South Dakota

on location: midwest â?–

Nationally famous attractions and a mother lode of unexpected delights await groups in this truly monumental state

Discovering

South Dakota

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Falls Park in Sioux Falls showcases the Big Sioux River cascades that give South Dakota’s largest city its name.

when a ranger talk and stirring movie are followed by the playing of the National Anthem and floodlighting of the faces, stark white against the starry Dakota sky.

Touched emotionally, many leave with a tear in their eye or a lump in their throat.

Even as you depart, you’ll find yourself glancing back for one final look.

Mount Rushmore may be the face of South Dakota tourism and a must-see on any group itinerary, but hidden surprises abound within the state’s borders—and they’re not all in the popular Black Hills region. The astounding collection of rare instruments at a museum in Vermillion is the envy of music institutions worldwide. A tour of a Hutterite colony will remind you of Amish enclaves to the east. Admire the works of one of America’s favorite artists at his

Photos Courtesy of South Dakota Department of Tourism

arved into a granite peak in the Black Hills of Western South Dakota, it’s been called the “Shrine of Democracy” ever since the phrase was coined during the 1930 dedication of George Washington’s head. His 60-foot-high visage was followed by the chiseled faces of three other U.S. presidents—Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt—in a herculean, 14-year project undertaken by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and a team of 400 workers.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, so much a part of our national identity, is almost a cliché. But even the most jaded come away in awe of the carving’s sheer size, its artistic splendor and the lofty ideals it embodies. Most inspiring is the patriotic pageantry on summer nights in the amphitheater,

The exotic Corn Palace in Mitchell is one of America’s true folk art icons.

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hometown gallery. Or how about sampling fruits of the vine at a South Dakota winery?

South Dakota, our 16th largest state, stretches 380 miles from east to west, from the tabletop flatness of the eastern farmlands to the forested hills and ranch country of the west. Dividing the state approximately in half is the mighty Missouri River, prized by outdoors-minded vacationers for its huge reservoirs, known as South Dakota’s Great Lakes.

In the eyes of many travelers and tour planners, South Dakota tourism is heavily weighted toward the Black Hills and Badlands National Park in the west. Besides the plethora of natural and manmade attractions, the region’s compactness is another plus. Most points of interest are within two hours of each other.

The fifth granite face in the Black Hills appears in the form of the famous Lakota leader Crazy Horse. The Crazy Horse Memorial, a work in progress since 1948, is the world’s largest mountain carving and eventually will show the fierce warrior astride a horse; a visitor complex features the Indian Museum of North America. At Custer State Park, a nearby crowd-pleaser, Jeep safaris venture into the backcountry for closeup looks at one of the nation’s largest publicly-owned buffalo herds.

In the southern Black Hills, near Hot Springs, groups can tour The MamLeisureGroupTravel.com

Custer State Park, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, abounds with recreational as well as sightseeing options.

moth Site, a working paleontological site and museum, and mingle with wild mustangs at Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. Not far away is Wind Cave National Park, which offers tours of the world’s fourth-longest cave system.

Rapid City (pop. 59,610), the state’s second largest city, makes a good base camp for touring the Black Hills and is 45 minutes from Mount Rushmore. Besides offering more than 4,000 guest rooms, Rapid City has a number of group-friendly attractions itself. The Journey Museum spotlights the natural history and culture of the Black Hills, with excellent exhibits on pioneer life, Sioux arts and crafts, and even a planetarium program in the theater. At a drive-through park called Bear Country U.S.A., groups can see a variety of

wildlife, including elk, bison, wolves and black bears. Reptile Gardens is reputedly the world’s largest reptile repository.

Rapid City is 90 minutes away from Badlands National Park. Both barren and beautiful, the park presents a stark, eerie moonscape of deep gorges, jagged spires and bands of colorful rocks.

Visitors may see buffalo, mule deer, pronghorn and prairie dogs.

The old Black Hills mining town of Deadwood, an hour north of Mount Rushmore, has emerged as a group tourism hotspot since small-stakes gaming became legal there in 1989. In the past two decades, more than $220 million has been invested in this quaint Victorian town tucked in a gold-filled gulch, making Deadwood one of the

This Watertown attraction displays the wildlife paintings of Terry Redlin.

LeisureGroupTravel.com

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

FACTS

Capital: Pierre Population: 814,180 (2010 Census) Nickname: The Mount Rushmore State Bird: Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant Dessert: Kuchen Flower: Pasque Animal: Coyote Fish: Walleye Insect: Honey Bee Tree: Black Hill Spruce Song: Hail, South Dakota Sport: Rodeo Motto: Under God the People Rule

largest historic preservation projects in the nation. Old storefronts and warehouses are now casinos, restaurants and hotels.

Visitors to Deadwood, once known as the wildest and woolliest town in the West, discover brick-paved streets, intriguing museums and Main Street shootouts, not to mention parades, rodeos and other special events. Tourists can take underground tours at Broken Boot Gold Mine and visit the graves of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Boot Hill).

