Blackhillsvacations.com - Traveler Reviews

2013 Traveler Reviews

Below are some phenomenal testimonies from customers who have taken their time to write about their vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota! We appreciate them allowing us to share their stories!

If you have a vacation story to tell, we would love to hear about it. Simply complete this form

The Rock Climbing at the Needles Was Crazy-Amazing!

We had a really terrific summer vacation and loved South Dakota so much, we cancelled the 3rd week that was supposed to be spent in Colorado and came back to South Dakota. We think often of a return visit, even though there are so many other places on our “list” it was such an incredible place I am sure it will make it to a second visit. Let me just recap some of the highlights…

a. The wildlife is, well… wild… amazing! Dan and I were out for a run when a herd of buffalo ran past. We jumped up onto a picnic table and watched them go by.

b. The kids thought feeding the donkeys carrots was a hoot.

c. The lake was amazing and fishing was a kick. We caught enough to say we fished and not enough I had to clean anything.

d. The rock climbing at the Needles was crazy-amazing! Loved every moment of it! I just wish would have had more time to do more without our crabby guide.

e. We were able to hike the entire distance up to Harney Peak. I had to sing the entire distance to keep our kids distracted from whining. It was almost 13 miles round trip so we had some very tired legs on our 4,6,8 & 10 year old kids, not to mention my back from carrying the baby!

f. While on a run, my husband and I came face to face with a Big Horn Sheep. Wow! That was so cool. Not to mention the trail turned from a trail to a climbing event very quickly. Our run went from a run to an obstacle course in a short period of time. How incredible however

I have planned a dozen trips since this one and have craved to find anyone who had the understanding of time, proximity, adventure and cost that you had. You really can be attributed to not only making this trip magnificent, but also the follow up trips back to South Dakota. Your state should be proud!

Dan and Jennifer

Check out our photos we took:

2012 Traveler Reviews:

My nephews favorite was the Gunslinger Interactive 7-D Theater at Rushmore Cave!

Trip was excellent. Liked the Rushmore Express – clean, comfortable beds, nice pool and great location – across from the tram and miniature golf, and close enough to walk around Keystone. Borglum museum was entertaining and very interesting – even for my 10 yr old nephew. His favorite was the “Gunslinger Interactive 7-D theater” at Rushmore cave! We all thought that was great fun and would recommend it. We also liked the Rushmore tram - great scenery and a fun ride down. We went to Mt Rushmore 1 night for the lighting ceremony and 1 morning – very cool. Drove the scenic loop – the tunnels with the view of Mt Rushmore are awesome. Also drove the wildlife loop and went to the Mammoth site at Hot Springs which we all enjoyed.

Your services were GREAT – everything went well.

If we only had time for a few attractions to visit these would be the ones to see: Mt Rushmore, “Gunslinger”, Scenic loop, and the Tram, It has been 20 some years since we were there last, and I had forgot how beautiful it is and how much there is to see and do. We plan to go again, either next year or the year after, taking some other family members. And will call you to make arrangements.

THANKS

Bruce Schmidt

Thank you again for making this our best family vacation ever!

Our trip was amazing - in part due to the travel planning help from Black Hills Vacations Team. Had we not found your services at Black Hills Vacations - the Black Hills would have been a stop on the way to Yellowstone. As it turned out, we spent nearly a week in the Black Hills and did it all! We had always wanted to see Mt. Rushmore but had no idea of all there is to do in the Black Hills. The two tours you booked for us really gave us the orientation we needed, after which we were comfortable on our own discovering the area.

We were traveling with our 9-yr-old twin daughters who tend to act up. Turns out, this was their best vacation ever and they've traveled extensively to places from the Grand Canyon to New York City. The owner of Fort Hays tours planted a seed they'll never forget during our stop at Crazy Horse. He suggested they have a picture of themselves taken in front of the monument and then plan to bring their children and grandchildren back for pictures in that same location.

In addition to dressing up at Prairie Town, seeing the Mount Rushmore lighting ceremony and digging in the dirt for a wooly mammoth, that bit of advice from the older gentleman from the tour company left a lasting impression on my 9-year oldtwin daughters. Although they had hoped to strike it rich panning for gold at Big Thunder Gold Mine - they did each buy a Black Hills Gold Necklace at the outlet store. Thank you again for making this our best family vacation ever. The Black Hills Vacations Team, thank you again. We wish you'd help us plan our trip to Williamsburg next summer.

Donna Alvarez and Family

We enjoyed Crazy Horse the best!!

Thanks for following up! We had a great time, and the kids enjoyed the trip! What's funny is I think we enjoyed Crazy Horse the best, (the story surrounding the history of it was great) even though we stopped by during the day (rather than at night for the laser show which we had intended) and thought we might like Mt. Rushmore the best. We also enjoyed the zipline at the Rushmore Cave Adventures and panning for gold at Big Thunder Gold Mine.

I think you all did a very nice job,no complaints on our end, just wish we had more time to explore.

Best,

Adam Resnick

We wish we had one more day! Our favorite attraction was Bear Country!

We had a great time! The weather was awesome. We didn't have to wait in line for a long period of time at any of the activities we went to. It was the perfect time to go. One more day would have been nice because we did 2 or 3 activities per day and didn't really have any down time. Staying in Keystone was great because it's a central location. Close to all of the activities. It was nice to have prepaid for the activity and not have to worry about getting in to the attraction.

