Hey Guys!
So, this post will conclude our time in the Dakotas, Wyoming and Nebraska!
You can read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here, Day 6 here, Day 7 here, Day 8 here, Day 9 here & Day 10 here. Click here to see links to all of my blog posts over the years
Our travel dates were June 26 – July 6, 2024.
After checking out of our hotel in Rapid City, we headed to Bear Country.
Bear Country was located 20 mins from our hotel.
Tip: Click here for the top 10 things to do and see in/near Rapid City
Once we arrived, there was already a line to get in!
We arrived at 10 am on. a Saturday so I would recommend getting there as early as possible!
The hours vary depending on the time of the year. While we were there, the gates opened at 8 am with the last entry being at 6 pm.
The prices vary as well but we paid $22 pp.
You can also purchase your tickets online which will save you time at the gate.
Please Note: Convertibles, motorcycles or soft-top vehicles are not allowed to drive thru, but they do have complimentary courtesy cars for those visitors to use when available.
After paying our entrance fee, we were given a map of the park that showed what animals we would be seeing on our drive.
Bear Country is a drive through wildlife park located on 300 acres in the Black Hills.
The park features many animals such as black bear, elk, reindeer, deer, cougars, bobcats, rocky mountain goats, bighorn sheep, dall sheep, pronghorn and buffalo.
The road through the park is a one way road and is 3 miles long.
The first animal you will encounter on the drive is the Rocky Mountain Elk.
However, we only got to see him from a distance.
Next was the reindeer.
Once again, we could only see them from a distance.
Next was the Arctic Wolf
He was sound asleep when we passed by.
Most of the animals on this drive, were either asleep or too far away to see.
The only other animals we saw on the drive, besides the bears of course, were the bighorn sheep and the mountain goats.
Arriving to the bear exhibit
There were lots of bears in this park…hence the name Bear Country. 😉
The park is actually home to the largest collection of privately owned black bears in the world.
This one was sound asleep!
We passed by the buffalo.
At the end of the drive, you will arrive to a fairly large parking lot where you can get out and walk around and check out even more animal exhibits.
Some of the animal exhibits
There is also a snack shack and a huge gift shop that you can check out.
However, the most popular animal to see at this stop, is the cute little bear cubs.
There were quite a few and they were very playful!
We stood and watched them for a while before moving on to the next exhibit.
Sadly, they are taken from their moms at a very early age and in a way that was found to be inhumane!
I have very mixed feelings about this place after I read online that the owners were fined for selling bear parts and have had many other violations over the years!
We checked out the nearby river otter exhibit and a few others before heading to the gift shop.
Heading inside the gift shop 
The gift shop was huge.
They had one of the bears, that used to live at the park, mounted and on display.
Read reviews for the park here
We couldn’t leave without taking our pictures in front of the park sign 😉
After spending almost two hours here, we decided to head to downtown Rapid City to eat at one of the restaurants I had on my list called, Tally’s Silver Spoon.
The restaurant was located 15 mins from Bear Country.
After finding street parking right in front of the restaurant, we headed inside.
This place was very busy and several people were standing outside waiting for a table.
We had to put our name on the waiting list and go wait outside.
I highly recommend making a reservation if you want to eat here and don’t want to wait for a table!
Since the restaurant texts you when your table is ready, we decided to walk around downtown and check out some of the presidential statues that are scattered throughout the town.
The city used six different artists to sculpt the 40+ life size bronze statues in the downtown area.
A few of the statues we saw
Walking through downtown
The historic downtown area is really nice….I definitely recommend you check it out while visiting this area.
As we were walking, we passed Art Alley.
Art Alley emerged as a community gallery in 2003. In the beginning artists hung largely canvas artworks on the walls, and over time, evolved to painting directly on the walls.
Tip: Anyone can paint here….just click here to obtain a free painting permit.
Click here to find the Greetings from Rapid City mural
We also passed the historic Alex Johnson Hotel.
