Top 10 Budget-friendly Things to do in Rapid City, South Dakota (SD)

May 5, 2022 Alida England

Rapid City has long been considered one of the gateways to the West, and its rich cowboy and Native American heritage is the result. Visitors won't want to miss the area's mammoth outdoor sculptures. There's Mount Rushmore, of course, but work also continues on the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial, which will be the largest sculpture in the world when it is finally completed years down the line. Among the many local attractions are the scenic Black Hills, several nearby cavern systems that offer guided tours and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.
Restaurants in Rapid City

1. Mount Rushmore Tours

Excellent
83%
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12%
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3%
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5.0 based on 463 reviews

Mount Rushmore Tours

Mt Rushmore & the Black Hills 9 Hour Sightseeing Tour, with two meals and music show! Leave the driving to us and join the most popular sightseeing tour package in the Black Hills. Tours available from mid May through mid October.

2. GeoFunTrek Tours

Excellent
99%
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5.0 based on 176 reviews

GeoFunTrek Tours

For those seeking a high-quality, day-long guided tour in the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota with exceptional guides - GeoFunTrek Tours is the answer! Specializing in Custom Tours, Private Tours and Traditional Family Tours, we bring the region to life in ways that are fun and memorable. We will work with you to design and deliver your personalized "Dream Tour". We use a rich mixture of local knowledge, history, geology, paleontology, poetry & folklore to take you places that few experience. Our tours are unique, intimate, and emotionally satisfying. We have the knowledge and experience to craft truly exceptional tours that you will enjoy and remember for years to come. Join us in the comfort and safety of a Sprinter van or Honda Pilot SUV for a day to remember.

3. Black Hills Tour Company

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5.0 based on 110 reviews

Black Hills Tour Company

Tour the Black Hills in a comfortable air-conditioned 2014 Mercedes high-top Sprinter, or our luxurious Ford Flex! Black Hills Tour Company offers day and multi-day tours, specializing in scenic, family, bike and winery and brewery tours! Our local guides are very knowledgable of the cultural and geographic history of the Black Hills and Badlands region. We offer private group as well as public tours. New this summer, our bike tours are available for road and Mickelson rail-to-trail adventures! We offer both fully guided and self-guided tours, with full support and local knowledge you are sure to enjoy your time pedaling through the Black Hills. Our scenic tours include trips to the local monuments and national and state parks, as well as some with other adventures such as hiking, riding the 1880 train, or zip line tours with views of Rushmore. Our famous winery/brewery tours, onboard our stretch VW bus named Fiona are unique and memorable experiences you won't soon forget!

4. Best of the West Tours

Excellent
91%
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5.0 based on 46 reviews

Best of the West Tours

Narrated contactless & non contactless private limousine tours of the Black Hills & Mt Rushmore or Badlands or Devils tower for up to six guests. All our tours are private with no extra fees. Guest seating is the middle & rear with large comfortable leather bench seats facing each other with its own separate heating & a/c. Limo’s have a wall/window between the driver & guests. We show you the attractions short movies on the way to each attraction. We offer three 8 hour tours back start 8am about 4pm. Our limousines are long enough for comfort & short enough to drive Iron Mt Roads & Needles highways tunnels, pigtail bridges & sharpe narrow turns. Tours include attraction fees for our regular tour stops. Please feel free to bring your own alcohol, soda, water, snacks & ice. Please drink responsibly. Center of seats work great for Children or petite guests

5. Badlands National Park

Rapid City, SD +1 605-433-5361 https://www.visitrapidcity.com/parks-monuments/badlands-park
Excellent
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5.0 based on 746 reviews

Badlands National Park

Reviewed By L2369IOjamesm

This park is amazing. The loop road they have let's you drive through the park and get great views of the scenery; there are lots of scenic overlooks where you can park and spend time enjoying the sights. We hiked a couple of the trails (the door and the notch) and they were also amazing.

6. Chapel in the Hills

3788 Chapel Ln, Rapid City, SD 57702-4942 +1 605-342-8281 [email protected] http://www.chapel-in-the-hills.org/
Excellent
68%
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4.5 based on 625 reviews

Chapel in the Hills

Celebrating 50 years in 2019! Replica of the 850-year-old Borgund Church in Norway and has unique architecture and woodcarvings.

Reviewed By CharlesP1904

This place is really beautiful with wonderful wooden chapel structure inspired by the exact replica of Borgund Stavkirke of Laerdal, Norway. It has a prayer walkway. It has a gift shop for souvenirs and products from Norway. I really like the chocolate.

7. Bear Country USA

13820 S Highway 16, Rapid City, SD 57702-6581 +1 605-343-2290 [email protected] http://www.bearcountryusa.com
Excellent
63%
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4.5 based on 4,013 reviews

Bear Country USA

Enjoy a leisurely 2-mile drive through this unique North American Wildlife park in the the Black Hills of South Dakota. From the comfort of your vehicle view black bears, wolves, elk, buffalo and other wildlife! After your drive-through tour, walk around wildlife loop where young and smaller animals frolic in the outdoors. Don't miss the Baby Bears! Dine at the Cub Grub Snack Shack or shop in the Bear's Den Gift Shop. Open May through November, weather permitting

Reviewed By Mutiny - Sydney, Australia

For a family with young children or Tweenies, the highlight of this place is the bear cub enclosure they are just so cute and adorable. They play and rumble with each other and delight everyone with their antics. You can pay an extra $5 to feed them fruit and vegetables and it is hilarious to watch them feeding (as if they have never been fed before when you know that they are extremely well cared for). The drive through enclosure are also great with gorgeous Arctic Wolves, Mountain Lions and Black bears (of all colours) just to name a few. This was a great family excursion for the morning.

8. Mt. Rushmore Black Hills Gold Factory Tour

Excellent
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4.5 based on 145 reviews

Mt. Rushmore Black Hills Gold Factory Tour

Black Hills Gold FREE Factory Tour Home of: Landstrom’s, Mt. Rushmore Jewelry, and Riddle’s Jewelry Watch Skilled Artisans Handcraft South Dakota’s Official State Jewelry! Over a span of 14 years, 360 goldminers-turned-craftsmen carved a rough granite mountain into a polished national treasure, known today as Mt. Rushmore. Today, in dozens of intricate steps, our craftspeople carry on this tradition of quality and excellence with every piece of Mt. Rushmore Black Hills Gold and diamond jewelry. Take a fascinating FREE tour through our jewelry factory to watch up-close and learn the details of how gold jewelry is made. During the tour you’ll see the ancient process of lost-wax casting and how diamonds are cast in molten gold! Diamond cutting has been added to our Free Factory Tour where you will see the precise process involved in creating one of the world’s most prized possessions. Everyday Factory Direct Prices: Black Hills Gold and Silver Jewelry Outlet Diamond and Gemstone Jewelry On-site Design and Goldsmiths for Service and Repair Watches, Gifts, and more!

9. The Journey Museum and Learning Center

222 New York St, Rapid City, SD 57701-1199 +1 605-394-6923 [email protected] http://www.journeymuseum.org
Excellent
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4.5 based on 379 reviews

The Journey Museum and Learning Center

Open all year long! Your Black Hills Journey starts here. The Journey Museum and Learning Center brings together four major prehistoric and historic collections to tell the complete story of the Western Great Plains - from the perspective of the Lakotas and the pioneers who shaped its past to the scientists who now study it. Providing special programs and interactive learning experiences for all ages is our mission.

Reviewed By CarolA247 - Amarillo, United States

This is an amazing museum in the downtown area. It is hardly advertised or signed toward. It is so worth spending an hour in even at $12 per person. The museum is very clean, social distanced and masks required. It was not crowded even on a Saturday and the restrooms were good. You make your way from gallery to gallery through South Dakota history. They have some very good Lakota, Sioux and other local tribal displays that we really enjoyed including a beautiful hide painting and calendar paintings. They have many, many period artifacts, furnishing, clothing, etc. in each area and the tepees were amazing to me. They looked like the real thing. The signage is just enough and not overwhelming.

10. Museum of Geology

501 East Saint Joseph Street 3rd Floor of O'Hara Builidng on SDSMT campus, Rapid City, SD 57701-3901 +1 605-394-2467 [email protected] http://museum.sdsmt.edu
Excellent
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4.5 based on 351 reviews

Museum of Geology

We are a natural history museum featuring an excellent displays of South Dakota fossils, minerals from around the world and South Dakota Minerals.

Reviewed By jimmydoe

free to public, parking is difficult... has excellent display of minerals, gems and gold, also fossils from western south dakota....is very disproportionately large for a small museum in a small state. a replica of Sue, the T.rex fossil that was found in the area is on display, as are other dinosaur bones... a place for both kids and adults

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