Tips on Avoiding South Dakota Tourist Traps

South Dakota Tourist Traps

South Dakota is famous for Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills. There are plenty of tourist traps in South Dakota, however, that you may want to avoid.

Wall Drug

If you are in South Dakota, you won’t miss a sign for Wall Drug. Wall Drug was established in 1931 and became famous for offering free ice water to visitors. Today, Wall Drug defines “tourist trap.” Wall Drug is actually a drug store, but it also sells all the cheap trinkets and toys you’d expect to find at any souvenir shop. You can stop and grab some cheap food and ice cream, but most travelers are unimpressed by what Wall Drug has to offer.

Crazy Horse Monument

The Crazy Horse monument, like Mount Rushmore, is an image of the Native American, Crazy Horse, carved from the rock. The price for admission to view the monument is steep because the site is not federally funded. Also, the monument is not yet completed, and the part that is completed can be viewed for free when you’re in the area.

Keystone

Keystone is a town filled with souvenir shops selling “Black Hills Gold,” leather goods, gemstones, and other Western gear. Restaurants and bars offer tourists food that many travelers believe is over-priced. Keystone should be avoided because anything you buy there can probably be obtained at half the price somewhere else in South Dakota.

Editor’s Note: The information contained on this page was compiled using real traveler reviews about tourist traps in South Dakota.