Trip to South Dakota - any insights?

[etoiles]

Hello!

We are taking a road trip in a few weeks from Chicago to South Dakota. We are going to travel through southwestern WI, southern MN and stop in Rapid City SD for one day before travelling to the badlands/mt. rushmore/deadwood area for several days.

Are there any suggestions of MUST SEE places that are not well known?? I have looked on travel websites and got a lot of ideas, esp. for western SD but if someone has been there they might know of some quirky unusual things that might be interesting.

Thanks in advance!! :)

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America forum.

As it happens, one of our contributors made a similar, great, trip and was kind enough to share his story with everyone here at RoadTrip America. We hope you can do the same

AZBuck

[Midwest Michael]

There's actually so many unusual things along this route, its hard to narrow them down!

Right along I-90, there are several quirky-touristy 'Ripley's'-type places in Wisconsin Dells, plus the Circus World Museum in nearby Baraboo. The World's Largest Six-Pack of Beer in LaCrosse, WI (free brewery tours also available). The Spam Museum in Austin, MN. A Giant Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth, MN. And of course two of the most famous quirky roadside stops of all time, the Corn Palace in Mitchell and Wall Drug in South Dakota.

And those are just the things along the interstate, if you're planning to get off the freeway there are even more possibilities...

[galaxie50059]

If you are looking for a neat rest area stop at the one just before Chamberlain, SD. It has an awesome view overlooking the MIssouri River and is just a neat place to stop and rest for an hour or so.
Also, If you are into tourist trap type stuff stop in to the Pioneer Auto Museum located in Murdo, SD, right along I90 about 70 miles beyond the Missouri River. For less than $10.00 a head one can see lots of neat old cars, farm tractors, Elvis Presleys Harley Davidson motorcycle, and tons more. The website is www.pioneerautoshow.com. Dave Giesler and family will welcome you to stop in for an afternoon or the day. Make sure you bring a camera to the museum.
Another neat place to stop is the Badlands Park located beyond Murdo by about an hour or so. Make sure to take the Loop through the park or you wont see very much from the Interstate. There are lots of places in the park to stop and visit, with short hiking trails. Most of the trails have boardwalks and handrails and a bunch of them are disabled/handicapped accessible.
After the Badlands one has to visit the town of Wall to see the Drug Store. Lots of tourist trap stuff there, but still fun to see how the little town grew out of nothing to become what it is today.
Most important take time to enjoy all that there is to see and do. Dont be afraid to stop and ask, you will find most of the locals are more than happy to direct you to someplace neat or something fun to enjoy.

[galaxie50059]

I forgot to add the South Dakota Tourism website. Its www.travelsd.com.

[etoiles]

Thank you for all of those insights! I will check out the websites suggested and will definitely mark those unusual sites down. I haven't heard of several of those things mentioned but will be fun to see! :)