South Dakota
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About South Dakota
South Dakota is a Midwestern state, one of the six states of the Frontier Strip. The state is named after the Lakota and Dakota (Sioux) American Indian tribes and known as the location of Mount Rushmore with the famous faces of the four presidents. The famous movie ‘Dances With Wolves’was shot entirely in South Dakota.
Good to know
- Capital: Pierre
- Climate: Summers (mid June through mid September) are warm (normally 23°C) with cool nights; winters can be very cold (normally –11°C) with prevalent snow falls providing good conditions for winter sports. Fall is a good time to visit with comfortably warm weather
- Timezone: UTC -6
- No. of inhabitants: 770,883 (2004)
- Travel alert: EnjoyYourWorld strongly advises you to take necessary precautions for a safe travel. For more info please follow this link
Highlights
- The stunning scenic Black Hills National Forest with excellent hiking, biking and camping possibilities amidst towering granite peaks, deep canyons, trout streams and clear lakes
- Mount Rushmore with the mountain carving of the faces of four American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln
- Custer State Park in the beautiful Black Hills is home to one of the world’s largest bison herds, that are brought in every year in early October timeframe. The Buffalo Round Up of the thundering herds is open to the public
- A memorial to Crazy Horse is carved in granite near Custer
- Badlands National Park with a moon-like landscape of buttes and steep canyons. A big part of the Badlands lies on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Getting Around
- If you are in a hurry take the I-90 that crosses the state east-west, or the I-29 that runs north-south.
- If not try the scenic byways
- Native American Scenic Byway through the heart of South Dakota’s wild and rugged country taking you through the lands of the Yankton, Crow Creek, Lower Brule, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes, offers a god chance to see prairie dogs, pronghorn, deer, bison and elk herds.
- Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway with the popular Needles Highway (SD 87) and Iron Mountain Road (US 16A), offers breathtaking views of the Black Hills, with granite tunnels, hairpin curves and pinnacles.
- Badlands Loop State Scenic Byway through the breathtaking Badlands National Park with outstanding photo opportunities.
- Wildlife Loop State Scenic Byway in Custer State through open grasslands and rolling hills with wildlife such as of the world’s largest buffalo herds, bighorn sheep, antelope, deer, elk, coyote, prairie dog and numerous birds.
- If you travel in the Black Hills region, you should be aware that there are several narrow tunnels especially if you’re driving a recreational vehicle, camper or bus
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