South Dakota: Where the Monuments Are Massive, the Rocks Are Bizarre, and the Prairie Is Endless

Welcome to South Dakota, a state that somehow built a tourism industry around four enormous heads carved into a mountain and a drug store that has been advertising free ice water for what feels like half the country.

It’s a land of incredible, jaw-dropping contrasts. On one side, you’ve got the Badlands—a surreal, jagged maze of eroded rock formations that looks like another planet, where bison roam around like they own the place and cell service goes to die. On the other side, you’ve got the Black Hills, home to ancient pine forests and deep caves, winding mountain roads, and Mount Rushmore, where four former presidents have been staring into the distance for nearly a century, apparently waiting for someone to bring them sunscreen.

Between dodging bison that have absolutely no respect for traffic laws, trying a buffalo burger, and driving down highways so straight and empty that you can watch your dog run away for three full days, South Dakota is wild, weird, and surprisingly awesome. Pack a brimmed hat, keep an eye out for prairie dogs, give the bison plenty of room, and whatever you do, don’t drive past Wall Drug without stopping for your free ice water. At this point, it’s basically state law.

September, 2022