Rapid City, South Dakota|South Dakota’s second largest city, is a gateway to the Badlands and Black Hills region as well as to all the famous attractions in the area, such as the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments. The manmade family-orientated highlights here aren’t suited to everyone, but the lodgings and restaurants manage to cater to most tastes.
There are two historic districts in downtown Rapid City, including the Downtown Historic District and the West Boulevard Historic District. The former has some notable buildings, such as the 1914 First National Bank building and the 1911 Lions Head Fountain, while West boulevard is more residential and includes some fine 19th century architecture.
Downtown Rapid City has hundreds of businesses and shops with many big-name stores as well as unique, specialized family outlets. Hand-crafted paintings and jewelry are particularly popular.
Highlights
Children’s Science Center: the museum features many interesting hands-on exhibits for children of all ages, plus picnic grounds and gardens.
Art Alley: located between 6th and 7th streets in downtown Rapid City; the Art Alley is where local graffiti artists can do their thing without being cited.
Badlands National Park: is extremely popular and is brimming with nature trails, striking cliffs and canyons. It can be found 50 miles southeast of Rapid City.
Mount Rushmore: can be found just a few minutes south of Rapid City and features the carved heads of the former US presidents and the Mount Rushmore Mall.
Circle B Ranch: also close to Rapid City, the ranch features a recreated Western town where gold panning, cowboy dinners and authentic music of the day set the scene.
Journey Museum: trace the evolution of the plains from the days when dinosaurs roamed to the times of the Plains Indians.