The town’s newest pride and joy is Deadwood Mountain Grand, a casino, restaurant and concert hall that opened this past summer in a converted slime plant that processed gold ore. Musical acts have included Charlie Daniels and the Oak Ridge Boys.

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The fall roundup of the famed bison herd at Custer State Park is one of South Dakota’s top spectator events.

EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA Tourist spots in Eastern South Dakota may not be as nationally famous, but there are treasures waiting to be discovered. In De Smet, the “Little Town on the Prairie,” groups can visit homes that inspired author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved “Little House” series. The Ingalls Homestead offers covered wagon rides and hands-on pioneering activities.

Watertown (pop. 20,237) is home to another famous South Dakotan, Terry Redlin, one of the most widely collected painters of wildlife and Americana. The imposing Redlin Art Center, a colonialstyle, four-story brick building supported by 24 granite columns, offers a video presentation and displays more than 150 of his original oil paintings.

The Aberdeen CVB can arrange tours of a Hutterite colony, offering groups a chance to meet the people of a self-sustaining farm community that makes its own clothing, crafts its own furniture and generates its own electricity. Visitors can witness the Hutterites’ farming operations, see their schoolhouses and watch them sew perfectly pleated skirts.

In the southeast, Sioux Falls, near the border with Minnesota and Iowa, is South Dakota’s largest city (pop.

156,500). Located on the Big Sioux River at the junction of I-90 and I-29, it’s the commercial hub for the whole region. Falls Park, near the downtown dis30 December 2011

trict, has a triple waterfall, five-story viewing tower and a summer sound and light show that presents the cultural heritage of Sioux Falls. Other attractions include Sertoma Butterfly House and Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History.

Mitchell, an hour east of Sioux Falls on I-90, boasts one of America’s true folk art icons—the Corn Palace.

Topped with whimsical onion domes and minarets, the Moorish-style building pays homage to South Dakota’s agricultural heritage and is decorated every year with interior and exterior murals made from corn, grasses and grains.

Tours of the fanciful 1892 landmark, originally built for farmers to showcase the fruits of their harvest, are available.

In the state’s southeastern corner, on

The grave of Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood’s Mount Moriah Cemetery.

the campus of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, is the National Music Museum, the premier institution of its kind. The global collection of some 15,000 musical instruments spans five centuries and represents virtually every culture and historical period. Rare items range from zithers and harpsichords to Stradivari violins and guitars.

Pierre, the capital of South Dakota, lies smack dab in the middle of the state. Prime options for groups in this delightful city of 14,000 include a Capital City Queen cruise that visits Missouri River sites associated with Lewis & Clark. Tours of the powerhouse at Oahe Dam show how the water in Lake Oahe is harnessed to generate electricity. ChrisaMari Vineyards invites groups to tour and taste. Other attractions in Pierre (pronounced “peer”) include the South Dakota State Capitol and South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center.

Aside from the awesome sights in this all-American state, a solid tourism infrastructure, along with a state tourism department providing an array of group services, makes South Dakota a tour planner’s dream. The state’s hefty “Group Tour Planning Guide” is a gold mine of information, offering a rich sampling of the potential routes and themes that can be mixed and matched to build the perfect tour in this land of Great Faces and Great Places. LGT LeisureGroupTravel.com

In

SOUTH DAKOTA , groups of all sizes can make endless

memories when they explore our Great Faces and Great Places. Groups will find boundless adventure in the Black Hills and Custer State Park; be awestruck by the grand scale and beauty of Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Crazy Horse Memorial; imagine history at Fort Sisseton Historic State Park; and witness centuries-old cultural traditions along the Oyate Trail and the Native American Scenic Byway. Whatever your groups envision, they’ll find South Dakota to be the tour of a lifetime.

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CEDAR PASS LODGE/BADLANDS INN

CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL

CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA - SIMPLY UNIQUE

AKTA LAKOTA SIOUX MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER

CEDAR SHORE RESORT

CUSTER STATE PARK RESORT

TOURS OF A LIFETIME

DEADWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & VISITORS BUREAU

THE LODGE AT DEADWOOD

DEADWOOD MOUNTAIN GRAND

RUSHMORE BORGLUM STORY

MITCHELL

CULTURAL HERITAGE CENTER

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AMERICA TOURS WEST & K BAR S LODGE

UNPACK IN RAPID CITY. UNWIND IN THE BLACK HILLS.

STAGECOACH WEST BUS INC./MOUNT RUSHMORE TOURS

SIOUX FALLS – THE HEART OF AMERICA

BEST WESTERN RAMKOTA HOTELS OF SOUTH DAKOTA

WATERTOWN CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

GROUP TOUR PLANNING ASSISTANCE Vicky Engelhaupt South Dakota Department of Tourism vicky.engelhaupt@state.sd.us 1-800-952-3625 | www.TourSDakota.com

SOUTH DAKOTA MOTORCOACH SERVICES wash, dispose, fuel, maintenance

Dakota Bus | 605-642-2353 | www.dakotatrailways.com Grayline: Black Hills | 800-456-4461 | www.blackhillsgrayline.com Interstate Betroit Diesel | 800-348-3042 | www.istate.com Windmill Truck Stop | 605-348-7070