The T and L Diaries

We’ve just got back from the best week away exploring South Dakota. If you know us, you will know that we love to explore lesser known areas. This passion brought us to South Dakota. Whilst here we teamed up with Get Your Guide. To assist us on our road trip around South Dakota we used a self guided audio tour.

So where did we go? We explored the surreal landscapes of The Badlands, the incredible history of Mount Rushmore and The Black Hills. What to expect? Expect to see incredible landscapes, all kinds of animals and overall fantastic road trip.

We have tried and tested our itinerary and can’t wait to share it with you!

Some will think that going to national parks this time of year is crazy. But it is one of our favourite ways to start the fall season. Watching the leaves start to turn the beautiful orange red colour is wonderful. They fall to the floor. Feeling the crisp air draw in makes it our favourite time of year. But our biggest reason for traveling this time of year is because it is ‘shoulder season’. The school holidays are officially over and the crowds are lower making it a much more pleasant experience.

Here is our perfected itinerary:

Sunday:

Accommodation : Badlands Frontier Cabins

Location : Wall, South Dakota

Sunday was our travel day, it took a long 7 hours in the car from Omaha to Wall, South Dakota. We stayed in the beautiful Badlands Frontier Cabins which was only a 20 minute drive from the Badlands scenic loop. Accompanying us on our road trip was our 2 German Shepard, Mac and Amber.

We picked this accommodation as it allowed us to have the 2 big dogs with us. It was a task in itself trying to find accommodation that allowed “big” dogs to stay. We were pleasantly surprised on how beautiful these log cabins were and how accommodating the owners were with our dogs. So with our experience we’d give this accommodation a rating of 10/10!

Restaurant : Red Rock, $$

Locals of Wall recommended Red Rock to us. We made our way there after being told they are dog friendly. Here we had some of the best BBQ we’ve ever tried and the servers were all friendly and helpful. In our opinion we thought this restaurant was fair priced and the food was delicious. For the food lovers we recommend the brisket, pulled pork, cowboy beans and Mac and cheese.

Monday

Watch the breath taking sunrise over the Panorama view point over the Badlands before breakfast. (only around 20 minutes from wall). Breakfast at The Badlands Saloon and Grille, as this is complimentary with your stay at Badlands Frontier Cabins. The blueberry pancakes were to die for! I wish I was eating them right now. You can sit on the patio at the back of the restaurant with your furry friends. The waitress kindly gave Mac and Amber a plate full of bacon. This was free and of course they loved her for that. After breakfast walk across to ‘Wall Drug Store’ the oldest shop in the town. And hilariously advertised pretty much every 100 yards on the I-90 which became a standing joke in the car. So you will have heard of it. Much to our surprise it was actually are really cool store and is worth the look.

Head towards Interior on the I-90. Join the Badlands National Park loop. Start your adventure into this surreal place. It really does feel like you’re on Mars walking along the view points and taking in the incredible landscape. It takes around half a day to explore these lands. Please note: if you have dogs with you they are not allowed on the view points.

After finishing the Badlands head for Custer. This takes just under 2 hours to get here.

Accommodation : Chalet Motel (This is our recommended base for 3-4 nights. It is the perfect location Custer National Park, the Black Hills and more).

Location : Custer, South Dakota

Restaurant : The Custer Wolf (Dog Friendly), $$

After a long day exploring the Badlands we arrived in Custer around 6pm and we starving! Custer is a great place to stay if you are on a road trip with your dogs. There are more than 6 restaurants that are dog friendly. Including The Custer Wolf. This was a great restaurant serving your usual American style food, like burgers. It’s a great way to refuel after a day of exploring. We had the the Italian Turkey Sandwich and the BBQ Chicken Flatbread which were both delicious and full of flavour.

Tuesday

Starting the day with a good breakfast, we headed towards the Custer National Park. Just a short drive from the accommodation. The pass costs $30 for a week in Custer National Park. You get a red sticker for the car to show you have paid.

Today’s adventure includes the Wildlife Loop, the Needles Highway and Sylvan Lake.

As you head into the wildlife loop, you encounter so many different types of wildlife. These include Buffalo, Deer, Prairie Dogs, and Wild Donkeys. The animals are so close to your car as you drive along the loop. With the donkeys even coming up to the windows, which of course was on of my favourite parts. Who doesn’t love donkeys? Though if you aren’t the biggest fan of them then keep your window up…

The Needles Highway is sign posted as you come out of the Wildlife loop. This is such a surreal drive, the landscape is just out of this world. It is like being on a film set. There are plenty of pull-in and viewpoints. You can take pictures and truly appreciate the beauty of this place.

As you leave the Needles Highway, you arrive in Sylvan Lake. The most beautiful lake I have ever witnessed. There are plenty of trails that you can walk along, with dogs! There also lots of activities to do like kayaking along the lake. It is rumoured that the sunset is incredible over the lake!

Location : Custer National Park, South Dakota

Restaurant : Pizza Mill, $$

Pizza Mill is a little family run restaurant in Custer and ideally opposite the Motel Chalet. There are a few tables inside but you can also do take out. The accommodation has a nice patio area on the grass which is nice to eat there too. However, as Brits don’t make our mistake. We forgot portion sizes are a lot bigger. We got 2 large pizzas between 4 of us. It was way too much. But on a flavour note, incredible pizzas! The Philly steak and BBQ chicken was yummy.

Wednesday

Having a good breakfast is always the best way to start the day! Head next door to The Miner’s Cup, incredible coffee and breakfast! It sets you up for a day of exploring. Admittedly this did start a Miner’s Cup coffee addiction with us and we had it nearly everyday.

After breakfast were heading back towards Custer National Park and following the signs to Mount Rushmore. This brings you on a scenic route towards the incredible attraction. This route was one of our favourite parts to listen to the audio tour from Get Your Guide. It told us stories, tips and tricks whilst driving along which was very interesting.

Mount Rushmore is incredible. You can easily spend half a day there, taking in the incredible work. It is $10 per car which we thought was reasonable due to the popularity of this site. We recommend taking the ‘presidential trail’ as it gives some incredible views of Mount Rushmore. The visitor centre was great in telling you the history of Mount Rushmore, very interesting.

Restaurant : The Frontier Bar & Grill, $

Another dog friendly place to eat just outside of Custer. The Frontier really is more of a bar vibe inside with bar style food. We sat outside on the patio with the dogs and enjoyed a juicy burger full of flavour. For those who enjoy a beer, there is a big selection.

Thursday

Now Thursday will either be a travel day or you can travel up to Sturgis, Deadwood and Spearfish.

However, this time of year I would recommend missing out on these. Sturgis is a bikers town where motorcyclists stop off for a bite to eat. Deadwood was a disappointment, we were expecting old school cowboy town. But in reality it was casino after casino with gift shops selling the same stuff. Apparently in Summer there are ‘cowboy’ shows but I’m not sure how good they are. Spearfish was a lovely little town. But with it being so far away, it’s quite a drive just to see a town.

We traveled back on the Friday, which was a full day of travel. We opted for more of a scenic route back to Omaha. Driving all the way on the motorways (Interstate) can be very boring. At least going on the scenic drive there were little towns to drive through.

Have you any recommendations for National Parks, which would you recommend? Road trips are great and we will be doing more of them across America.

The self guided tour that was used during our road trip is : Black Hills & Badlands: Self-Guided Driving Tour Bundle

{The links included in this blog post are affiliate links. This does not change the price of the accommodations and activities. We just get a small percentage to help us carry on doing what we love.}