If you are looking for the best National Parks in South Dakota, then you’ve come to the right place!
I was born and raised in the Midwest, and there are truly some beautiful national parks to be found there.
South Dakota is a very large Midwestern state that has an expansive amount of undeveloped natural areas.
Despite being the 17th largest by state by land area, it is also the 5th least densely populated state.
The entire population of the state is a little under 900,000 people, which is about the same as some major cities!
This combination of a small population and large land area means that there are some amazing state and National Parks in South Dakota.
There are also tons of other things to do in South Dakota if you’re planning to stay for a few days.
South Dakota is also home to the Black Hills, which was a major area during the Gold Rush.
The Black Hills are a major tourist area, along with the many South Dakota National Parks.
In fact, some of the parks in South Dakota include areas of the Black Hills.
So, with all that in mind, let’s take a look at the 6 best National Parks in South Dakota that you’ll want to add to your bucket list!
6 Best National Parks In South Dakota For Your Bucket List
See The Beauty Of South Dakota Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park is probably one of the most popular, if not the most popular, National Parks of South Dakota.
This park in South Dakota is often referred to as the “Land of stone and light”.
The name Badlands comes from the name the Lakota Nation gave the area.
The Lakota Nation lived in the Badlands for centuries before Western expansion.
They deemed it ‘bad lands’ because it was particularly tricky to cross.
Any sort of rain or snow makes the clay wet and sticky.
On top of that, the rock formations, buttes, and canyons themselves are tough to travel across or around.
Another reason for its name is the weather.
Temperatures dip very love in the winter and can get really high in the summer.
It was a difficult place to live.
Despite the very temperamental weather and landscape, Badlands National Park South Dakota is an incredibly beautiful place to visit.
Visitors to the park come from all over the world to see the rich fossil beds, admire the sweeping prairies where wild buffalo roam, and hike amongst the canyons and buttes.
If you only have time to see one South Dakota National Park, I would highly suggest choosing Badlands National Park.
Jewel Cave Is One Of The Coolest National Monuments In South Dakota
There are a few National Monuments in South Dakota.
It may seem a little confusing that a natural area is a National Monument instead of a National Park.
National Monuments are considered National Parks.
But, they get the monument designation because they are important to preserve for historical, cultural, or scientific reasons.
Regular National Parks are preserved to protect the landscape, the native flora and fauna, and to provide recreational value.
So, Jewel Cave is a natural National Monument in South Dakota that is actually the third longest cave in the world.
It is an incredibly important natural resource for scientists who study cave systems.
Because it is so large, there are areas of the cave that still remain a mystery to the scientist who are researching its ancient and varied history.
So far, there are just over 208 miles of the cave that have been surveyed and mapped.
Inside the massive cave, there are several cave lakes, blunt nailhead spar crystals, a variety of cave formations called speleothem formations, and more.
You can tour the cave system on guided tours that are offered by the National Park Service.
It’s a very popular activity in South Dakota’s Black Hills region.
So it suggested you get advance tickets for the tour.
The tour is definitely worth it.
It’s a really cool experience to walk through a cave that is over 2 billion years old!
Learn About Cold War History At Minuteman Missle National Historic Site
The Cold War was a time in American history where relations with the Soviet Union were especially strained.
During this time, both America and the Soviet Union were somewhat quietly building an arsenal of nuclear weapons.
In the US, the Federal Government picked somewhere fairly remote and unpopulated to store this extensive arsenal.
Unbeknownst to the people of South Dakota, three of those underground storage facilities were placed in western South Dakota.
Today, the tree underground facilities make up the Minutemen Missle National Historic Site.
For those who don’t know, a National Historic Site is just another classification in the National Parks system.
Within the park, you can take a guided tour of all the different facilities.
You’ll see where the Minutemen Missle, a nuclear warhead, was stored, tour the Launch Control Facility, and the Missle Alert Facility.
The National Historic Site is also home to the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.
The unique park in South Dakota is actually the only National Park Service unit that is completely dedicated to the history of the Cold War.
You literally won’t have the opportunity to see anything else like it in the rest of the US!
Mount Rushmore Is The Most Notable Of The National Parks In South Dakota
Most people know of Mount Rushmore.
However, many people don’t realize that the massive carved mountain is one of South Dakota’s National Parks.
Mount Rushmore, like many other parks in South Dakota, is located in the Black Hills.
Carved into the side of a mountain are the faces of four presidents that sculptor Gutzon Borglum chose.
They are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
Borglum was said to have chosen these specific presidents because they each represented an important moment in American history.
The work to sculpt and carve the mountain started in the late 1930s.
It was finished on October 31st, 1941.
However, it is important to also remember that Mount Rushmore is on land that was the home of the Lakota Sioux for centuries.
The land encompassing the Black Hills was taken from them when gold was found there.
To the Lakota Sioux, the Black Hills, and the mountain that is Mount Rushmore, was and is a sacred site.
The Lakota Sioux find the carving of these faces into their sacred mountain extremely offensive.
As a result, in more recent years, there have been a number of movements representing Native American heritage at the site.
Most commonly, Native Americans ask that the National Park Service include the Native American history of the sacred mountain in the visitor center and during their tours.
It’s a stunning monument in South Dakota, but it’s important when visiting to keep in mind both sides of its history.
There are so many things to do in Mount Rushmore (and nearby) so leave a little extra time to explore it.
There are so many things to do in the Black Hills, so leave a little extra time for exploring them!
Visit Beautiful Wind Cave National Park
Wind Cave National Park is actually one of the oldest National Parks in the US.
On the surface, above the cave, there are beautiful prairies where you can often find bison and elk roaming.
Underneath that beautiful prairie is one of the longest and most complex cave systems in the world.
Known as Wind Cave, because of the heavy winds at its entrance, it’s a cool South Dakota National Park.
The National Park Service offers guided tours of the cave system.
You can also step into the only known natural entrance of the cave without being part of a tour.
On the land above the cave system, there is plenty to do.
You can hike, bike, backcountry camp, and watch wildlife at Wind Cave National Park too.
Wind Cave is one of the coolest National Parks in South Dakota.
Missouri National Recreational River Is One Of The Most Expansive National Parks In South Dakota
America’s longest river is the Missouri River.
It begins in the Rocky Mountains in Montana and ends north of St. Louis where it meets the Mississippi River.
In total, the river is 2,341 miles long!
The Missouri National Recreational River area makes up about 100 miles of the river and two free-flowing stretches.
Because the South Dakota National Park covers a lot of lands, there are plenty of things to do.
You can enjoy birdwatching, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and boating.
There are also areas along the river where you can camp on the river bank.
If you aren’t sure where to start, they have a Visitor Contact Station.
There a Park Ranger will help you figure out where to go, depending on your interests.
They also have a mobile ranger station that travels around the extensive 100 miles.
There are so many things to do in the Black Hills, so leave a little extra time for exploring them!
There are some amazing national parks in South Dakota!
It’s a beautiful state full of amazing landscapes and unique cultural sites.
Have you had the opportunity to visit any of the National Parks of South Dakota?
I’d love to hear about your favorite park in South Dakota.
Or is there one you haven’t seen yet that you’d love to see?
Let me know in the comments!
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