# Suggested Stops From Sw Michigan To Mt Rushmore?



## NonTypicalCPA (Apr 16, 2011)

The family is planning a June/July 2 week trip with the Outback out to Mt Rushmore from SW Michigan. We're open to different routes and are looking for recommendations on places to visit and places to stay. This will be our first long trip with our 250RS and we're looking forward to it and want to make the most of it. Our family consists of my wife and I and our two kids both age 10 at the time of the trip. Thanks.


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## cdn campers (Oct 31, 2011)

drove through that area when sturgis sd was having there bike rally. traffic ( BIKES) were a real pain driving the semi and trl they were every where.


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

We made the trip a couple years ago from New York. Some of our stops included:

Wisconsin Dells - Tourist town with many amusement parks and attractions. Great for the kids, lots of things for them to do.

Badlands National Park - Worth a few days on its own. Some amazing drives, but leave the trailer behind!

Wall Drug - What the hell, you will be driving right by it. Ours kids loved it and the donuts were really good.

Custer State Park - Lots of Buffalo and animals. Kids will enjoy the begging burros if you get to see them.

Wind Cave National Park - Worth an afternoon, maybe combine with Custer State Park.

We stayed at the Badlands KOA and the Mt Rushmore KOA. The Badlands KOA was pretty good, quiet with shaded sites. I cannot recommend the Mt Rushmore KOA, pretty much field camping, noisy with no privacy. Our site flooded every time it rained. I would look elsewhere while you are at Mt Rushmore.

It is a really great trip and you will have a good time! Enjoy!

DAN


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## NonTypicalCPA (Apr 16, 2011)

TwoElkhounds said:


> We made the trip a couple years ago from New York. Some of our stops included:
> 
> Wisconsin Dells - Tourist town with many amusement parks and attractions. Great for the kids, lots of things for them to do.
> 
> ...


Thanks Dan. I just received a package from South Dakota tourism in the mail. I'll look those places up. Did the kids enjoy SD?


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Hey...my wife and I grew up just a few miles down M-43 from you guys in Kalamazoo. I'll be keeping my eyes on this thread as we are looking at doing a Mt. Rushmore trip next summer (2013), departing from the Chicago area.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

I would not worry too much about rain that time of year in the Rushmore area but it will be crowded and many of the sites are very close together at the Rushmore KOA.


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## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

TwoElkhounds said:


> We made the trip a couple years ago from New York. Some of our stops included:
> 
> Wisconsin Dells - Tourist town with many amusement parks and attractions. Great for the kids, lots of things for them to do.
> 
> ...


X 2 to all the above.

Being from SW Michigan you're probably already familiar with Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, whether you would want to stop there for a few hours or not would probably depend on how far down the road it is for you.

If your route coming or going will be taking you through Iowa on Route 80 then The World's Largest Truckstop would be a good place for a break. It has a food court, buffet restaurant, souvenir shops, a HUGE general store, a trucking museum and oh yeah, full truck stop services!


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

Add the the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

Although the Mt. Rushmore KOA is a zoo, it is the closest park to Mt. Rushmore and offer an evening bus ride to the national monument, they light it up in the evening and it is gorgeous.

Jewel Cave is beautiful, a helicopter ride around Crazy Horse Monument is unforgettable, Evan's Plunge in Hot Springs is a blast, Deadwood is now a gambling mecca but what was once a real wild west town, don't pull your trailer through the Needles Highway but do drive through it with your TV, Sylvan Lake is pretty.

And of course everything everyone else said!

Did I mention I grew up in South Dakota?


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

CamperAndy said:


> I would not worry too much about rain that time of year in the Rushmore area but it will be crowded and many of the sites are very close together at the Rushmore KOA.


The thunderstorms are what killed us. Sites would flood after the downpours. Some of the sites were almost knee deep in water. Maybe a drain was clogged causing the backup, don't know. While we were there, the place was a muddy mess.

DAN


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

NonTypicalCPA said:


> Thanks Dan. I just received a package from South Dakota tourism in the mail. I'll look those places up. Did the kids enjoy SD?


This is not a fair question!! My son loves to go camping and enjoys everywhere we go. My daughter hates to go camping, no matter where we go. Below is an example of my daughters camping game face. Imagine waking up to this every day for a couple weeks straight!










Seriously, I think you kids will have a great time. I would mix in some kid type stuff. Another place to consider is a reptile zoo near Mt Rushmore towards Rapid City. I don't remember the name of the place, but it was pretty good. I even caught my daughter cracking a smile while we were there, though she will deny it.

DAN


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

The reptile zoo is called Reptile Gardens.

Sorry about your daughter lack of appreciation for the grandeur of America. . .


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## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

If you take a northern route, along with the Wisconsin Dells mentioned earlier I would recommend the Spam Museum. It's fun, educational and free.


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## bbwb (Apr 4, 2008)

Definitely do the Jewel Caves...If you are a little more adventuresome, check out the Historic Cave tour. They take you down using a candle in a pail. It was really neat!

bbwb


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## RyanJL (Jan 5, 2010)

Give the kids a history lesson and have them start reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books (or read to them). Then make a stop into Walnut Grove, Minnesota (there is a small museum there as is the site of their dugout home about 2 miles north of town - on the banks of Plum Creek), then make a stop into De Smet, South Dakota and visit the actual homestead {surveyors' house} where she lived. You can then learn to appreciate the house that she describes as being huge. The main highways are basically the same routes taken by the settlers from that era anyway.

Another stop is Devil's Tower. There is a campground not more than about two miles from the base of the mountain. Nothing like seeing that tower as sunrise, sunset, and basking in the light of the moon. It is very unique.

Pipestone, Minnesota - slightly off the beaten path, is the home to where American indians mined stone for peace pipes. Really cool place to visit.

As said above, Corn Palace in Mitchell, the Badlands - easily can spend a day there, Wall Drug - even though it is completely a tourist trap, Wisconsin Dells, Jewel Cave, Custer State Park.

Wind Cave is a good one too and Mammoth Site at Hot Springs.

Baraboo, Wisconsin for the World Circus Museum

Hit a ghost town in South Dakota. There are plenty to choose from.


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