South Dakota
We have been through South Dakota many times with our kids. This time we did mostly Drive-Bys. This trip is mostly a drive to Salt Lake City to help our daughter Grace move in. But the drive on I-90 through South Dakota is always fun. This first sight to see is the Corn Palace in Mitchell SD. This is a multi purpose arena/facility that is decorated with murals made from different colored corn kernels. Then we drove past the Porter Sculptor Park. You can see many of the sculptors from the highway, or stop and pay $10 to walk around. We noticed a bunch of firetrucks standing up end in a circle and discovered Firehenge. The Badlands are another great sight to see. There is a Loop Road that showcases the north part of Badlands National Park. It was late in the day and we did not have time to do the loop drive this time. We made a big push to get to Rapid City for the night. It is an 8 hour drive from Farmington MN where we started to Rapid City SD. Long day of driving!
Corn Palace
The Corn Palace is decorated annually with 7 murals made out of 12 different colors of corn, each framed with native grasses, straw, milo, and sourdock. A local farmer grows all the corn for the Palace, local artist(s) design the murals, and a team of approximately 20 workers change out the murals every year beginning in late-August and working into September (as crops become available). The Palace is never un-decorated, as the murals are not taken down until it is time to replace them in the late summer, when the work is a gradual process.
The 2026 theme of the Corn Palace is 250 Years of America!
Porter Sculpture Park
At exit 374 off of I-90, you can see a world of metal marvels at Porter Sculpture Park, a South Dakota treasure. Over 60 sculptures crafted from metal with accompanying poetry dot the tall grass prairie the park sits on. The self-guided loop trail is a third of a mile long and accessible by golf cart if walking is difficult. All sculptures are by artist Wayne Porter, who is on site and enjoys meeting visitors. New works are regularly added, ensuring a fresh experience for returning visitors. Many Sculptures are viewable from the highway.
Rest Areas
There are concrete TeePees on the rest areas of I-90 as you drive through South Dakota. They are called Whitwam’s Wigwams after architect Ward Whitwam, who designed them for the South Dakota Highway Department.
South Dakota Landscape
Most of the drive on the east side of South Dakota is open and flat. Many fields of cattle.
Firehenge
Firehenge is located along Interstate 90 near the Badlands, east of Kadoka, South Dakota, at Exit 152. The attraction consists of old fire trucks half-buried upright in a circle, inspired by the ancient monument Stonehenge, with a smoke jumper airplane positioned in the center. It was created by Bob Fuchs, co-owner of Firehouse Brewing Company, who wanted to transform his collection of historic fire trucks into a public art and roadside experience
Badlands Loop Road
The Badlands Loop Road (Highway 240) is a 39–40 mile scenic byway through Badlands National Park, offering breathtaking views, wildlife sightings, and access to numerous overlooks, hiking trails, and visitor facilities.
Second Day of our “Wild West” tour. As I said before, we have also already been to this area with the kids years back, so we did not feel the need to explore everything to see in this area. It is still early in the year, and there is not much traffic. We did a drive-by of Mount Rushmore. The road was so empty, we were able to stop the car and take pictures from the road. We were able to get quite a few good photos. The parking lot at Mount Rushmore was fairly empty as well.
View of Mount Rushmore from road.
We had heard that Crazy Horse was supposed to be near completion, so we decided to take a quick detour and see how it looks. Now it has been 17 years since we were here last, so we were excited to see the progress. Unfortunately it looks practically the same as it did 17 years ago. Oh well!
Crazy Horse
We had stayed at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park with the kids 17 years ago, and wanted to drive through the area again. It does not disappoint. We drove on the Needles Highway. Despite the lack of traffic everywhere else, we managed to find it here. I can’t imagine what it must be like in the busy season! What a spectacular drive. Some very cool rock formations and tunnels.
Sylvan Lake
Since we were not in a hurry, we drove the Wildlife Loop. We drove east on the loop at the end of Needles Highway. We saw bison, prairie dogs, burros and antelope. This loop was practically empty of any traffic. We had the road to ourselves.
Map of Wildlife Loop Road
Next on our stop was an unexplored National Park for us, Wind Cave National Park. We hope to visit all 63 National Parks, this will bring us one more closer! Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota is home to one of the world’s longest and most complex caves and vast mixed-grass prairies, offering a unique blend of underground wonders and wildlife-rich landscapes. Wind Cave is one of the best known examples of a breathing cave. Changes in barometric pressure cause the cave to blow air in and out, therefore, breath. The cave is also recognized as the densest cave system in the world, with the greatest passage volume per cubic mile. Wind Cave is the sixth longest care in the world with 168.02 miles of explored cave passageways (as of 2025) and the third longest cave in America. Wind Cave is also noted for calcite formations known as boxwork. Once again, we were not prepared and all the tours were booked for the cave. We did enjoy the views and checking out the Visitor Center.
Wind Cave National Park
3D model of cave system
We left South Dakota and headed into Wyoming. We did out best to avoid the freeways and took side roads whenever possible. The scenery was amazing and the roads were empty as well. It was really gorgeous and I would highly recommend to take the “Road Less Traveled”. We were hoping to stay in a haunted hotel called The Virginian in Medicine Bow WY. But when we arrived in town, it was closed, as well as most of the businesses. They probably only open during the busy season, we were a bit early. We found a hotel in Rock City WY.
