Jaw dropping scenic drives of south dakota

Mount Rushmore Monument

With stunning scenery and winding roads of hundreds of miles, South Dakota is considered to be a driver’s playground. Some of the top routes are considered to be the state’s best scenic drives. The whole region is widespread with the iconic national parks and the top attractions for tourists, with some strong history, whimsy, buffalo as well as badlands thrown all into the mix.

The Scenic Deadwood Loop:
For anyone cruising I-90, this is the perfect drive. This winding route takes you directly to the legendary Deadwood, which is one of the Old West’s most iconic towns. You will also get to steer the looping road through the Spearfish Canyon, that’s where rushing water plunges over the granite boulders amid towering green trees.

The Drive: Heading to the west, exit I-90 at the Sturgis, a small town which comes alive with a loud eardrum-busting roar in the August to host the US’s largest motorcycle rally, apart from that, it is otherwise a setting for the gaudy billboards with the scantily clad women hawking the motorcycles and the gambling casinos.

Heading further to the west to Deadwood, which was already popular thanks to the HBO TV series which made it a legend. Special Thanks to the Casino money, this 1870s gold rush town has been preserved in a not-overly restored sort of way.

The classy Custer State Park and Mt Rushmore drive:
Pretty much everyone know what Mt Rushmore looks like, after the iconic picture of the mountain was printed on the coffee mugs and shirts. Nevertheless, it is completely different sensation when you see the faces of f four presidents looming before you in the granite. And the next thing, your vehicle will be your personal roller-coaster on your way to experience the region’s most iconic animals in one of US’s greatest state parks.

The Drive: Starting from the Rapid City, America’s most attractive medium-sized cities. You will get a taste of the United States presidents completely frozen in time in the delightful walk-able downtown where most of the street corners rife with life-size bronze Statues of the US’s Presidents, from Washington to all the way to Dubya.

Information: It actually took 14 years to carve the Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln faces into the stone.

Head further to the south on the US-16 and once you’re past the tourist town of Keystone, get ready for your first sight of the George Washington, looming in large in the distance. But keep going forward as there are three more presidents waiting in granite. Inside the Mt Rushmore National Memorial, just skip the shops, cafe as well as the main museum, and head right to the main event. Gape right at the 60ft-tall busts carved into the side of the mountain and afterwards, head straight to the Presidential Trail, which is right below the monument and look at the carvings for some fine nostril views. Damn, they’re huge!

Well, departing the Mt Rushmore, backtrack a little bit to the tourists’ town, Keystone. Now, prepare for the ride of your life on the looping Iron Mountain Road. This is a 16-mile roller-coaster ride of wooden bridges, narrow tunnels, virtual loop-the-loops and some stunning vistas.

Your prize at the end of the looping Iron Mountain thrill drive is the Custer State Park. Jungles mix with the lush meadows and the cold lakes creates a true natural wonder. Don’t miss out the winding over the awesome stone bridges, all across the sublime Alpine expanses and the green grass-covered prairie, present at the 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road.

The Baddest Drive:
Upon leaving the Rapid City on the Hwy 44, it’s a beautiful-drive east through the lush fields and the iconic farmlands. Just before Scenic town, turn to the north on Sage Creek Road. Soon the limestone hills will begin appearing into bizarre figures cheers to the erosion, results of the terrible Cold War. But this is just a prelude to the best of the Badlands National Park, which is about to come up ahead.

Badlands is located in western South Dakota about 50 to 70 miles to the east of the black hills. A scenic and geological wonderland its colorful landscapes revels formations laid down millions of years ago, eroded from relatively soft volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The visitors center will be your first logical stop, here you can learn more about the parts of geology the famous fossil discoveries, that continue to be made here and cultural history Obama co to American Indians. Though geology defines the region, the prairie grasslands that surround these beauties and canyons area home to variety of wild life. Everyone will certainly enjoy driving through the Badlands.

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