South Dakota Tourism Guide Weather Wise

Native American Scenic Byway (South Dakota, North Dakota)

The byway crosses the reservations of four tribes of Lakota Sioux: Crow Creek, Lower Brule, Cheyenne River, and Standing Rock. Its many memorial markers, monuments, museums, and sacred sites commemorate the heritage of the Sioux Nation and help you hear history from the Native American point of view.

Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway

This byway will lead you on a delightful adventure as it winds its way around spiraling "pig-tail" shaped bridges, through six rock tunnels, among towering granite pinnacles and over pristine, pine-clad mountains. Highlights include Mt. Rushmore, Harney Peak, Sylvan Lake, the Needle's Eye and Cathedral Spires rock formations.

South Dakota Motorcycle Touring - Badlands National Park - Southwestern, SD
Snow-covered Badlands butte and juniper trees rise to meet the day  Containing the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating 37-28 million years old, the evolutionary stories of mammals such as the horse and rhinoceros arise from the 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires. Bison, bighorn sheep, endangered black-footed ferrets, and swift fox roam one of the largest, protected mixed-grass prairies in the United States.

South Dakota Motorcycle Touring - Jewel Cave National Monument - Custer, SD
A caver crawls under a frostwork rim (NPS Photo)  At 144 miles, Jewel Cave is the second longest cave in the world. It is filled with calcite crystals and other wonders that make up the "jewels" of Jewel Cave National Monument. The current length of Jewel Cave is: 144.02 miles. On January 10, 2009, explorers spent 17 hours underground and mapped 451.40 feet of cave passages. Check here frequently to keep up-to-date!

South Dakota Motorcycle Touring - Minuteman Missile National Historic Site - Southwestern , SD
Minuteman II missile on display at Launch Facility Delta-09  Here you will find remnants of the Cold War, including an underground launch control center and a missile silo. Minuteman missiles held the power to destroy civilization. Yet the same destructive force acted as a deterrent which kept the peace for three decades. At Minuteman Missile it is possible to revisit the Cold War and learn how nuclear war came to haunt the world.

South Dakota Motorcycle Touring - Missouri National Recreational River - Yankton, SD
Missouri River from Niobrara State Park  The Missouri has a history like no other river. Explore the great waterway of American Indians, fur trappers, Lewis and Clark, and many others.  Experience the dynamic character of the river's ever-changing nature. View the natural beauty of the "rec river" along 100 miles of the Nebraska-South Dakota border. Listen for the eerie screech of the majestic bald eagle or the splash of a trophy fish.

Great information coming soon...

South Dakota Motorcycle Touring - Mount Rushmore National Memorial - Keystone, SD
Full photo of Mount Rushmore  "A monument's dimensions should be determined by the importance to civilization of the events commemorated. We are not here trying to carve an epic, portray a moonlight scene, or write a sonnet; neither are we dealing with mystery or tragedy, but rather the constructive and dramatic moments or crises in our amazing history." Gutzon Borglum Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, Lincoln

South Dakota Motorcycle Touring - Wind Cave National Park - Hot Springs, SD
New Junior Rangers  One of the world's longest and most complex caves and 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest, and associated wildlife are the main features of the park. The cave is well known for its outstanding display of boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs. The park's mixed-grass prairie is one of the few remaining and is home to native ...