North Sioux City · $$$
Road trips · South Dakota
South Dakota road trips & hidden gems.
South Dakota stacks the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Custer’s bison herds, and the cave country of the Black Hills. Summer and early fall are prime, and the buffalo roundup is a fall spectacle. Big, monumental country.
Happening in South Dakota
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 2026
Barely two dozen marquee events hit the whole country in a year — and South Dakota has one this August. Roamward builds the trip around it: the scenic route in, the detours worth a slack day, and when rooms sell out.
Final days — plan the slack dayPlan the trip around it →
Best time to visitSummer & early fall
Don’t missSunrise over the Badlands
Gem Hunt nominees10 candidates
Hikes10 curated
Scenic drives1
Gem Hunt nominees
What locals say you shouldn’t miss.
Community-nominated candidates. Add yours and vote to help choose the first published finalists.
Porter Sculpture Park
A field of 50-plus haunting, funny, hand-welded steel sculptures — including a 60-foot bull's head — right off I-90 near Montrose, made by one wonderfully eccentric artist.
Petrified Wood ParkAn entire city block of castles, towers, and pyramids built from 4,000 tons of petrified wood in Lemmon, free to walk year-round in the state's remote northwest.
Dignity of Earth and SkyA luminous 50-foot stainless-steel statue of a Lakota woman with a star quilt, glowing above the Missouri River at a rest area in Chamberlain, right off I-90.
The Mammoth SiteAn active dig in Hot Springs where you walk over the bones of 60-plus Ice Age mammoths trapped in an ancient sinkhole, a fascinating stop at the edge of the Black Hills.
Chapel in the HillsAn exact wooden replica of Norway's 12th-century Borgund stave church, hand-carved and quietly tucked into a pine canyon outside Rapid City.
Evans Plunge Mineral SpringsThe Black Hills' oldest attraction, an 1890 indoor pool fed by mineral springs that hold a steady 87 degrees, with 5,000 gallons of warm water flowing through every hour, in the town of Hot Springs.
Worth traveling for
Events that put South Dakota on the calendar.
The big ones
National parks in South Dakota.
The bucket-list landscapes — when to go and what not to miss.
Explore by interest
Everything else worth a stop in South Dakota.
Start with a few highlights, choose one interest, or explicitly open the full state guide.
Showing General guide and Scenic routes highlights. Choose a category or Show all for the full state guide.
Scenic drives
Scenic routes through South Dakota.
More worth the detour
The general guide to South Dakota.
Museums, monuments, historic sites, and local-only stops from Roamward's shared place map.
Boots on
Best hikes in South Dakota.
From family-easy to bucket-list — trails worth the detour, great for the RV & camping crew.
Black Elk Peak
the highest point east of the Rockies, with a stone lookout
Cathedral Spiresgranite spires in the Needles
Devils Bathtub (Spearfish)a creek scramble to polished rock pools
Door Trail (Badlands)a boardwalk into the eroded badlands
Harney/Little Devils Towera granite scramble near Black Elk Peak
Iron Creek (Black Hills)granite and pine on the Black Hills crest
Beyond the parks
Wild lands in South Dakota.
National forests, wilderness, and monuments — the big scenic public land between the parks and the gems.
The gloriously weird detour
Roadside Americana in South Dakota.
Giant statues, folk-art wonders, vintage neon, and roadside oddities — the stops worth the exit.
Where to wake up
Camping in South Dakota.
The most scenic places to pitch a tent or park the rig — each with how to reserve and how RV-friendly it is.
Where to eat
Road-trip dining in South Dakota.
Restaurants, diners, and food halls that fit the drive — curated by town, not scraped from a phone book.
Baker's Bakery & Cafe
Custer bakery-cafe for cinnamon rolls, breakfast, and sandwiches before Needles Highway gets slow and scenic.
Begging Burro Mexican BistroA Custer patio-and-margarita stop for the Needles Highway day, especially after Sylvan Lake and the granite spires.
Black Hills Burger and Bun Co.A Custer burger favorite for a fast, satisfying post-drive meal without losing the local thread.
Buglin' Bull Restaurant and Sports BarA Custer burger-and-steak stop for Needles Highway travelers who want a full Black Hills meal after the granite tunnels.
Custer BeaconLive-music hall, beer garden, and burgers in Custer, ideal when the Needles Highway day turns into a Black Hills evening.
Custer WolfA Custer casual-dining option that works well for families looping Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake, and Iron Mountain Road.
On two wheels (road)
Best cycling in South Dakota.
Scenic road rides, iconic climbs, and car-free rail-trails.
Knobby tires
Best mountain biking in South Dakota.
Trail systems, bike parks, and gravel routes.
Soak it in
Best hot springs in South Dakota.
Resorts, historic bathhouses, and wild primitive soaks.
Chasing water
Best waterfalls in South Dakota.
From roadside stops to bucket-list hikes — easy ones flagged for the RV & family crew.
Tee it up
Public golf you can book in South Dakota.
Sioux Falls · $$
Rapid City · $$
Mitchell · $$
Rapid City · $$
Aberdeen · $$
Plan the South Dakota trip
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Where to stay
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