South Dakota

The Falls Overlook Cafe was a quaint little cafe with a small menu. The food was good, prices were right and portions were perfect for a group who had hours to spend in the car yet. We loved that we were able to sit on the patio that overlooked the falls with our dog DeVito. The staff was amazing and even brought DeVito a treat when they figured out her was there.

These falls are definitely worth the stop! They were beautiful. The falls were not the only pieces of scenery that were breathtaking. We loved getting a chance to take a look at the old mill as well as other outbuildings that still stood there. It was a nice way to stretch our legs before we moved on to our next destination.

So this place is a bit off the beaten path. You can see some of it from the highway. This was so interesting. The sculptures were super cool and different. Not the normal type of sculpture you would see in the city. The gentleman running this park has some fun stories and is very friendly. He also has an adorable dog that stays in his camper with him all summer long while the park is open. Some awesome photo ops for the kids!

This was an unplanned stop but I am so glad we had an opportunity to visit while we waited for our next tour to start. The kids had a blast here (even my 14 year old). We were able to dress up in prairie style clothing and see all of the outbuildings. You can touch everything and see exactly how they lived in the early 1900's. We took many pictures here and had a great time feeding the goats and chickens as well as seeing all of the albino prairie dogs. And if you are looking for a nice souvenir, this place has a GREAT gift shop.

Get here early! The tour is free and tickets are given on a first come first serve basis. It was about an hour wait until our tour so we went elsewhere while we waited. Our tour guide was hilarious. Very entertaining and knowledgeable as he should be. He was a minuteman back in the day! It was a very interesting tour. I never knew there was such a thing so I learned something new.

Well for anyone who has never heard of this place, you live in a bubble! No but for real this is the place to stop along the way when traveling through South Dakota. It is basically a mall of souvenirs and I do mean a MALL, not just a store. It is a TON of fun for the kids. Be prepared to spend a few dollars here.

A great restaurant to have a little lunch or nice night out on the town. Food was yummy and we were able to bring the pup out on the patio. Bonus!

This park is awesome! All of my kids enjoyed this place and I think my husband and I enjoyed it as much as they did. It had scenes from all classic childhood stories. There were so many places for the kids to climb. They had a little ice cream shop in the middle of the park that were stopped and had a treat at. There were so many spots to stop and snap a picture of the girls. One of my favorite places we went on our vacation. And, it's free but they do ask for donations!

The 1880's train tour was super fun! It was relaxing with pretty views. The kids loved it. We rode to Hill City in a closed car and on the way back we rode in a car that had no windows and were able to have the wind in our hair. Such a calm change from all of the other things we had done. If you don't want to do both routes you can choose to ride the train to Hill City from Keystone and get a shuttle back. One way is an hour long train ride.

We drove through the park first as it was raining. The animals get right up next to your car. The animals are all visible so no worries on missing out on the action. It amazed us that the animals did not try to sneak out the gates where you drive in and out. The zoo area was fun with many of the small animals. The cubs were by far the attraction while they climbed to the top of a tree and fought each other for their spot at the top.

This place was really cool. They even allow leashed dogs into the park with only a few spots that they can't go. It was a ton of fun to have the whole family there. There were some really cool areas to check out. We loved the tortoises and the indoor area where the tropical birds were. Our dog did NOT like the alligator show. Well at least once the gators started moving, lol.

This was a nice restaurant. Great food. Good vibe for many types. Prices were a bit on the higher side but was worth the money.

The Morningside Cafe was a tiny little place tucked in a little strip mall. They had the best breakfast food. So glad we popped in here even though it didn't look like much. YUMMY!

A fun little stop to get our morning going as it was raining and we needed to do something indoors. The gal that was working was awesome. And, we found another place that let us bring our leashed dog in to join us. It was a small museum packed with a lot of information. There is also a mirror maze which was short but fun for the kids. By the time we got out, the rain had stopped.

This place was way more fun than I thought it was going to be. We decided at first that we were going to split up and do kids vs. parents but when my husband and I had gotten all of the stamps and the kids had only gotten one, we stopped to help them before we made our way out of the maze. Plan to spend 45 minutes to an hour at this location.

Of course there are always these mystery areas in many states that you may travel to. This one is no different. Non the less, our kids had fun and thought it was interesting. It fun for them to see all of the little tricks that they guide was showing.

This place is super fun! There are so many fun things to do. Our kids gravitated to the Tramway. The ski lift made for a beautiful view of all of the mountains.When we were all done we sat down to have a drink and sang a little karaoke in an outdoor covered tent.

This place was a standard family restaurant. Good food, prices were similar to an AppleBee's. They allowed us to bring our pup out on the patio which is always great for us! There patio is nice with a great view of the mountains.