A first-time guide to South Dakota

13.06.2024 - 22:15 / lonelyplanet.com

Jun 13, 2024 • 8 min read

In South Dakota, sculpted rock formations rise from the earth, lakes shine like glass, and prairies grasp onto the horizon like endless oceans of grass.

The landscape is so astonishingly beautiful it feels like one big national park. This is the ancestral land of the Lakota and Dakota. Today the state is home to nine tribal governments and more than 71,000 Native American people.

Visitors come to South Dakota for many reasons but most are drawn to the spectacular natural beauty of places like Badlands National Park, the Black Hills, and human-made monuments like Mt Rushmore National Memorial and the Crazy Horse Memorial. South Dakota, however, is full of surprises. It doesn’t take long to discover that she has far more to offer than her best-known attractions. South Dakota is a place where you can experience active paleontology sites, witness a thousand bison stampeding down a hill, and explore some of the longest caves in the world.

Plan your visit with this guide for first time visitors.

There are places where the seasons come and go without fanfare – South Dakota is not one of them. Each season brings different weather, scenery, and new reasons to visit. Winters in South Dakota are snowy and cold with average temperatures falling from 32 to 10°F. It’s a great time for snowy pursuits like skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing. 

Although higher elevations still receive snow, spring brings warmer weather and average temperatures of 50 to 60°F for most of South Dakota. Wildflowers bloom, baby animals are born, and you can generally expect to see some rain. 

Summer sees average highs in the low 90°Fs and 15 to 16 hours of sunlight a day. This is the most popular time to visit South Dakota so expect crowds at popular sites like Mt Rushmore National Memorial.

In autumn, the leaves change and places like Spearfish Canyon Nature Area explode with color. Temperatures fall somewhere around 44 to 57°F, with warmer weather in the weeks following Labor Day. Early fall is an excellent time to visit South Dakota since the weather is pleasant yet most summer tourists are gone.

We recommend dedicating 5 to 7 days to your trip to South Dakota. If you only have 3 or 4 days, concentrate on Badlands National Park and the Black Hills, with attractions like Mt Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park. 

The two largest airports in South Dakota are Sioux Falls Regional Airport and Rapid City Regional Airport. If you plan to limit your visit to Badlands National Park and the Black Hills, fly into Rapid City. To take in sites like Falls Park in South Dakota’s largest city, fly into Sioux Falls. 

South Dakota is vast and public transportation is limited so it’s easiest to get around by car. This