South Dakota

Find South Dakota travel tips, stories, maps, videos and news for unusual tourist attractions and sights.

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Petrified Wood Park
Lemmon, South Dakota
Forest of frozen fossils -- hundreds of spires, buildings and piles made from petrified wood in the 1930s.
Petrified Wood Park Museum
Lemmon, South Dakota
Historical exhibits chronicle the story of Lemmon and of the Petrified Wood Park outside the front door.
South Dakota National Guard Museum
Pierre, South Dakota
Military relics from multiple wars, and a stuffed coyote in a box. Out front, a full-size tank and jet,
Hero the Elephant and the Heintz Airship
Elkton, South Dakota
Hero the enraged circus elephant and eccentric aeronaut Henry Heintz are immortalized in this town museum.
Trail of Governors
Pierre, South Dakota
30+ bronze statues of every former South Dakota governor line the streets, with their guns, dogs, fish, and a missile.

Sights for Oddball Excursions

Buffalo Ridge Ghost Town (1880 Cowboy Town)
Buffalo Ridge, South Dakota
Animated characters creak to life to tell their stories of the Wild West.
Center of the Nation Monument
Belle Fourche, South Dakota
Belle Fourche is the Geographic Center of the U.S. A big "stand on the Center" monument proves it.
Crazy Horse Memorial
Crazy Horse, South Dakota
Chief Crazy Horse is bigger than Mt. Rushmore. And more than a head.
Death Chair of Wild Bill Hickok
Deadwood, South Dakota
Deadwood has become fashionable again, but Wild Bill Hickok's Death Chair has been drawing visitors for over 70 years.
Adams Museum: Deadwood's Attic
Deadwood, South Dakota
The entertaining detritus of Deadwood, including the gold nugget of Potato Creek Johnny and a two-headed calf.
National Presidential Wax Museum
Keystone, South Dakota
Every American President, from Washington to Trump, they're all waxen and eerily lifelike. Nixon greets quarantined Moon Men!
Corn Palace
Mitchell, South Dakota
This corn-plastered edifice has proclaimed itself the "agricultural showplace of the world" for over 100 years.
Porter Sculpture Park
Montrose, South Dakota
Fanciful junk art statues, including a 40-foot-tall horse and 60-foot-tall, 25-ton bull head.
Pioneer Auto Show Museum
Murdo, South Dakota
Sprawling vehicle collection includes the last surviving "General Lee" from the Dukes of Hazzard TV series, and a car made of wood.
Reptile Gardens
Rapid City, South Dakota
Classic Black Hills tourist attraction has the largest collection of reptiles on Earth, including a giant crocodile named Maniac.
Dinosaur Park
Rapid City, South Dakota
Free park of concrete dinosaurs standing on a hill above Rapid City.
Cosmos Mystery Area
Rapid City, South Dakota
Two identical shacks distorted by the forces of gravity and crowd flow.
Concrete Outline of USS South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
The most decorated battleship of World War II is an outline on a lawn dotted with salvaged parts.
Wall Drug Store
Wall, South Dakota
This mega-tourist trap has been a vacation stop for generations of thirsty travelers -- it's much more than a drug store. Giant sign out front for those who want photo-proof of their visit.
Six-Ton Prairie Dog
Cactus Flat, South Dakota
Twelve feet of paint-chipped, weather-worn, prairie-dog-resembling cement glory, next to a prairie dog town and the Ranch Store gift shop.
Graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane
Deadwood, South Dakota
Two of the Wild West's best-known characters are buried next to each other in Deadwood.
Broken Boot Gold Mine
Deadwood, South Dakota
A real Deadwood gold mine, conveniently flat and compact for tourists, and right alongside the main road through town.
Days of '76 Museum
Deadwood, South Dakota
What began as a museum about Deadwood's annual parade and rodeo is now filled with a wide range of Western memorabilia. And parade and rodeo stuff.
Devil's Gulch: Jesse James Jumped Here
Garretson, South Dakota
Legendary leap for a legendary law breaker.
Hugh Glass Bear Battle Sculpture
Lemmon, South Dakota
Dramatic scrap iron sculpture by local artist John Lopez of frontiersman Hugh Glass in death battle with a bear. Displayed inside the Grand River Museum.