AbbreviationFinder: Do you know how many initials that contain the word of South Dakota? Check this URL to search for a full list of organizations and names with the state of South Dakota.
Countryaah: Provides a calendar of all 2020, 2021, and 2022 public holidays for South Dakota. On the site, you can see comprehensive list of national business holidays that are celebrated within South Dakota.
The state of South Dakota is characterized by scenic diversity and the combination of different cultures. With the Black Hills, in which the famous Mt.Rushmore is located, the BadlandsNational Park and beautiful cities like Sioux Falls, South Dakota offers many starting points for a successful holiday.
The landscape of South Dakota with its seemingly limitless prairie was made famous by the Hollywood film success “Who dances with the wolf”. You can learn a lot about the history of the indigenous people in the numerous Indian reservations. (Hobby) historians will also feel at home in the Badlands National Park: there are numerous fossil sites here.
To the southwest are the Black Hills with the heads of four US presidents carved out of granite on Mount Rushmore and many small western towns such as Deadwood.
Highlights not to be missed: Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore National Park, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer, Deadwood.
State Facts & Figures
Area: 199,731 km²
Population: approx. 814,000 (4 per km²)
Capital: Pierre (approx. 13,900 pe)
Highest point: Harney Peak (2,207 m)
State bird: Chinese ring-necked pheasant
State flower: Pasque
State tree: Black Hills Spruce
State animal: Coyote
Taxes: State Sales Tax: 4%
Time zone: West: Mountain Standard Time (CET -8 hours)
East: Central Standard Time (CET -7 hours)
Maximum speed: Interstates 75 mph, other roads 70 mph
International airports: Rapid City
Highlights in South Dakota
Wall Drug Store
The Wall Drug Store is a tourist attraction in the town of Wall at the northern end of the Badlands National Park. After being able to score free ice water with tourists traveling to Rushmore “in the middle of nowhere”, the mall became more and more famous and finally cult.
Mount Rushmore
The 4 presidential heads are among the most famous sights in the whole of the USA. The monument to the Indian chief Crazy Horse is only 20 kilometers away.
Badlands National Park
One of the natural highlights and a complete contrast to the Black Hills are the barren canyons of the Badlands National Park.
Black Hills
Enjoy pure nature in the Black Hills. Huge forests, beautiful caves and some of the most famous places in the USA are waiting for you!
Cities worth seeing
Sioux Falls
The city’s main attraction is the eponymous waterfalls of the Big Sioux River. Sioux Falls also offers numerous restaurants and bars.
Rapid City
Rapid City is a city that was created at the time of the Black Hills gold rush. With more than 65,000 residents, Rapid City is the largest city in the area.
Pierre
The small capital of South Dakota can delight with the impressive Capitol and the Rodeo Museum.
Festivals & events in South Dakota
South Dakota hosts numerous events, concerts, festivals and other events every year that you shouldn’t miss as a visitor. For you we have listed the most important and most beautiful events that will enrich your vacation in Mount Rushmore State.
Laura Ingalls Wild Pageant
De Smet, on the weekends in July: This event is an open-air game based on the stories and novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It deals with the hard life in the South Dakota prairie and tells impressively how the West at that time only offered a home for a handful of people.
Days of 76
Deadwood, end of July: The Days of 76 will take place in 2017 for the 95th time. The award-winning rodeo is the main attraction during the Days of 76 and thrills thousands of visitors. Incidentally, the name of the festival is derived from the first settlers of Deadwood in 1876. There are also other events, such as B. a pompous pageant through Deadwood. A trip to the Days of 76 Museum should not be missed, because here you can learn a lot about the life of the pioneers and see numerous exhibits of the Wild West and the American peoples.
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Black Hills, early August: Experience Sturgis and one of the largest motorcycle meetings in the world! The prairies shake as thousands of motorbikes ride the exciting streets of the Black Hills, the Badlands of South Dakota and the Devils Tower. But it’s not just driving: concerts, races, motorcycle shows and much more is waiting for you! Sturgis is unique or as the organizers say: “It’s like being a kid again, in a candy store. Only better!”
Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup
Custer, end of September: Every year at the end of September the Buffalo Roundup takes place, in which the approximately 1,300 bison are driven to different pastures. A folk festival has formed around this spectacular event, which in addition to the thundering hoof kicks of the bison herd also offers numerous regional traders and events.
Black Hills, South Dakota
The Black Hills are located in the west of South Dakota. As you explore the forest and mountain region, you will discover some of the most popular attractions in the United States. Visit z. B. Mt. Rushmore with its four famous US presidential heads and the giant rock sculpture still in progress by the probably best known Indian chief Crazy Horse at the Crazy Horse Memorial.
Custer State Park and the adjacent Wind Cave National Park are among the last real prairie landscapes. In Custer State Park you can discover numerous scenic highlights such as the grandiose Needles Highway, the bizarre rock formations and the many lakes. There are also around 1,500 bison living in the park, some of which you will very likely encounter. In the Wind Cave National Park is the famous cave of the same name, which is one of the oldest and largest in the world. Not far away is the Jewel Cave National Monument, whose cave is the second largest in the world. Despite their proximity to each other, both caves have a completely different character.
Further north of the Black Hills you will find Deadwood, a city that offers many excursions. Here you can e.g. Visit the Spearfish Canyon, the location of the winter scenes from ‘Who dances with the wolf’, Bear Butte State Park, a sacred mountain of the Sioux, and numerous old gold mines. Just outside of Deadwood, you can take a cable car to the top of Terry Peak Mountain, which offers good weather views of five states.
Highlights in the Black Hills
Mount Rushmore
The four presidential heads are among the most famous sights in America.
Wind Cave National Park
One of the oldest national parks in the United States with one of the longest caves in the world, the Wind Cave.
Custer State Park
The striking granite cliffs make Custer State Park one of the most popular locations in the Black Hills.
Deadwood
The city of Deadwood is one of the oldest settlements in the Black Hills and is located in a truly wonderful setting.
