After cancelling three vacations during the COVID shutdown and ensuing slowdown of travel we needed a quick summer getaway before the boys head back to school. Like many other Americans navigating this “new normal” (I can’t wait until we can stop using that phrase!) we decided that we would do something within driving distance, so we began planning our long weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We traveled with my sister and her family, so with 90 degree weather forecasted and eight kids combined (ages 10, 9, 7, 7, 5, 4, 2 & 1) we stayed away from hard core hiking but still found so much to do!

Pre-Black Hills: We left home in Buffalo around 3pm on Wednesday and stopped in Sioux Falls (approximately a four-hour drive). The main reason for the stop was to split up the drive, but we were pleasantly surprised with the gem that we found in Falls Park. We ate dinner along the riverbank, and then explored the park and waterfalls. The kids couldn’t be dragged away until dark, so we finally headed to the hotel at 9pm. We stayed at the TownePlace Suites in Sioux Falls. The only bummer of the stay was they are not currently serving hot breakfast; however, they did have a decent assortment of cereal, fruit, juices and breakfast bars that was likely on par with many hotels’ normal breakfast choices. Fun fact: there are actually two TownePlace Suites in Sioux Falls. I only know that now because I navigated us to the wrong one and had a moment of panic when I was informed that I didn’t have a reservation there!

Night 1: We were planning to meet up with my sister and her family who were two hours ahead of us in the Badlands, so we woke up and made an early start Thursday. The Badlands are 4 hours from Sioux Falls, all of it on I90. It was an easy (albeit boring) drive with minimal navigation necessary and we made it to the start of the Badlands just past lunch time. The Badlands scenic loop is approximately an hour and a half to drive through, and we slowly made our way on it, stopping and exploring many times. It was a blazing 99 degrees in the park, so most of our stops were short and we didn’t do any intense hiking. Carl had heard a Minneapolis radio show rave about Sweeto Burrito so we stopped at their food truck in Rapid City before heading to the Rafter J Bar Ranch. We spent the rest of Thursday setting up our cabin and swimming in the pool at the Ranch.

Rafter J Bar Ranch: As a lukewarm camper at best, Rafter J Bar offered the best of both worlds. I love the time spent outside that happens naturally while camping vs. staying in a hotel, but I’m not a huge fan of sleeping on an air mattress and digging soggy food out of a cooler all weekend. The standard camping cabins that sleep 6 offer electricity, beds (you bring all bedding), a table and a mini fridge. When booking Emily nicely took a camping cabin that slept 4, thinking that the only difference was that the table didn’t turn into a bed; however, we discovered on arrival that they also didn’t have a mini fridge. We wanted to stay next to each other so it was easy for the kids to run back and forth, so they nicely slogged through the weekend with cooler food! Rafter J Bar also has tenting sites, camper sites and comfort cabins that have a bathroom, air conditioning & a Keurig. We debated about upgrading when we saw the weather was forecasted to be close to 90 all weekend but were usually away from the campground during the hottest part of the day and the temp dropped enough at night to sleep comfortably. I normally cringe at campground bathrooms, but ours was clean and close by so it didn’t feel like a big deal to not have a bathroom in the cabin. If we happen to go back again in mid-summer I’d definitely consider upgrading to a Comfort cabin for the AC. 

            Rafter J Bar has a variety of entertainment options, our favorite being the pool and hot tub. We made stops to swim in between other activities on Thursday evening, Friday morning and late Saturday afternoon. There also is a playground right next to the pool so we could watch a crew of kids in the pool while still being able to have eyes on the kids at the playground. Overall, we loved the campground and would happily stay there again. 

Night 2: Our traveling partners had a vehicle mishap that they had to take care of Friday morning, so after a swim in the pool and lunch at the cabin we headed out to explore. Our first stop was Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park. When we pulled into the park it was swarming with vehicles, so much so that we thought the lake would be packed with people and hard to enjoy. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, and we ended up finding a spot and hanging out for many hours. The older kids and Dads climbed the huge rock formation next to the lake, at one point I looked up and spotted my brother-in-law Brian standing at the very highest point! I sprinted to grab my phone to get a picture but he was gone when I got back. Emily and I held our breath a few different times the kids were rock climbing, but thankfully everyone ended the day in one piece.  

After a quick stop back at the cabin to eat dinner we headed out to Mount Rushmore. There is a lighting ceremony that starts at 8 every evening and we were aiming to make it there before that. Parker (7 years) had learned about Mount Rushmore in Kindergarten and couldn’t wait to see it! While I wouldn’t say the park was empty it also didn’t feel crowded and we were able to get a picture of all of the kids sitting on the ledge in front of the monument. The lighting ceremony lasts approximately 45 minutes and the kids seemed to enjoy it (I didn’t see much of it because Olivia was scared of the loud music, so we sat at the entry and people watched instead!). At the end of the ceremony they have all active duty military and veterans come down to the stage for a standing ovation; the adults in the crew thought that was a really cool way to end the night! 

Night 3: Because the drive home is a long one (9 hours) we planned to leave early Sunday morning. That meant Saturday was our last full day of vacation. We started the day at the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park. It didn’t take long to find animals. The first were bison with their calves, one of which was right on the side of a road. We all held our breath when a motorcycle had to squeak by just a few feet away from the mother & calf, but thankfully they made it past without incident. We came around a corner not long after the first stretch of bison and saw multiple wild burros standing next to cars. I had heard about the burros from others and we were pumped to find them. Though they are technically wild they are tame enough to let you stand next to them, take pictures and pet them. Some people had brought huge carrots to feed them and the kids were jealous of that! We did find goldfish on the floor of the van, and Molly fed one through the window when we were leaving. That led to two more making their way over, and pretty soon we had three burros poking their heads into the van! After the trip all three big kids said the burros were their favorite part of the vacation. The rest of the drive we saw an occasional solo bison, a herd of antelope and prairie dogs.

Legion Lake is at the start and end of the Wildlife Loop, so we stopped there afterwards for a quick swim. The water there was much clearer than Sylvan Lake and the water temperature was refreshing after a hot morning. Legion Lake also has paddleboard and kayak rentals available; we saw many people bring their own inflatable paddleboards and thought that would be a fun option if your kids are a bit older than ours. There are also cabins right up the hill from the lake and a lodge/restaurant on site for food and ice cream. 

Saturday evening back at the cabin was spent packing up and preparing for the long drive home before s’mores over the fire one last time.

On the drive home we talked about how much fun the trip was and how we wished we had at least one (or two!) more nights to enjoy the Black Hills. If we had more time we would’ve like to seen Deadwood, Spearfish, Bear Country, Needles Highway and (if the weather was a bit cooler) done more hiking in the area. We decided we will definitely be back some day, and next time we will make it a longer stay!