Local Attractions
The following is a short list of some of the most popular attractions in the area. Please be sure to check out Black Hills websites to find more amazing attractions - all within easy driving distance from Camp Outreach.
Mt. Rushmore
Located in the Black Hills near the town of Keystone, Mount Rushmore National Memorial is the region’s single most popular attraction.
Black Hills National Forest
The forest consists of 1.2 million acres of forested hills and mountains all available to outdoor enthusiasts.
Custer State Park
This popular park spans 71,000 acres and is home to over 1200 roaming buffalo, friendly burros, and soaring granite peaks. Hiking, kayaking, swimming, camping, fishing, and even birding are all popular activities for the nature lovers in your group.
Crazy Horse Mountain Memorial
Crazy Horse is the world's largest mountain carving located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is considered The Eighth Wonder of the World, in progress. It is under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills, in Custer County, South Dakota, and will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land.
George S. Mickelson Trail
The “Mickelson Trail” traverses 109 scenic miles of the Black Hills of South Dakota. A former rail line, the trail crosses more than 100 railroad bridges and goes through four tunnels. Trail passes are required, and can be purchased at any trailhead. Trail Traffic: The trail is open to hiking, biking, horseback riding, cross country skiing and snowshoeing.
The 1880 Train Ride
is a fun-filled, two-hour narrated 20-mile round trip between Hill City snd Keystone South Dakota in the beautiful Black Hills. Trains follow the original route of the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad laid down in the late 1880s to service the mines and mills between Hill City and Keystone. The Black Hills Central Railroad is the oldest continuously operating tour railroad in the nation and operates four steam and two diesel engines throughout the season.
Bear Country USA
A unique drive-through wildlife park. From the comfort of your own vehicle observe black bears, elk, mountain lions, buffalo, reindeer and other wildlife in their natural environment.
Wind Cave National Park
is quite literally a hidden gem: a massive cave system, perhaps the world’s largest, sprawling beneath the rolling terrain of the southern Black Hills. Like all caves, it’s cool inside year-round: 54 degrees, January or July.
Jewel Cave National Monument
Not too far from Wind Cave lies Jewel Cave National Monument, an entirely separate underground gem. The monument protects a subterranean network with at least 191 miles of mapped passageways – good enough to make it the world’s third-longest cave system. Fun Fact: It is thought that Wind Caves and Jewel Caves might actually be connected underground. Since only 5-10% of each of the caves have been discovered, though, explorers haven’t been able to confirm this theory.
The Mammoth Site
in Hot Springs, South Dakota is the world’s largest mammoth research facility where you can tour-walk an active, continuing paleontological dig site and view Ice Age fossils exhibited as they are uncovered. Mammoth Site includes an accredited museum. The facility encloses a prehistoric sinkhole that formed and was slowly filled with sediments during the Pleistocene era.