Last summer we took a family trip to to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We knew we wanted to end up in Omaha (don’t judge) and based on my Southwest Airlines points, decided to begin our trip in Colorado.
We drove from Denver to Cheyenne, narrowly missing the Frontier Days celebration for which the town is famous. A highlight of our Cheyenne visit was touring the state house. We even saw some rodeo champions taking photos on the steps!
Scottsbluff National Monument, gateway to the West
Our next stop was Scottsbluff National Monument in Nebraska. I went to graduate school in Nebraska and had always wanted to visit Scottsbluff. Since Omaha is nearly 7 hours away it just never happened. Fast forward 20 years and we decided to take a detour to Scottsbluff. If you can, you should too!
The grassland stretches out like an ocean. We arrived at dusk and the sun setting in the west was like something out of a movie. I have ancestors who traveled the Oregon Trail during the westward migration and seeing the trail extending towards the horizon moved me. The signs warning of rattlesnakes were a reminder of how brave these pioneers were.
We stayed at a really interesting hotel in nearby Gering, Nebraska. There isn’t too much nearby and you could probably do the Scottbluff museum and hike and move on but we arrived later in the day and opted to hike first thing, before the heat set in. As an aside, we visited at the end of July, during a heat wave. Coming from Virginia, it didn’t seem that bad to us as the humidity was very low. We did make sure to have a lot of water with us both in the car and while we were hiking. It is easy to get dehydrated, especially when you are used to high humidity.
The hike to the top of the bluff is fairly steep (though paved and easy to navigate) and very scenic. The Saddle rock trail leads from behind the visitor’s center to the top of the bluff. Once you reach the top, there is another loop round where you can see the changing topography from east to west. I thought this was a great hike, especially if you get out early and get to see the sunrise!
South Dakota- Rankin Ridge Trail
Since we already hiked the Scottsbluff trail and we were heading to Custer State Park for the evening, we opted to stop for a short hike along the way. We used the restrooms at Wind Cave National Park and continued on to the Rankin Ridge trail. A storm was rolling in and the 1 mile loop seemed perfect for the time allowed. After the very dry and nearly tree-less hike in Nebaska that morning, it was cool (both literally and figuratively) to see the ponderosa pine and green hills on the South Dakota trail. Easy to follow and well-marked, the Rankin Ridge trail highlights an old fire tower at the top. The views are specatacular and we even got to see lightening as we scurried past the tower!
Where to stay in Custer State Park?
I don’t plan my trips years in advance. Sometimes they are only planned a few weeks in advance. I am sure that more organized people can give better advice about where to stay on vacation. We cobbled together one night stays in 3 different parts of the park and I actually think it gave us a unique experience and allowed for better exploration of the park. Perhaps this is an excuse to make up for my lack of pre-planning but it worked for us!
Blue Bell Lodge
We spent our first night in a cabin at Blue Bell Lodge. I always buy food before I enter into these large parks so that I am not hostage to the long lines and overpriced food. There was a small kitchen the a stove top, tiny fridge and a sink. We made pasta and had cereal in the morning. I have a collapsible cooler (bought from Costco) and bought a freezer pack at Walmart when we landed.
The cabin was nice, I lucked out and had a pretty private site, some of the other cabins were close together. I like my privacy and this cabin had a nice view from the porch
Driving the Wildlife Loop at Custer State Park
There a few highlight on this trip and driving the Wildlife Loop at dusk was one of them. As mentioned earlier, there were some strong storms that went the the area just after our hike. We drove up to the cabin and unloaded and after the storm, we went for a drive. I had read that the WIldlife Loop can be very crowded during the day and that much of the wildlife isn’t actually out during the day. The storm cleared out the crowds and we had much of this beautiful drive to ourselves. Then it was us and the Bison!
Mount Rushmore was not the highlight of the trip
Let me begin by saying that I don’t like crowds. I like to hike and I like to see things. I don’t like to hike to see crowds. While Mount Rushmore is cool to see, you can pretty much see it from the road. There were so many bus loads of people it was hard to fathom where they all came from , especially after our scenic and quiet drive through the bison herds the night before. If you are intent on ticking Mount Rushmore off of your list, go early to beat the crowds. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. There are so many beautiful places nearby, don’t spend too much time on this stop!
Custer State Park Hikes- Lover’s Leap Trail
Lover’s Leap was a nice trail, around a 4 mile loop. When we hiked it last year, the 2nd half of the loop, going clockwise, was pretty overgrown and there was a lot of poison ivy. If I were to do this hike again, I would do it as an out and back from Lover’s Leap. Or wear pants. As mentioned, we were there during a heat wave so we were wearing shorts.
