Discover the Wild West as we visit Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Badlands National Park, Deadwood, Devil’s Tower National Park, The Mammoth Site, and Fort Hayes, where Dances With Wolves was filmed. This trip features a one-hotel stay in Rapid City, South Dakota.
July 23-29, 2025
Package Includes:
- Round-trip airfare from Raleigh-Durham International Airport or Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- Six nights’ hotel accommodations — one-hotel stay
- 10 meals: Six breakfasts and four dinners
- All sightseeing and admissions per itinerary
- Motor coach transportation
- Professional tour guide and driver
- Our State host
- Baggage handling
- Hotel transfers
Itinerary Highlights:
- Mount Rushmore
- Mount Rushmore at night
- Devil’s Tower National Monument
- Crazy Horse Memorial
- Fort Hays
- Badlands National Park
- Wall Drug Store
- Custer State Park
- Buffalo Safari Jeep Tour
- State Game Lodge dinner
- 1880 Train
- Deadwood
- The Mammoth Site
- The Journey Museum
- K-Bar S Ranch dinner
- Chuckwagon Supper & Cowboy Show
Accommodations:
- Six nights in Rapid City: Holiday Inn Rapid City Downtown or similar
Detailed Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive in Rapid City
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Today, arrive in Rapid City. Tonight, enjoy a wine and beer reception followed by a welcome dinner with your fellow Our State travelers.
Meals: Dinner
Overnight: Holiday Inn Rapid City Downtown or similar
Day 2: Mount Rushmore • Crazy Horse Memorial
Thursday, July 24, 2025
This morning, visit Mount Rushmore, featuring the awesome sculptures of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. Each face is 60 feet high and is carved into the rugged granite mountainside with intricate perfection. Then, continue to the Crazy Horse Memorial, still in progress. View the giant mountainside sculpture of the famous Indian chief astride his pony. This afternoon, visit Custer State Park, a famous wildlife preserve featuring a herd of 1,500 free-roaming buffalo. Experience a thrilling buffalo safari jeep tour in search of some of the herd. Enjoy dinner at the famous State Game Lodge, built in 1920 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with past guests including President Coolidge and President Eisenhower.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight: Holiday Inn Rapid City Downtown or similar
Day 3: Devil’s Tower • Deadwood
Friday, July 25, 2025
Today, journey west into Wyoming to visit Devil’s Tower National Monument and view the 867-foot monolith. Return east into South Dakota to visit historic Deadwood, the 1876 rough-and-tumble gold camp and gambling town where the Wild West legends were made, like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Seth Bullock. The entire city is a National Historic Landmark and features an incredibly preserved main street. Later, drive through beautiful Spearfish Canyon, a scenic drive in the Black Hills.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Holiday Inn Rapid City Downtown or similar
Day 4: The Mammoth Site • The Journey Museum
Saturday, July 26, 2025
This morning, travel to The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs: The museum has the greatest concentration of mammoth remains in the world. As of 2016, the remains of 61 mammoths, including 58 North American Columbian mammoths and three woolly mammoths, had been recovered. Mammoth bones were found at the site in 1974, and a museum and building enclosing the site were established. Next, visit one of Rapid City’s newest attractions, The Journey Museum, which is a city-owned, $12 million museum and learning center that traces the geology of the Black Hills and tells the story of the people who inhabited these lands. The Journey Museum features four museums, including the Sioux Indian Museum. Enjoy the remainder of the day at your own pace.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Holiday Inn Rapid City Downtown or similar
Day 5: Badlands National Park • Fort Hays
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Today, visit and drive through Badlands National Park, located between the White River and the Cheyenne River. The area contains spectacular examples of weathering, erosion, fantastic ridges, cliffs, and canyons of variegated color. Later, explore the unusual and well-known Wall Drug Store, famous for its “Free Ice Water.” This afternoon, visit the Fort Hays Dances with Wolves movie set to see some of the original buildings used in the Oscar-winning film. Later, at the same location, enjoy a fun-filled chuckwagon supper and cowboy show.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight: Holiday Inn Rapid City Downtown or similar
Day 6: 1880 Train • Mount Rushmore at Night
Monday, July 28, 2025
This morning, enjoy a short drive to Hill City to explore Main Street and board the 1880 Train for a rail journey through history and scenery. The 1880 Train is an authentic narrow-gauge railroad, dating back to the Black Hills Gold Rush. Then, stop at a Black Hills Gold Factory. Tonight’s special farewell dinner is at the K-Bar S Ranch in the beautiful Black Hills just outside Keystone. Following dinner, experience Mount Rushmore at night to see this American treasure illuminated in a whole new light.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight: Holiday Inn Rapid City Downtown or similar
Day 7: Departure
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Today, depart from Rapid City filled with wonderful memories of your Black Hills adventure.
Tour Rates:
Regular rate: $3,749 per person based on double occupancy
Booking discount*: $3,649 per person based on double occupancy
Single supplement: $875
*Make your final payment by check prior to the final payment due date and receive a booking discount of $200 per couple or $100 per single.
For Reservations & More Information:
Premier World Discovery
Melissa Grant
(877) 953-8687, ext. 238 (Pacific Standard Time)
mgrant@premierworlddiscovery.com
For more information on physical requirements and what to expect on an Our State trip, click here.
