain, and perhaps grab a bite for lunch.

Breakfast Included

Admittance: Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park is a national park in southwestern South Dakota that protects 242,756 acres of chiseled spires, deep canyons and prairie grassland in the state. The name comes from the difficult travels over the rough terrain said to be ‘bad land.’ The geologic deposits here contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Today, bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs and black footed ferrets live here.

Get ready for Deadwood, where gold, gambling, and gunpowder were once the order of the day. This morning, it’s your choice! Take a guided tour of the Adams Museum and explore dynamic exhibits that shine a light on Deadwood’s legends and outlaws -OR- visit Kevin Costner’s Tatanka: Story of the Bison, sculptures depicting the relationship between bison and the Lakota. This afternoon, this National Historic Landmark comes alive as if you’ve stepped onto the set of an old-fashioned Western. A local guide shows you the town, including where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried. This evening, enjoy a dinner and Western show at the High Plains Heritage Center.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included

Admittance: Wall Drug
The Wall Drug Store is a tourist attraction located in the city of Wall, South Dakota. It is a shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants and other stores. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity rather than individually run stores. The mall takes in over $10 million a year and brings in over 2 million visitors annually.

Head to Custer State Park and keep your eyes peeled for bighorn sheep or wandering elk. Take in the lush landscape, rocky outcrops, and grazing animals as you make your way through South Dakota’s first state park. Venture off road with an exciting Buffalo Safari, cruising deep into the park in an open-air jeep and searching for herds of roaming buffalo. This afternoon, visit Crazy Horse Memorial and delve into the story of the largest, still-in-progress mountain sculpture. Take time to explore the Indian Museum of North America, the Native American Cultural Center, the sculptor’s studio, orientation center and theaters.

Breakfast Included

Visit Area: Deadwood
Deadwood is a city in South Dakota that is named after the dead trees found in its valley. Deadwood became a popular destination during the Black Hills Gold rush in the mid to late 1870s when prospectors discovered gold. The town's population quickly swelled as folks came seeking their fortune. Today, Deadwood maintians its historic roots, and instead of gold, folks come to get a taste of life in the Wild West.

Get your bearings at the Geographic Center of the Nation, marking the middle of the US. Cross into Wyoming and view the first national monument - Devils Tower. Stand in awe before this lofty monolith, perhaps hiking the 1.3-mile Tower Trail around the base. Although famous as the backdrop in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the tower is also sacred to many local tribes. This evening, join your fellow travelers for dinner as the end of your South Dakota adventure draws near.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included

Admittance: Off-Road Jeep Safari at Custer State Park

Say goodbye to Rapid City as your tour comes to a close today.

Breakfast Included

Admittance: Crazy Horse Memorial
Crazy Horse Memorial, the world’s largest mountain sculpture now in progress, is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The nine-story-high face of Crazy Horse, a visionary leader committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life, was completed in 1998 when work shifted to the 22-story-high massive horse’s head. The work was begun in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski at the request of Native Americans. Korczak determined that the memorial would be more than just a sculpture…it would be a humanitarian project telling present and future generations the story of Native American peoples by collecting and preserving outstanding examples of Indian culture and heritage. Visitors to the memorial can view the progress of the sculpture as well as tour an Indian museum, cultural center, the sculptor’s studio and orientation center. Although Korczak died in 1982, his wife, Ruth, and their family continue the project working with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation.