South Dakota
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Have you ever been on a road trip, put directions into the GPS and ended up in the middle of a prairie with a gas tank on empty? No, just us?
This episode of the Passports and Coffee Podcast we share an untold travel story from our time in South Dakota. We spent a week traveling around the Black Hills of South Dakota and one of our stops was to Wind Cave National Park. This story is about how we ended up driving in a prairie with a gas tank on empty.
This podcast episode has a lot of valuable lessons to be learned. And we truly hope you learn from our mistakes. What lessons do we hope you take away? NEVER start directions to a destination without gas in the car! This was our first mistake and it was something that we both mentioned before we even left Rapid City. We told ourselves to make sure we stop for gas and somehow we failed to make that important stop.
Our second mistake and lesson that we hope you learned was to always double check your directions! Kayla simply typed in Wind Caves National Park failing to realize there are multiple entrances and roads that lead to this national park. There were also road closures due to construction that we were unaware of. In the future, we have learned to always double check the directions. And if you are heading to the national park, always put in the directions that are stated on the national park website! This is to prevent you from getting lost.
Now that you have listened to our story and learned about what NOT to do, let’s give you some tips on visiting Wind Cave National Park.
Experience our Oh Shit! prairie drive in the video below!
Wind Cave National Park is located in Hot Springs South Dakota near Custer State Park. Now, Wind Cave National Park may not be talked about as often as South Dakota’s other national park Badlands, but it is one that should be visited. Not only is Wind Cave National Park one of America’s oldest national parks but it is also home to one of the longest and most complex caves in the world
It is important to plan your visit ahead of time. That is one thing we failed to do and the lack of planning is what got us in our Oh Shit! travel situation. So we highly recommend that you do the appropriate planning before arriving to Wind Cave National Park.
The park is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Do note that snow and severe weather can limit access to certain areas of the park. If you are concerned about weather conditions, please visit the park website or call (605) 745-4600 for current conditions.
Is there an entrance fee? No there is no entrance fee to drive through the park!
What are the Visitors Center hours? The visitors center is open from 8am to 5pm daily except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
Is food available for purchase inside the park? As we had mentioned in the podcast episode, there are limited food options. The visitors center has a few vending machines. Located in the near by town of Custer, you can find a grocery store and restaurants. There are several picnic tables located throughout the park. We suggest that you bring your own food and drink.
Directions to Wind Cave National Park is VERY important so you do not get lost. We wouldn’t want you to get stuck in the middle of a prairie like we did. So please, check out the Wind Cave National Park website for exact directions. The website gives your directions from many different directions.
Beside if we did the proper research we would have seen this WARNING on the website: “Do not use your GPS to find the visitor center – you will get lost. Many GPS units locate the park visitor center north on South Dakota Highway 87.” You can use the exact coordinates that are provided by nps.org for the visitors center. Map of coordinates located below.
The main attraction of Wind Cave National Park is the underground cave system and probably the main reason for your visit. It is important to note that a guided tour is the only way to experience Wind Cave. There are four different tours that you can choose from: Garden of Eden, Natural Entrance, Fairgrounds and Accessibility tour. Each tour allows you to see a different area of Wind Cave and they vary in length and time.
When we visited Wind Cave, you could not reserve tickets in advance. We had to purchase tickets day of. But according to the national park website, you can purchase tickets for the Garden of Eden Tour, Natural Entrance Tour, and Fairgrounds Tour in advance. Reservations are recommended as tours often sell out March through October and on holiday weekends throughout winter. Reservations can be made 3-120 days prior to the tour date.
Visiting Wind Cave is obviously the most popular thing to do, but there are many other things to do within the park. One of the things to do that is located near the visitors center is visiting the natural entrance to the cave. Believe it or not, you can see the largest natural opening into Wind Cave without even going on a tour! The entrance is a small hole and is one of the only known natural entrances into the cave.
Some other popular activities include hiking and watching the wildlife. The Black Hills of South Dakota is a combination of prairie and forest ecosystems which allows for the viewing of some of the most iconic wildlife in the area such as bison and prairie dogs.
If you are planning a South Dakota road trip, we suggest adding Wind Cave National Park to your itinerary. It’s close proximity to Rapid City and Keystone, make it an easy add on to a day of exploring. Just remember to make sure you plan ahead because we wouldn’t want you to be stuck in the middle of prairie!
Hi travel besties! It's Kayla and Cheraya, your co-hosts of the Passports and Coffee Podcast. We are fellow corporate world millennials looking to escape the 9-5 and are encouraging you to do the same.
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