My parents loved Palmer Gulch Lodge, the KOA campground exceeded our expectations and the kids had a blast at all of the attractions. The weather could have been a lot better—the kids never did get to swim or go horseback riding because it was too rainy, but on the upside it made for private tours and light crowds everywhere. We all loved Rushmore Cave, so thanks for the great suggestion! The only thing we never used was the Custer State Park pass. We were too busy with all of the other things.

Many, many thanks for your helpfulness. We’d recommend SD and the Palmer Gulch Resort to anyone. Hope your summer vacation season is off to a great start!

Karen

Hey Amanda.  I wanted to tell you that our family LOVED our South Dakota trip to the Black Hills last week.  It was without a doubt one of the best vacations we have ever taken.  We were so sad that we had to come home this weekend.  While it’s fresh in my mind, I wanted to pass along my feedback:

 

• The first night (July 17) we got in late and stayed in Rapid City.  We drove to the Badlands the next morning and that was just amazing.  It made for a long day as we probably had to drive about 200 miles our first day, but this was really special.
• Rock Crest Lodge – this place was very nicer – nicer than I expected.  We were in a cabin and it was so neat and clean.  We could hike behind our cabin and just loved it.
• Sylvan Rock Climbing – this was one of the highlights.  This was so much fun and the guides were very nice.  I would highly recommend this to others.
• Fishing (Whitewater creek outfitters in Deadwood) – this too was another highlight.  We loved it, and the guide was great.  If I had a complaint, I think this was a bit overpriced ($352) as compared to all the other excursions we did.  But we caught about 8 brown trout and cooked/ate them at our cabin for two dinners.
• 1880 Train – this was very nice, and we’re glad we did it early.  We got to absorb a lot of great scenery.  I would highly recommend this to both kids and adults.
• Bike rentals in Hill City – this went fine too.  The owners were nice, and accommodated us on riding the bikes on a different day.
• Cave tour at Windcave – this was a quick tour and we squeezed this into the end of the day when we were tired, but we did love it.  The cave was very impressive.
• ATV rentals – the Trout Haven resort folks were very nice and good guides.  This was probably our least favorite of all the excursions.  It was bumpy, dirty, and noisy, and I know that’s not their fault.  We went on a lot of backwoods trails and my wife didn’t enjoy it.  But again, that’s not their fault.  The one thing I didn’t like is even though they agreed I was paid-in-full, they said I still owed them $36 for gas.  I kinda didn’t like this as I felt they snuck this in on me.  Just be aware for future customers about this gas charge.
• Circle B Chuckwagon – we did both a horse trail ride and the dinner/show.  We loved this too.  My son just loved all the activities (we paid extra for pistol shooting) and the dinner was great too.  The music was also good, and afterwards we got to meet all the family that puts on the show.  We would highly recommend this to others.
• Custer State Park – we spent a couple of days here and loved it too.  They had great hikes and good programs for kids.  We also got to drive through the herd of 1,000 bison – truly spectacular.  After a few days of hustle and bustle, it was nice to spend our days here and enjoy nature and wildlife.

 

We kinda lucked out as we had great weather the entire week.  Absolutely nothing went wrong – well our camera broke, but I guess that’s not anyone’s fault.  

 

Thanks for your help in coordinating the trip.  It was truly an unforgettable vacation.

Scott Hudmon

WOW, what a beautiful prayer !!! Brings tears to your eyes. Thank you so much for all your encouragement, not only for me, but, my family as well. I can't wait.. ;-). Will send picture to you, hopefully, they won't be green. Thank you again for going well beyond your job, and making me feel good about my decision. Your a REAL JEWEL!!!!!

I have my balloonist prayer posted by my desk. You will have one given to you when you ride. Donna

It goes: May the winds welcome you
with softness.
May the sun bless you
with his warm hands.
May you fly so high
and so well.
that God joins you
in laughter
and sets you gently back
into the loving arms
of Mother Earth.

Rhonda, our trip was phenomenal! It was the trip of a lifetime and it's hard to believe it's over. We have a TON of pictures though so we get to relive the adventure. Such wonderful scenery and almost too much to absorb so I'm glad we have a lot of pictures to look back on.

The reservations with Black Hills Vacations made our 10 day stay very smooth and organized. We enjoyed every excursion and accommodation. We were late to Jewel Cave and they were very understanding and just moved our tour time (we weren't even paying attention to the time - we were on vacation!!!).

The only changes we would have made to our itinerary would have been to spend more time in Spearfish Canyon. We learned from the visitors bureau in Wyoming (when we went to Devil's Tower) to take the drive back to Keystone through Spearfish Canyon. We really enjoyed that drive. We hadn't heard about this prior to that day. It truly was one of our favorite places and when we return (not if) that will be an area where we'll spend more time. We will also pan for gold - this is not promoted enough with the vacation agent and we just had so much fun meeting people along our ATV route that were doing this - you can actually buy into a claim for a day and pan with them and best of all, hear all the stories. It would be great if somehow the tourism bureau could promote this with those who have claims and make those connections.

Finally, Hot Springs (other than the place we stayed and the Mammoth Site) would not be an area we'd return to unless they really do something to promote the Hot Springs by revamping Evan's Plunge and making it a more natural setting vs. a public natatorium. We were also either misinformed or misunderstood that the spa that we'd be staying at would have the actual mineral waters from the hot springs as part of the experience. Nevertheless, the caretaker was so gracious and informative, the food was impeccable and the spa/hot tub/hot sand/hot granite rooms were very interesting so we enjoyed the pampering.

Otherwise, all lodging was very cool and different at every stop (rustic hotel, B&B, cottage, cabin, spa, etc.). The suggestions based upon the type of vacation we were looking to have were spot on.

Thank you, - Shanna