Our favorite attraction was Bear Country followed by Reptile Gardens. The kids loved the Alpine slide in Keystone. It was right by our hotel so we got to go down it twice.

I appreciate all of your help in making our vacation possible. We will definitely be back.

Have a great day.

Janel Sailer

My youngest son became a Jr. Ranger at the Badlands National Park!

My family would like to thank you for setting up things with things to do in South Dakota We had so much fun. We decided to stay an extra night and left on Friday instead of Thursday. We could do it all over again. My youngest son became a Jr Ranger at the Badlands, Mount Rushmore and the Devils Tower in Wyoming. I couldn't pick which ones were my favorite, because they were all fun. The Thursday before we left we did decide to visit Reptiles Garden. My youngest really wanted to do that. We also visit the Bear Country USA. We had so much fun time visiting the cubs. The one thing we did notice, is that South Dakota people don't like to use air conditioning. It was hot out most of the time. We visit some free attraction, like Storybook Island, Dinosaur Park, Chapel in the Hills (which I think that everybody needs to see that). Can you believe this, the day we visit Rushmore Cave we were the only family there to go on the cave tour. Awesome, only us to see it together. Still when we finish the cave we did the zip line and no one was in line for that, then we did the Gunslinger and the man let us do both shows. That day we got alot done, because we arrived at the cave early and we were done and out and on to the next place. That day it rained after we visited everything on our agenda. We did drive through Needles Highway. Very pretty. Okay, I can go on and on and tell you everything that we did. I think you can tell that we had so much fun.

WE THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!!!! We will look you up again if we did go to South Dakota again. Which more likely we will.

Thank you

Deana Squires and Family

P.S We made it to Sturgis!

Our girls had a ball at Palmer Gulch!

We had a great vacation! We stayed two nights in these brand new cabins in the Badlands which were just beautiful! While sightseeing in the Badlands, we came across some goats along the edge of the road. Then we stayed in Hill City for four nights at The Palmer Gulch Lodge, our girls had a ball there. We went horseback riding there and swimming. We saw Mount Rushmore, Big Thunder Gold Mine, and Reptile Gardens. We also went to Custer and drove through the park, we saw buffalo, deer, and donkeys. We also did some swimming and went to The Flintstones. From Hill City, we went to Yellowstone and stayed four nights at The Old Faithful Inn Lodge. We saw lots of buffalo and one up close along the path we were on near the geysers! We also saw elk, deer, and a coyote. We had a lot, we wished that our two weeks wouldn't have went by so quickly!!

Tammy Anderson

P.S We will look you up again if we did go to South Dakota again. Which more likely we will.

We will recommend you to our family and friends!

Our vacation was fantastic! We liked the whole trip the best and cannot narrow it down to one thing. We loved our campground and we are planning on returning there next year. Your prompt attention and return of my call was very much appreciated, as we made our reservation while we were travelling, and that relieved our where-will-we-stay stress. :-) I was pleased with the detail of our email confirmation as well.

Thank you again for the wonderful service and we will recommend you to our family and friends!

Coleen

It was nice to have everything paid in advance!

The trip was fantastic. Great value and very well organized. Everything was easy to use. All the vouchers were accepted without any questions and it was nice to have everything paid in advance so I did not have to worry about extra cash or having my credit card ready. We loved the Badlands. Was not really thinking we would even go there and ended up going for 2 days. However, the scenic drives and going through the tunnels and seeing Mount Rushmore was pretty impressive. I also think that most baby boomers would like the Minute Man Missile Site. The tour of Deadwood was ok but not terrible. We may have been tired from our travels the night before. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and would recommend you to anyone. It was a pleasure working with you and your company. Thank you for planning this wonderful trip.

Sincerely,

Angela Mastriano

Hiked to top of Harney Pk. This was a highlife for all of us!

We had a wonderful time! Thank you! We had a packed week of...

- Drive and hike in Badlands, then Wall Drug, check in and an did Mt Rushmore that night with the lighting program.

- drive up to Deadwood with a stop at the falls on way up. We wish we would have planned lunch there...not much else for a family except to eat. Then we went to Circle B. loved that!!!

- hiked to top of Harney Pk. This was a highlife for all of us...sense of accomplishment and amazing view!! Then we drove the twisty roads of Custer and went back to hotel for a swim, game of cards and dinner.

- drove down the south part of Custer to see buffalo then drove out to do Rushmore cave. Kids would have been fine skipping the rides there, but they were ok. Then back to hotel for another night of cards in room

- swam in morning, got antique picture of family taken in Keystone ( turned out well and was lora of fun), drove out to Jewel Cave and them spent evening at Crazy Horse.

- we did the slide ride in Keystone (recommend!) and headed home with one final drive thru the Badlands.

The hotel was perfect for us! Tons of room and great layout. Breakfast wasn't great, but was fine.

Thanks again! You set us up well!

- Jill Maras

You see the places on TV and it just is not the same as when you see it in person.

We had the best time! My son would tell you he was looking forward to the seeing the buffalo, but changed his mind when we got caught in a thunderstorm on Boot Hill. IT WAS AWESOME! Reptile garden was great, but bear country was the best. Mount Rushmore …what can you say it was awe inspiring, Crazy Horse, let’s just say that my children now have a love of that part of their heritage which is what I was hoping for. You see the places on TV and it just is not the same as when you see it in person.

My favorite was the look of wonder on my families’ faces at each new sight. Thank you so much for all your help!

Debra Lynn