American Safari in the Dakotas, by PBaruch (August 2022)

[Hi its me]

Were you there during the Sturgis Motorcycle rally, and did it affect your trip? (it was Aug 5-14 in 2022)

[PBaruch]

Were you there during the Sturgis Motorcycle rally, and did it affect your trip? (it was Aug 5-14 in 2022)

When we arrived in South Dakota (August 9), it was already towards the tail end of Sturgis.  We did pass by a lot of motorcyclists on the drive to North Dakota, saw where the main event was being held with more motorcycles than I had ever seen in my life, and were warned to be extra careful during our drive to North Dakota.  Once we were in North Dakota, we didn't see very many motorcyclists and by the time we returned back to South Dakota (on August 14) they were pretty much all gone.  When we were leaving for our return trip home, all of the stores were advertising heavily discounted Sturgis 2022 clothing and oldest and middle kid was really happy to get themselves Sturgis t-shirts.  (They didn't have child sized t-shirts for little one).

If you are concerned about heading over to South Dakota during Sturgis, don't be.  Most of the motorcyclists that we saw were confined to the events area and there weren't very many in the national or state parks. 

[Yehuda25]

Wonderful TR as always!

[Hi its me]

I am hoping to go to south dakota this summer, dont have that much time. (probably sun- thurs in total)  what is your opinion on theodore roosevelt NP- how different is it from what we will see in SD?  Is it worth the 4 hour drive each way? We love national parks and hiking, and on trips the past two summers  spent one day in yosemite and one day in yellowstone (it was an amazing and long day). 

[PBaruch]

I am hoping to go to south dakota this summer, dont have that much time. (probably sun- thurs in total)  what is your opinion on theodore roosevelt NP- how different is it from what we will see in SD?  Is it worth the 4 hour drive each way? We love national parks and hiking, and on trips the past two summers  spent one day in yosemite and one day in yellowstone (it was an amazing and long day).

We thought that bison viewing in North Dakota was really nice - better than at Yellowstone.  Also, North Dakota is where the fields of sunflowers are, if that interests you.  Otherwise, it's pretty similar and a lot of driving for such a short trip.  I'd personally skip North Dakota and stick with South Dakota for such a short trip.  There is plenty to do in South Dakota. 

[Hi its me]

Thanks for your help.
How do you stay in hotel over shabbos (electronic doors, etc).
thanks

[PBaruch]

Thanks for your help.
How do you stay in hotel over shabbos (electronic doors, etc).
thanks

If your question specifically refers to Shabbos in North Dakota and South Dakota, there really wasn't anything around the hotels we stayed at.  Assuming one would want to go for a walk, there wasn't much to do or see.

If you are asking about Shabbos in hotels in general, there is a thread where that is discussed:

https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=7481.80

[Hi its me]

planning questions- due to logistics/ pricing we decided to go with 2 night in SD and 2 nights in ND-
so i imagine the ND part will be more chilled and relaxed.
I plan to vsit custer SP, badlands and TRNP- both north and south units.
question- when entering badlands- from wall,  is there any reason to go right to roberts prairie dog town and sage creek rim road to see wildlife, or will we be covered with these animals in  custer and TRNP?

Also- my son is a lttle obsessed with sunflowers- has a bunch of them growing on our mirpeset in pots- is there any special place we need to go see them, or will we justt see them while driving from dickinson to TRNP?

thanks for your help

[PBaruch]

planning questions- due to logistics/ pricing we decided to go with 2 night in SD and 2 nights in ND-
so i imagine the ND part will be more chilled and relaxed.
I plan to vsit custer SP, badlands and TRNP- both north and south units.
question- when entering badlands- from wall,  is there any reason to go right to roberts prairie dog town and sage creek rim road to see wildlife, or will we be covered with these animals in  custer and TRNP?

Also- my son is a lttle obsessed with sunflowers- has a bunch of them growing on our mirpeset in pots- is there any special place we need to go see them, or will we justt see them while driving from dickinson to TRNP?

thanks for your help

1. I am not really sure what you are asking in your first question about Roberts Prairie Dog Town, etc.  You will see prairie dogs in both Badlands and TRNP, and you will also see them at Custer.  The bison herds move around  - depending on how much time you have, there are definitely some very photogenic areas to photograph them as they move around, but you should see them in all of these parks as well.  Regarding the wild horses, we only saw them in TRNP.  We only saw bighorn sheep in Badlands.  If memory serves me correctly, I really enjoyed driving in the area of Sage Creek Road. 

2. You will see large fields of sunflowers growing by the side of the road.  I can't say there is any "special place" you need to go.  As long as you are in an area where it is safe to pull off the road, you should have many opportunities to stop and view/photograph the sunflowers. 

[Hi its me]

I mean is there anything better about the Roberts prairie dog town in badlands over the others

[PBaruch]

I mean is there anything better about the Roberts prairie dog town in badlands over the others

If you are referring to seeing prairie dogs at Roberts versus other areas, no, there is no difference.  You will have ample opportunities to see prairie dogs all over - its all the same - you will see them popping out of holes in the ground.

[The Thinker]

I recently went to north and south dakota and hope some of these notes help...
Custer had Prarie Dogs near the road, but you couldn't get a close up view of more than one. TRNP had a Prarie dog town hike. The trail wasn't that well marked and took longer than expected, but once we go there the walk was worth it. There were Prarie Dogs all along the trail.
TRNP had some wild horses in the north section. There were also longhorn steer as well as bison and longhorrn sheep. If you stop at the visitor center they'll tell you where they are and might even offer you binoculars to borrow (we didn't see any sheep but saw the other animals along the road). There seemed to be only one ranger in the park as when we got back return the binoculars there was a note on the door saying the visitor center was closed and he'll be back in half an hour. The North section is pretty small. We were there for 3 hours and felt like we did everything (no long hikes). There were probably 10 cars in the whole park. There are a few nice lookout points and the scenery is gorgeous. 
The south section loop was closed off near the end, so you'll probably have to drive in and out.
Not sure when you're going, but the road between the north section and south section was officially closed as well. We ended up still trying and taking a detour that showed up on Google maps through dirt paved roads that saved us an hour of detour time.

I dont recall seeing any sunflower fields.

In Custer, if you do the cathedral spires hike, look out for mountain goats! We managed to meet a mom and kid along the path. We also rented kayaks on the lake there. The shop was closed for renovation so they were renting them next to the lake on first come first serve basis. Cash only if I recall correctly.

Not sure if it's worth it for you, but we drove out to devils tower on our way to TRNP. It wasn't too far out of the way and was a nice walk around.

Parks are $30 each, so if you do more than 2 it's worth it to buy the park pass for $80. We used it at the badlands, devils tower and TRNP and now have a year to go to more.

[Hi its me]

thanks for your advice- when was your trip-
Did you, or anyone else reading this drive the sprearfish canyon scenic byway, and what was your impression?
Anything else that you found as hidden gem, perfect picnic spot or other hi-lite you can share?

[Brookso]

Parks are $30 each, so if you do more than 2 it's worth it to buy the park pass for $80. We used it at the badlands, devils tower and TRNP and now have a year to go to more.

How long does park pass last if you can recall? Or is it by amount of visits?

[mkessler]

I mean is there anything better about the Roberts prairie dog town in badlands over the others

I found the best place to get up close to prairie dogs was at the Badlands Ranch Store, its right by the east entrance to the Badlands, you can feed them, and get within inches of the them.

[The Thinker]

I went the second to last week of June
Park pass lasts a year. It's unlimited usage.
@mkessler you're probably right about the Prarie Dogs at the badlands. We drove right past them, but they were right on the road.