The State Game Lodge was our least favorite place to stay in Custer State Park
Perhaps these rooms have been updated since we stayed. The check in was unfriendly at best. The room is very basic, considering the cost and was definitely a disappointment compared to our other accommodations. If you have no other option, then this is a perfectly adequate room, it was just a little musty and tired and quite noisy if you are on the ground floor.
Needles Highway, Black Hills Driving
My husband was very excited to drive the Needles highway. The tunnels and turns are terrifying. The landscape is so wild that it looks like you are on the moon. This is a must-do but be careful, the roads are narrow and people are stopping all of the time. Here is a video of us driving through the “needles eye!”
If you only have time to do one hike in South Dakota make it the Black Elk Peak
We love to hike, we aren’t “mountaineers” or huge risk takers but I always enjoy seeing something new. The mountains of South Dakota are very interesting, they looks like drip castles. Despite the heat, we enjoyed this hike, definitely a trip highlight! Make sure you bring plenty of water because you are hiking the highest point east of the Rockies!
There are many different trails to get to the tower at Black Elk Peak. We took trial #9 from behind the Sylvan Lake and returned back on #4, taking the detours to Cathedral Spires and Little Devil’s Tower. Little Devil’s Tower has very steep rocks and I found it a little scary to climb.
The summit of Black Elk Peak is spectacular, find a flat spot and grab a seat. Take a well deserved rest and enjoy the scenery!
Sylvan Lake Lodge, a room with a view
There is an acutal lodge here but we stayed in one of the studio cabins. Though small, the spectacular scenery makes this a worthwhile place to stay. There is a small fridge and a microwave. You can walk to the lake, we ran the loop trail around the lake. There is easy access to the Black Elk Peak trail from the lake. The view from this cabin made up for the lack of space. Parking is tight, we pulled in right next to the picnic table.
Staying in three different areas of Custer State Park allowed us to explore without back tracking. The Blue Bell Lodge gave us good access to some of the lower trails of the park as well as the Wildlife Loop. Sylvan Lake is close to Needles Highway and to Black Elk Peak. Custer is a cute little town with quite a few restaurants, Keystone is very touristy but we liked Hill City. There is a fantastic German restaurant in the quaint downtown of Hill City called the Alpine Inn. We had a great lunch there, it is very popular. We arrived just as they opened for lunch and there was quite a wait by the time we left!
I took these photos from the back of the Sylvan Lake Lodge at sunset, it was magical! South Dakota is a unique place to hike and explore!
This was the first half of our adventure. Road trips are great becasue you can pack all kind sof stuff in your car. But what do you do when you are flying to another destination to take your road trip? Here are some tips for a successful road trip, especially when you are flying to your destination!
How to pack for a road trip when you are renting a car at your destination
- Bring water bottles or buy them when you land, insulated are a must in warm weather
- Buy a lot of water, keep gallons in the trunk, refill you bottles as needed, I also buy some smaller bottles to bring as extra water for hikes. They are also great to freeze when you have that option in a hotel, this allows you to keep cold things cold and then you have cold water to drink!
- When you land, have a list of things to buy at your favorite superstore, make this ahead of time so you don’t panic shop and forget crucial items. For example, I buy sunscreen, bug spray, hand wipes, chlorox wipes, pepper spray and cheap towels (they are great to sit on and you never know when you might need them!)
- At the superstore, buy your non perishable food items, granola bars, nuts, tuna (with a pull tab.) I like to buy lemons to make tuna salad and a small container of olive oil and vinegar to make dressing. I also buy paper towels, ziplock bags, plastic silverware (can be rewashed), paper plates and bowls. Cereal, peanut butter, jelly and bread will get you through a lot of meals I also buy a refreeze-able cold pack or two. Apples and clementines are great to have in the car.
- I bring a small collapsible cooler on the plane and then buy cold items as needed, a sealed pack of deli meat, lettuce and small container of milk can be kept cold and brought from one hotel to another.
- I am a light sleeper, I never know what the bed situation will look like from place to place so I bring this camping air mattress with with me. This bed is currently listed as out of stock but there are many other like this to choose from. I like that it has an integral hand pump, this allows for easy inflation without electricity. I also bring a sleeping bag liner as a compact way to have an extra set of sheets! This is a narrow bed and can fit into almost any hotel room. If someone needs their own bed, this is an easy solution!
- Eye masks and ear plugs help everyone get a better night sleep!
Next up, skip the lines and head to Nebraska for your authentic ranch experience!
