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Amsterdam to western South Dakota: the Black Hills and the Badlands

Amsterdam → Black Hills → Badlands

Black Hills
"Needles Highway 05.jpg" by Runner1928, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence
Rapid City Skyline (2022) (Rapid City)
Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Granite peaks and Mount Rushmore & eroded buttes on the prairie Best season (general guide): May–Sep

In the far west of South Dakota, the Black Hills rise like an island of forest from the Great Plains, with the Badlands just to the east. This route spends four nights in the Black Hills and two in the Badlands. From Amsterdam you'll connect through a US hub to Rapid City, then drive.

How to pace it: the range, called Pahá Sápa in Lakota and sacred to the Lakota people, is best explored by car over four days. On arrival, see Mount Rushmore, where the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln were carved into the granite between 1927 and 1941. Give day two to the wildlife loop in Custer State Park, home to a large herd of free-roaming bison, and day three to the Needles Highway, which winds between granite spires and through narrow tunnels, and Sylvan Lake. On day four, visit the Crazy Horse Memorial, a mountain carving still in progress, and Wind Cave National Park, one of the longest caves in the world, with prairie above it. Black Elk Peak, at 2,207 metres, is the highest summit if you want a hike, and Deadwood, the gold-rush town of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, lies in the northern hills.

On day five, drive east to Badlands National Park, about 980 square kilometres of eroded buttes and pinnacles and the largest undisturbed mixed-grass prairie in the United States; its South Unit is managed with the Oglala Lakota tribe. Drive the loop road at sunrise on day six and watch palaeontologists at work in the Fossil Preparation Lab. Wall Drug, the huge roadside store in Wall, is a classic stop.

Practical notes: May to September is the main season; winters are cold and snowy. You'll need a car, as the sights are spread out.

Safety: this is a domestic US route with no State Department advisory; Canada asks travellers to the US to take normal security precautions (updated 10 Oct 2026).

Suggested outline

  1. Amsterdam

    Start

  2. Black Hills

    By air · 4 nights suggested

    Pine-covered granite hills above the plains, with Mount Rushmore.

  3. Badlands

    By road · 2 nights suggested

    Eroded buttes and the largest undisturbed mixed-grass prairie.

    Badlands National Park South Dakota
    "Badlands along South Dakota Highway 44 in Badlands National Park, near Scenic Pass, 2009 (1).jpg" by DimiTalen, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence

Day by day

  1. Day 1 · Black Hills — Arrive; Mount Rushmore· Amsterdam → Rapid City (by air) — long-haul; may arrive the next calendar day, then Rapid City → Black Hills (overland)
  2. Day 2 · Black Hills — Custer State Park wildlife loop
  3. Day 3 · Black Hills — Needles Highway and Sylvan Lake
  4. Day 4 · Black Hills — Crazy Horse and Wind Cave
  5. Day 5 · Badlands — Road east to the Badlands· Black Hills → Badlands (by road)
  6. Day 6 · Badlands — Loop road at sunrise
  7. Day 7 · Badlands — Travel home from Badlands· Badlands → Rapid City (by road), then Rapid City → Amsterdam (by air)

A suggested pace only; expedition days are set by the operator.

Flights, leg by leg

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Black Hills

Nearest airport: Rapid City Search fares · Rapid City ↗

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