Hill City, South Dakota

Camping
Rafter J Bar Ranch was the perfect campground for our family. The campsites were spacious and private. There was a big pool, playground, and lots of open space to play. It was not too far from our excursions as well. We stayed for three nights and wish we had more time. We will definitely be back to this campground! During our stay, we enjoyed visiting Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Custer State Park, and gold mining. 
Mount Rushmore-has a nice little trail you can walk to get away from the crowds. We went during the day, but someday would like to see it at night when it is all lit up. 
Badlands National Park-was like walking into a different planet. The land formations were like nothing we have ever seen. It was really neat to see some wildlife as well. 
Gold Mining-Wades Gold Mine was a hit with the kids. Although we didn't leave with pockets full of gold, we had a great time trying our hand at mining. The instructor was kind and patient with us. We were the only family there so they really spent time with us working on technique. We even put our feet in the freezing cold stream to get the real experience! 
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There are a few sites that we would like to see next time if we are ever in the area. The first is Needles Highway. We tried to take this ride, however, when we were next in line we were informed that the road was blocked. Apparently a truck and trailer got jammed in one of the tunnels. Unfortunately for us we were not able to wait for the jam to be cleared and had to put that off for next time. Custer State Park looked like a great place to camp, it was filled with wildlife and we'd love to stay there someday. Other places in the area that we'd like to explore are Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave.