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Badlands and Black Hills Adventure

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Price $1200 4 Days
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Badlands and Black Hills Adventure

$1200 per person

South Dakota offers dynamic scenery and iconic national landmarks, and it should be high on your adventure list if you haven’t already been. (And it’s certainly worth exploring again if you have!) We’ll visit Badlands National Park, with rugged and dramatic landscapes spanning layered rock formations, steep canyons and towering spires, and the Black Hills area, home to the beautiful Custer State Park and the iconic Mount Rushmore. While in the Black Hills, we’ll also visit Crazy Horse, the world’s largest mountain carving.

4 Days
18+ Age
  • Destination
  • Departure
    Your city
  • Dress Code
    Casual and Comfortable for Hiking.
  • Included
    Accommondation
    Breakfast
    Dinner
    Lunch
    Tours (see tour details)
  • Not Included
    International and internal flights
    Tips
    Travel insurance
1
May 21 - Day One
Today we’ll arrive at Rapid City Airport and take our group private ground transportation to Badlands National Park (90 min. drive). On the way, we’ll make a couple interesting stops. First is Wall Drug Store. It’s one of those all-American roadside attractions that is anything but your average drug store. It’s like a sort of Walmart type store from 100 years ago in the west. A real cool place to meander around for an hour or two. They have souvenirs, restaurants (where you can get their famous 25 cent coffee and free water), clothing stores, and just about everything and anything you can imagine with an old timey and wild west flare. Next up is the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. At the height of the cold war, America had an intercontinental ballistic missile here ready for blast off to hit the Soviet Union in a matter of minutes at speeds of 15,000 mph. We’ll check-in to our accommodations at Cedar Pass Lodge inside Badlands National Park and gather for our welcome dinner. (D)
2
May 22 - Day Two
After breakfast, we will hike the Notch Trail, which is a 1.3 mile out and back that features a fun wooded swingy type of stair you have to ascend and then eventually descend on the side of a small cliff. The hike leads up to a lookout point. We can also hike the Door Trail, an easy 1 mile out and back with sweeping 360-degree views. Badlands park really turns into something completely different around sunrise/sunset. The otherwise grayish looking rock formations start to take on a reddish and purple color scheme and "pop" more for pictures. We’ll head back out again for a scenic sunset drive to lookout points. We may even spot a Bighorn Sheep, majestically relaxing in the saddle of a cliff. Overnight Cedar Pass Lodge. (B, D)
3
May 23 - Day Three
After breakfast, we’ll drive to the Black Hills area (90 minutes). It’s an almost completely different type of landscape than Badlands, granite hills and mountains covered in evergreen trees. We’ll hike the Black Elk Trail, which is a 6-mile loop that takes you up to the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains (7,200 ft.). At the top is a historic stone fire tower and amazing views. No trip to South Dakota is complete though without stopping to see the mountain carving landmarks of Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We check-in to the historic State Game Lodge and enjoy our farewell dinner. (B, D)
4
May 24 - Day Four
After breakfast, we’ll enjoy a short nature walk near the lodge (watch out for the buffalo that are roaming around!) and if there’s time, explore the small downtown of Rapid City before heading to the airport for our flights back home. (B)
Cost: $1,300 per person double occupancy Deposit: $300 single supplement Cancel Policy: 100% refund up until 2 weeks before day one of trip. 85% refund from 2 weeks out until day one of trip. 50% refund once the trip starts. Included:
  • three nights double occupancy hotel accommodations (single supplement available)
  • all transportation during the trip, starting and ending at the airport.
  • all breakfasts and dinners
  • All park and attractions entrance fees
Not Included:
  • flights to and from Rapid City airport
  • alcoholic beverages
  • travel insurance
Other:
  • itinerary / hikes subject to change
  • please wear cloth face covering inside ground transportation vehicle
  • group size limited to 12 people for safety
  • packing list to follow
  • hotels subject to change