[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by frazod

I love the Black Hills. Mt. Rushmore is cool, but Custer State Park is the jewel of the area. There are four resorts in the park, two of which I have stayed at. My personal favorite is Sylvan Lake Lodge - you can get a cabin or stay in the lodge itself (all of the resorts have cabins). Sylvan Lake is my favorite place on earth.

There are plenty of places to stay in Custer, as well. And unlike Yellowstone, which is isolated and ran by one government contracted company, business competition in the Black Hills keeps prices reasonable.

Do NOT stay in Rapid City. Too far away from everything.

Places to go:

Sylvan Lake
Needles Highway
Harney Peak (highest mountain at 7224 feet - tough hike, but if I can get my fat ass up there, so can you).
Deadwood (northern part of the area, but fun and worth the drive). Eat at Jake's Restaurant in the Midnight Star which is owned by Kevin Costner. Great food.
Devil's Tower (in Wyoming, far away but also worth the drive).
Several caves, including Wind and Jewel.
Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park - lots of critters, although you will quickly tire of the buffalo. You can take jeep rides out of the State Game Lodge and horseback rides out of Blue Bell Lodge.
And finally, despite all the stupid signs that will make you think it is some stupid tourist trap, definitely check out the Cosmos Mystery Area.

Any other questions I'll be happy to answer.

Pretty much all of this, except for the Cosmos Mystery Area. That was a complete sham. There's also a cool maze thing outside Rapid City but I don't have time to look it up right now.