Most reviewed Nature & Wildlife Areas in South Dakota
4.5Bear Country USA(4.180 reviews) - seeing the active and cute little bears is the highlight Temporarily closed - Closed until Apr 28, 2023 Spent 2-3 hours Nature & Wildlife Areas
Enjoy a leisurely 2-mile drive through this unique North American Wildlife park in the the Black Hills of South Dakota. From the comfort of your vehicle view black bears, wolves, elk, buffalo and other wildlife! After your drive-through tour, walk around wildlife loop where young and smaller animals frolic in the outdoors. Don't miss the Baby Bears! Dine at the Cub Grub Snack Shack or shop in the Bear's Den Gift Shop. Open May through November, weather permitting. Our daily closing time is only when the front gate closes, the rest of the park remains open until your visit is complete.See more..
4.5Reptile Gardens(2.305 reviews) - Great attraction Nature & Wildlife Areas • Zoos
World-renowned adventure park, Reptile Gardens is a must-see family attraction no matter what your age. We maintain the finest collection of tropical plants, colorful flowers, and exotic reptiles anywhere - we have more species and subspecies of venomous reptiles than any other zoo or park in the world!See more..
5.0Black Hills National Forest(909 reviews) - Black Elk Peak National Parks • Nature & Wildlife Areas • Forests
This empty expanse where Native Americans once roamed is now a national forest.See more..
4.5Wind Cave National Park(713 reviews) - Intricate Formations Spent 1-2 hours National Parks • Nature & Wildlife Areas • Caverns & Caves
We took the Natural Entrance tour. Our tour guide Abby was excellent! This tour takes you down through the caves to view the various formations including the popcorn, frost and box cut which was very intricate and different from anything else I have seen in other caves. The gallery is interesting and worth the walk through before the tour. I would recommend buying your tickets on line ahead of time if you don’t want to spend a lot of time waiting around. We arrived at 9:20 (on a Weekday) and the first available of any tour was 11:30. After purchasing our tour tickets, we were able to drive around the rest of the park and enjoy the views-including several bison! Enjoyable and worth the ride.See more..
4.5Butterfly House & Aquarium(516 reviews) - If you've never been to a butterfly house, this one might be good Saturday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Spent 1-2 hours Nature & Wildlife Areas • Aquariums
Enjoy over 800 free-flying butterflies from around the world in the tropical conservatory. View vibrant marine fishes, jellies, and corals in twelve aquarium habitats, including the Pop-Up Dome Aquarium and Pacific Tide Pool. Experience interactive learning and relaxation with tropical butterflies and marine life in our land-locked state. A year round tropical destination! The Butterfly House & Aquarium is a nonprofit organization, funded entirely by admissions, memberships, gift shop sales, and donations. Thank you for visiting and supporting our mission of inspiring conservation of the vital building blocks of sea, sky, and land!See more..
We love to watch prairie dogs. We first encountered them in Custer State Park, early in the morning when they were very active. They were not quite so active during our hot, mid-day visit to Roberts Prairie Dog Town, but they were no less entertaining. I love when they reach up and jump while chirping! The town is located on a large, open grassland, and there were bison grazing in the distances. It was very scenic. I highly recommend a stop.See more..
5.0Roughlock Falls State Nature Area(126 reviews) - Beautiful area Spent 2-3 hours State Parks • Nature & Wildlife Areas • Forests • Valleys
Hiked along the path of the beautiful falls. Met lots of locals. Always friendly, saying welcome to the Black Hills! (Loves that!). Nice place to spend a little, or a lot of time!See more..
Great place to swim, camp, boat and fish! And one couldn't ask for better scenery....this place is beautiful and so clean. Be sure to catch a glimpse of the sun setting...breathtaking! Bathrooms were very clean, too. Even got a long, hot shower at the campground comfort station. Loved that there was a convenience store and someplace to eat on site, too. Had a great stay here!See more..
4.5Windcross Conservancy(32 reviews) - New location is easy to find! Saturday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM Spent < 1 hour Nature & Wildlife Areas • Ranches
Windcross Conservancy's Spanish Mustang Preserve is located in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. SD HWy 79 1.5 Miles it is just a 15 minute drive for Hot Springs and 40 minutes from Rapid City. A family friendly attraction. The management strives to make sure that every visitor gets to experience the Spanish Mustang horses Windcross. *Please be aware that it is a walking tour amongst the horses. Accommodations can be made for those unable to do the walk. * This is a hands on history and educations experience with an endangered historical horse breed. Reservations are required although docents are accomodating as availability of staff allows. Docents reserve the right to make tour judgements for the safety of the party. No exceptions. Bus, large group, school and photo tours are available by special arrangement.See more..
Hidden and unknown to most residents in area until recently, this is an amazing historical site where thousands of indigenous people lived hundreds of years ago. It is in the process of development...I hope they keep the pristine beauty of this historical gem.See more..
