south dakota

Top Things to Do in Hill City

Well, it’s better late than never, I guess.  I’ve taken almost a 3 month hiatus away from my blog with a stint in the hospital (I recommend not getting acute pancreatitis) and a not very smooth move into my townhome.  Then the holidays came and my blog on Hill City, South Dakota had to wait!

Now Hill City is covered in snow, but my soccer peeps and I visited while the black hills glowed in beautiful fall colors at the beginning of October.  It was my second time to the area, the first being 11 years ago during my year-long road trip across the USA. I liked the Black Hills so much I have wanted to return. I finally made it back and already want to return again!

Several small towns pepper the Black Hills, but Hill City was one of my favorites and great base for visiting Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, and more. We spent five days in Hill City, not only exploring the sites nearby, but also driving up to Spearfish and spending some time around there. 

We rented a house on VRBO with a great location outside of Hill City and adjacent to the Mickelson Trail.  It had great views of horses, fall colors and sunsets.  While I very much liked the location, if I had to do again, I’d stay longer and split the stay between Hill City and Spearfish because there is so much to see and do and it eliminates a lot driving.

EXPLORE MORE!
crazy horse monument

Day 243 – Crazy Horse and the Black Hills (Part 3)

Day 243 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I started the morning at Crazy Horse Memorial.  The parking fee gets visitors into the grounds and the museum, but getting closer to the incomplete monument requires a bus ride for an additional free.  I’m not much of a tour bus rider, so I skipped that part. If the monument were all I wished to see, I probably could have just snapped a photo from the highway and carried on. But I also checked out the museum and learned all sorts of interesting the facts.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!