The hotel is named after Alex Johnson who was a railroad executive and pioneer South Dakotan and one of the state’s best-known citizens before his death in 1938.
The hotel is said to be haunted. 😉
Tip: If you missed purchasing homemade chocolate at the Chubby Chipmunk Chocolates in Deadwood, you can also purchase them inside the Alex Johnson Hotel.
We also passed the Mitakuye Oyasin sculpture.
The piece was created in 2021…..the saying, Mitakuye Oyasin means we are all related.
We also spotted the Main Street square where a huge fountain was located and another presidential statue.
Click here for a one day itinerary of Rapid City
After waiting for about 30 mins for a table, we got a text that our table was finally ready!
This place is known for their breakfast, but we decided to order from their lunch menu instead.
I decided on the pepper peach turkey sandwich with fries and the hubby settled on the cuban sandwich and fries.
The food was pretty good….nothing to rave about and the service was super slow!
Perhaps their breakfast menu is better than the lunch menu. They also serve dinner.
Read reviews here
After eating lunch, we headed to the airport to turn in our rental car and head home!
Note: After getting home, I realized that Avis had charged us over $70 for gas even though we had returned the car on full. I reached out to them and they refunded my money. So, look closely at your receipt!
About to land in Nashville!
All of our souvenirs we purchased on our trip!
We went just a little overboard!😅
We definitely found it challenging getting all of this stuff home considering we only travel with a carry on and a backpack!
This concludes our time in the beautiful states of North & South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska!
We loved our trip and I hope this itinerary helps you plan your own trip there!
Thanks for reading!
Click here to see links to all of my blog posts and here to follow me on YouTube
For those who don’t like to read and I know there are many of you, here’s a short version of my itinerary:
Day 1
- Wall Drug Store
- Badlands National Park – overnight at Cedar Pass Lodge
Day 2
- Badlands National Park – breakfast at Cedar Pass Loadge (about an hour in the park)
- Quick stop at Praire Homestead
- Giant Prairie Dog Statue
- Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (about 30 mins here)
- Keystone – we ate lunch here
- Hill City – popular place for lunch here is Alpine Inn but they serve German food for lunch
- Sturgis – we ate dinner at the Knuckles Saloon
- Bowman, ND – overnight
Day 3
- Teddy Roosevelt National Park – South Unit
- Medora – we ate dinner in Medora and then did the Medora Musical – overnight
Day 4
- Teddy Roosevelt National Park – North Unit
- Medora – did the Steak Fondue dinner
- Bowman – to spend the night
Day 5
- Belle Fourche, SD
- Deadwood -overnight
Day 6
- Devils Tower
- Alkalin General Store
- Vore Buffalo Jump
- Spearfish – Leones Creamery & Termesphere Gallery
- Spearfish Canyon – waterfalls & dinner at Latchspring Inn
- Deadwood overnight
Day 7
- Custer State Park
- Mt Rushmore – day & evening
- Keystone – overnight 2 nights
Day 8
- Custer State Park
- Crazy Horse
- Custer
- Keystone – overnight
Day 9
- Carhenge in Nebraska
- Chimney Rock
- Scotts Bluff
- Chadron – overnight – did a rodeo in nearby Crawford
Day 10
- Hot Springs to see the Mammoth Site
- Wind Cave National Park
- Keystone
- Chapel in the Hills – Rapid City
- Rapid City – overnight
Day 11
- Bear Country
- Downtown Rapid City
- Airport to fly home
More Tips:
If you fly into Sioux Falls, Click here for things to do, here for best restaurants & here for best hotels
When driving from Sioux Falls to Rapid City, don’t miss the following stops:
The huge Dignity Statue
1.5 hrs from Bismarck, ND is the world’s largest Buffalo statue
45 mins from Bismarck, ND is the world’s largest Sandhill Crane statue
Click here for 59 cool and unusual sights in South Dakota