4.5Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum(18 reviews) - This place is a must see Spent 1-2 hours Nature & Wildlife Areas
The Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum and East Sioux Falls Historic Site began as a dream. A local visionary for the environment, Mary Jo Wegner imagined a natural haven in Sioux Falls like others enjoy in major cities. With wetlands, gardens, and native plants, the Arboretum provides recreation and education. A living link to the past and a great stake in our future.See more..
We were off the beaten path with camp site #3 and that's just the way we like it! Friendly hosts, nice fellow campers, quite park, beautiful views. We didn't realize that the campground has no showers, but the local YMCA has showers for $5. We had a great stay for 4 nights. Wish it was longer.See more..
4.0Fort Pierre National Grassland(16 reviews) - Spring Prairie Chickens drumming and puffing - Great Observation National Parks • Nature & Wildlife Areas
Just a few miles outside of Pierre is a 116,000-acre block of public land made up of rolling hills and prairie and serving as home to antelope, mule deer, prairie dogs, prairie chickens and myriad waterfowl. Many small, scattered dams offer great fishing.See more..
4.5Gavin's Point National Fish Hatchery(15 reviews) - Cool Little Aquarium! Saturday: 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM Spent 1-2 hours Nature & Wildlife Areas • Aquariums • Dams
If you're in the area stop by the aquarium, it's free (Donations accepted) and actually pretty cool! See more..
4.0McNenny State Fish Hatchery(15 reviews) - beautiful place and surroundings Saturday: Spent < 1 hour Nature & Wildlife Areas
You can stop at the hatchery and they have a beautiful viewing pool with fish. Lots to see and there is Mirror Lakes just a short distance away also.See more..
4.5Arrowhead Park(15 reviews) - Nice paved path Spent 1-2 hours Bodies of Water • Nature & Wildlife Areas • Parks
Nice paved path with some unpaved hiking also the area has a couple lil quarry rock ponds. Sometimes there are a lot of geese on the path tho.See more..
4.0Lake Mitchell Campground(13 reviews) - Nice campground at a great price! Spent More than 3 hours Nature & Wildlife Areas
We stayed here for one night in our motorhome. I had a nice pull through sites as well as back insights. There were lots of trees for shade. We were right by the bathrooms/our house which were clean and nice. We were able to find a site no problem at 9 PM on a Thursday night, last minuteSee more..
Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge is well marked, with a Visitor Center open for use of restrooms even when the office is closed. Unlike some wildlife refuges or game areas, the signage was excellent and clear. A place definitely on the "return" list!See more..
It was a treat to go out at dawn and follow the auto route around this wildlife refuge. Its a well marked single lane dirt road that passes around the lake, through fields, and by sloughs. Peasants, ducks of every sorts, hawks, owls..all seen without even trying. I have copious notes, and a list of all the birds seen in the refuge and will enjoy figuring out how many I did actually sight. It was migration time so ducks were in abundance. They are skittish creatures. I found that as long as my car was moving I could watch them, but once I pulled to a stop they all flew away. Clearly they are cautious about hunters. The only mammals I saw were white tailed deer. I would like to go back at sunset to see if other creatures come out. The visitor center was not open, but the restrooms were. There were picnic tables in a couple places but mostly I think it is assumed that most visitors will stay in their cars.See more..
Located 14 miles NW on Nemo Road, across the road from Steamboat Rock Recreation Area, these boulders are fun to climb. The grounds are beautiful and so very peaceful. You can listen to the birds and feel the gentle breeze while trying to scale a few massive boulders.See more..
4.0Hay Butte Overlook(3 reviews) - Get out of your car and take a look National Parks • Nature & Wildlife Areas
There are numerous overlooks in the park that are well worthwhile to take the time to stop and get out of your car. This is one of the better ones. You don't need to spend more than a total of 20 to 30 minutes here, but it is great place to really take in how special this place is.See more..
3.0Ancient Hunters Overlook(3 reviews) - Great Place for viewing wildlife National Parks • Nature & Wildlife Areas
On top of grassy butte near this pull over, we saw several female sheep and their young eating grass in the late day sun. We had already seen groups of males but these flocks were totally females with young. Just showing that there is so much to do in Badlands NP. It is well more that dry clay formations There is also a significant amount of wildlife in this park be sure to take the opportunity ot capture photos of the park widlifeSee more..
This is a wonderful place to go as a family to hike, see wildlife and just to simply be outdoors. Kept clean and paths are easily hiked!See more..
4.0Long Valley Picnic Area(2 reviews) - Nice spot for a rest break. Spent < 1 hour Bodies of Water • Nature & Wildlife Areas • Parks
We stopped in for a rest and this is a really enjoyable spot to enjoy the creek and the foliage and have a snack or drink. The dogs sure enjoyed getting in the water.See more..
