South Dakota: 10 things you didn’t know
1 Ingalls’ Homestead
Experience life on the prairie with a visit to Ingalls’ Homestead in De Smet. This is where author Laura Ingalls Wilder once lived, and the inspiration began that sparked her popular Little House books. Travellers of all ages will enjoy an old-fashioned day on the prairie with a covered wagon ride, an authentic 1880s school session, pioneering activities and more
2 National Music Museum
It’s music to your ears. The National Music Museum, located at the University of South Dakota, features a collection of more than 15,000 musical instruments from various cultures and centuries. A designated “Landmark of American Music”, the museum has one of the largest collections of its kind in the world, attracting thousands of visitors each year
3 Mammoth Site
The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs is an active paleontological dig site of a prehistoric sinkhole, which boasts the largest concentration of mammoth remains in the world! With a current mammoth count of 61 - 58 Columbian and 3 Woolly mammoths, visitors can get up and close to the actual dig site on a guided tour around the sinkhole.
4 Homestake Mine
Before its closing in 2002 Homestake Gold Mine was the oldest, largest and deepest mine in the Western Hemisphere, reaching more than 8,000 feet (2438 metres) below the town of Lead. Today visitors can take a surface tour of the historic town of Lead and Homestake’s surface operation. It follows the mining process including hoisting, crushing and milling of the underground ore and views Homestake Gold Mine’s state-of-the-art Waste Water Treatment Plant and open pit mine.
5 Wind and Jewel Cave
Of all the caves in the United States, none contain the vast variety of rare formations found in Black Hills caves. These caves display more boxwork than any other in the world. They also form some of the largest concentrations of passageways in the world with Jewel Cave National Monument being the 3rd longest and Wind Cave National Park being the 6th longest, both with areas that have yet to be explored.
6 Sue the T. rex
The world-famous fossil known as “Sue” is the largest, best-preserved, and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found and was discovered in Faith in 1990. Sue measures 42 feet long from snout to tail and 13 feet tall at the hip. Nowadays Sue spends her time at The Field Museum in Chicago. Imagine what else lies beneath the South Dakota landscape!
7 The Legend of Potato Creek Johnny
One of Deadwood’s most colourful characters, John Perrett, more often referred to as “Potato Creek Johnny”, is credited with finding one of the world’s largest gold nuggets in 1929. Perrett sold the leg-shaped nugget, weighing in at 7 ¾ troy ounces, to W.E. Adams for $250, who then turned around and put it on display at the Adams Museum. Immediately, not only did the gold nugget become a tourist attraction, but so did Potato Creek Johnny himself, as Deadwood visitors wanted to hear his stories. Today visitors can visit Potato Creek Johnny at Mt. Moriah Cemetery alongside such western characters as Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok and Seth Bullock.
8 Dances with Wolves
Kevin Costner’s Oscar Award winning movie ‘Dances with Wolves” was filmed entirely within South Dakota. Today visitors can browse through the original film set as well as explore the South Dakota Film Museum at The Fort Hays Western Town and Chuckwagon. While exploring the film set visitors are invited to make their own brick, tin plate and twine lasso rope.
9 Belle Fourche - Geographical Center of the US
Located in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, the town of Belle Fourche serves as the Geographic Center of the United States. Visitors can stand on the 21-foot diametre marker, that is etched out of South Dakota granite, that marks the Geographic Center of the United States.
10 Bison Herd
Custer State Parks 71,000-acres (28,400 ha) serves as home to one of the world’s largest publicly-owned bison herds, nearly 1,300 strong. The park also offers Buffalo Safari Jeep Tours, so visitors can get up and close to the majestic bison. Each September the park holds there annual Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup, during the events visitors can watch as cowboys, cowgirls and park crews saddle up to bring in the thundering herd into the corrals for sorting.
To learn more about this unique event visit