One of our favorite family road trips is our visit to the Black Hills with our kids in 2025.
We had a truly epic time, hitting two National Parks, a national monument, national memorial, a state park, and the Crazy Horse Memorial.
When I’d tell people that we were taking a big family road trip to South Dakota that year, they’d unenthusiastically say, “Oh.”
But the Black Hills makes for a perfect, exciting family trip. There is so much to see and do here!
You’ll see bison and prairie dogs — and maybe bighorn sheep. You’ll drive windy roads through scenic granite spires, explore a cave, and scale badlands. And, you’ll learn about the rich indigenous history of the sacred Black Hills.
Like I said, perfect!
Here are my favorite things to do in the Black Hills with kids.
Custer State Park
Any visit to the Black Hills with kids isn’t complete without visiting Custer State Park.
It’s a stunning oasis with granite spires, pine trees, bison, wild burros and more!
Check out my favorite things to do in Custer State Park with kids.
Wind Cave National Park
Just south of Custer is Wind Cave National Park.
Wind Cave isn’t known for dramatic formations, but rather its sacred indigenous history and a cave formation called box work.
Above the surface, it’s a great place to see bison and prairie dog towns!
Check out my favorite things to do in Wind Cave National Park with kids.
Badlands National Park
Scaling the badlands. Searching for fossils. Spying bison, prairie dogs, and bighorn sheep. Badlands National Park is a kid’s dream!
Check out epic hiking trails in Badlands, visit the Fossil Preparation Lab, and search for wildlife in this stunning park.
Check out my favorite things to do in Badlands National Park with kids.
Devils Tower National Monument
Devils Tower National Monument is one of my favorite monuments in the National Park Service. It never fails to take my breath away.
The indigenous legends behind the tower, easy trail, and stunning scenery make this a must-see in the Black Hills with kids. Plus, the prairie dogs are adorable!
Read more about visiting Devils Tower with kids.
Crazy Horse Memorial
The Crazy Horse Memorial is the response to Mount Rushmore by the indigenous people who consider the Black Hills sacred.
It’s the latest mountain carving in progress in the world, and a must-see stop in the Black Hills with kids!
Read more about my favorite things to do at Crazy Horse Memorial with kids at the bottom of this post.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Many visitors head to the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Check out the Evening Lighting Ceremony, walk the Presidential Trail, and visitor the Sculptor’s Studio at this famous site.
Read more about my favorite things to do at Mount Rushmore with kids.
Mammoth Site
South of Wind Cave is another exceptionally awesome place in the Black Hills: The Mammoth Site.
The site is an active dig site with bones from more than 60 mammoths and other creatures. It was likely a sinkhole that trapped Ice Age mammals over many years.
Learn more about visiting the Mammoth Site at the bottom of this post.
Where to stay in the Black Hills with kids
If you’re visiting several sites in the Black Hills, Rapid City makes a great base camp.
Rapid City is only about one hour from Badlands National Park, one hour from Wind Cave National Park, one hour from our favorite sites in Custer State Park, and 45 minutes from Mount Rushmore.
The last time we visited the Black Hills with kids, we split our lodging.
For first few nights, we stayed at the Residence Inn at WaTiki Water Park in Rapid City.
It was our first waterpark experience, and the kids LOVED it!
The indoor waterpark was perfect for hot South Dakota afternoons. Plus, free breakfast and having a full kitchen was amazing.
The last several nights, we stayed in Custer State Park.
If you’re looking for something a little quieter and closer to nature, Custer State Park offers a multitude of lodging options among the lakes, forests, and granite.
We stayed at Legion Lake Lodge in a cabin. It was a lovely spot, with boulders to climb on, a playground, and small beach area.
Where to eat in the Black Hills with kids
We mostly ate in our cabin and hotel kitchen during our Black Hills adventure.
However, we ate in the restaurants at Badlands National Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Mount Rushmore, and there were plenty of options for kids, like chicken fingers, fry bread tacos, and more.
