Plan · Day trips
Black Hills day trips, measured from camp
Suzies Camp sits on the northern edge of the Black Hills at I-90 Exit 34. Deadwood is about 25 minutes away, Mount Rushmore about an hour and 15, and you come back to the same campsite every night.
| Place | Road miles | Drive | Best season | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hills National Cemetery | 1 mi | about 5 min | Year-round | At the Exit 34 interchange. Free; open daily. Busy on Memorial Day. |
| Sturgis Motorcycle Museum | 5 mi | about 10 min | Year-round | Motorcycle museum and Hall of Fame on Main Street. |
| Downtown Sturgis (Main Street) | 6 mi | about 10 min | Year-round | Shops, cafes and the rally's main stage street. Quiet outside August. |
| Bear Butte State Park | 12 mi | about 25 min | Year-round | Sacred mountain to many Plains tribes. 1.85-mi summit trail; no pets on the summit trail; leave prayer cloths untouched and unphotographed. North end of the 111-mi Centennial Trail. |
| Deadwood | 18 mi | about 25 min | Year-round | Gold-rush town: Main Street history, Mount Moriah Cemetery, and the north end of the Mickelson Trail. |
| Lead | 21 mi | about 30 min | Year-round | Homestake mine history and the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center. |
| Spearfish | 24 mi | about 35 min | Year-round | College town at the mouth of Spearfish Canyon. |
| Rapid City | 26 mi | about 35 min | Year-round | Groceries, dining, shopping, the airport (RAP) and Reptile Gardens/Bear Country on the way south. |
| Terry Peak Ski Area | 28 mi | about 55 min | Winter | Skiing and snowboarding in the northern Hills. |
| Spearfish Canyon (Savoy / Spearfish Canyon Lodge) | 35 mi | about 55 min | Spring, summer, fall | US-14A through limestone cliffs; Bridal Veil, Roughlock and Spearfish falls. Peak color late Sept to early Oct. |
| Keystone | 46 mi | about 1 hr 5 min | Summer | Gateway town below Mount Rushmore. |
| Mount Rushmore National Memorial | 48 mi | about 1 hr 15 min | Year-round | The national memorial. Leashed pets only in parking areas, the Blackberry Trail and the pet exercise area. |
| Hill City | 53 mi | about 1 hr 15 min | Summer, fall | Galleries, wineries and the 1880 Train. |
| Custer State Park Visitor Center | 56 mi | about 1 hr 25 min | Year-round | Bison herds, the Wildlife Loop, Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road. Buffalo Roundup is in late September. |
| Sylvan Lake | 62 mi | about 1 hr 35 min | Summer, fall | Granite-ringed lake at the start of Needles Highway; trailhead for Black Elk Peak. |
| Crazy Horse Memorial | 64 mi | about 1 hr 45 min | Year-round | The mountain carving in progress and the Indian Museum of North America. |
| Wall Drug | 77 mi | about 1 hr 35 min | Year-round | The famous roadside stop on the way to the Badlands. |
| Badlands National Park (Pinnacles Entrance) | 84 mi | about 1 hr 50 min | Spring, summer, fall | Straight down I-90. Badlands Loop Road (SD-240) between the Pinnacles and Interior entrances. |
| Wind Cave National Park Visitor Center | 86 mi | about 2 hr 10 min | Year-round | Cave tours and prairie wildlife. |
| Devils Tower National Monument | 86 mi | about 1 hr 55 min | Spring, summer, fall | America's first national monument, in Wyoming. 1.3-mi Tower Trail loop. |
| Gillette, WY | 117 mi | about 2 hr 20 min | Year-round | Next big town west on I-90 (for the 'tonight' traveler band). |
Road miles and drive times from the camp, measured with OpenStreetMap routing. Allow extra time on mountain roads and in summer traffic.
Suggested loops
Northern Hills loop
Deadwood → Spearfish Canyon → Spearfish → back on I-90. About 2½ hours of driving, with waterfalls and gold-rush history along the way.
Rushmore and Custer day
Rapid City → Keystone → Mount Rushmore → Iron Mountain Road → the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park → back to camp.
Devils Tower day
86 miles, about 2 hours each way, mostly west on I-90. Walk the 1.3-mile Tower Trail loop.
Badlands day
84 miles to the Pinnacles entrance, straight east on I-90. Drive the Badlands Loop Road and stop at Wall Drug on the way.
Right by camp
- Black Hills National Cemetery, at the Exit 34 interchange (1 mile).
- Fort Meade Recreation Area and the Centennial Trail: the south access is at Exit 34.
- Bear Butte State Park, 12 miles: a sacred mountain with a 1.85-mile summit trail.
On day trips
The location was great for us to see both Mt. Rushmore and Devil's Tower. The trip to Devil's Tower is long, but worth it. This is a quiet Campground with long, grass pull through sites. We have a 42 ft long fifth wheel and a 22 ft long truck.