We also ate at the Purple Pie Place in Custer, South Dakota, and it was delicious! We had pot pie and slices of pie for dessert!
Other ideas to do in the Black Hills with kids
Some people love visiting nearby Deadwood, South Dakota, in the Black Hills with kids.
The gold rush town is featured in the hit TV show and is home to the graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. All summer, you can catch re-enactments of shootouts and Wild West trials.
My husband and I visited Deadwood in 2016 and had fun. But we found it to be not as kid-friendly as we remembered when we visited the Black Hills with kids in 2025. There are many casinos in the town, and smoking is allowed outdoors. Our young kids were terrified of the re-enactments, so we only ate lunch, took some photos, and left. It could be a great spot with older kids or teens though!
Jewel Cave National Monument is also in the Black Hills, and is said to be stunning! We haven’t made it there yet, but it’s on our bucket list for the next time we return.
Sample itinerary for visiting the Black Hills with kids
This is roughly what our itinerary was like for visiting the Black Hills with our three kids. They were 7, 5, and 2 on this trip, so we scheduled in lots of time to just play, nap, and relax.
Day 1: Badlands National Park
- Morning at the WaTiki Waterpark
- Lunch in hotel
- Afternoon: Fossil Exhibit Trail
- Get Junior Ranger books & Junior Paleontologist books at visitor center
- Fossil Preparation Lab (open 9-4PM)
- 3:30PM – Cliff Shelf Nature Trail (.5)
- Early Dinner: Cedar Pass Lodge (11-8PM)
- 6PM Sunset hikes – Saddle Pass (.25mi, hard), viewpoints for sunset photos (Pinnacles Overlook, Burns Basin, Hay Butte)
Optional Day 2: Badlands National Park (or combine with day 1 to save time)
- 7AM – Depart Rapid City for Badlands National Park
- 8AM – Notch, Window & Door trails
- Turn in Junior Ranger books
- Drive Badlands Loop & look for wildlife
- Lunch: Wall Drug
- Afternoon at hotel water park
Day 3: Devils Tower National Monument
- 7AM – Depart Rapid City
- 9AM – Devils Tower – get Junior Ranger books & walk the Tower Trail
- 11AM – Lunch: Picnic at picnic area by Circle of Sacred Smoke sculpture
- Afternoon: Hike at Roughlock Falls Overlook Trail (There ended up being a rockslide that closed the road so we didn’t get to hike this, but it looks so pretty!)
Day 4: Cathedral Spires & Rushmore
- 8AM – Cathedral Spires hike
- Lunch at cabin, hotel or campground
- 3:30PM – To Mount Rushmore via Iron Mountain Road
- Head straight to Sculptor’s Studio ranger program
- 4:30PM – Back to visitor center to get Junior Ranger books
- 5-6PM – Walk the Presidential Trail (clockwise)
- 6:30PM – Dinner at Carver’s Cafe & work on Junior Ranger books
- Get Junior Ranger badges & eat Thomas Jefferson’s ice cream
- 9-10PM – Mount Rushmore Evening Lighting Ceremony. The late bedtime is worth it.
Day 5: Crazy Horse Memorial
- Spend the morning exploring the Crazy Horse Memorial.
- Lunch – Crazy Horse Memorial restaurant or the Purple Pie Place in Custer
- Spend the afternoon relaxing at a lake in Custer State Park
Day 6: Wind Cave & Mammoth Site
- Morning – Take the Natural Entrance tour at Wind Cave
- Drive south through Bison flats to Hot Springs, SD.
- Noon – Lunch in Hot Springs, South Dakota, at Two Cows Creamery & Bistro (We didn’t end up eating here because an elevator outage at Wind Cave pushed back the start of our tour, but it came recommended.)
- 1:30PM – Mammoth Site
- 3:30PM – Drive back to Wind Cave to turn in Junior Ranger books
- Drive NPS 5&6 backroads back to Custer State Park. This is where we saw all the bison on our trip!
I hope you have a wonderful trip to the Black Hills with kids!