World's Only Corn Palace

Hot Springs
The Mammoth Site Museum is home to one of the world's greatest fossil treasures on permanent display. Extremely educational and interesting, this museum takes you back in time to when mammoths roamed the prairie. www.mammothsite.com

Keystone
Since its completion in 1941, Mount Rushmore is one of America's most inspiring symbols of democracy. Visit the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which covers 1,246 acres, including the Presidential Trail. Take a guided tour or check out the Lincoln Borglum Museum. nps.gov/moru

Mitchell
The Enchanted World Doll Museum offers excitement and education as you pass through the doors of this English-style castle, complete with moat, turrets and drawbridge. It's home to over 4,000 dolls set in approximately 400 different and unique scenes. These antique and modern dolls are exhibited in detailed dioramas depicting life in the early 1800s and 1900s, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and Star Trek. www.cornpalace.org

World's Only Corn Palace is one of the strangest structures you'll probably ever see. With turrets and towers, the Palace features murals and multi-colored ears of corn and bundles of grains and grasses. It takes more than 3,000 bushels of corn to decorate the exterior. www.cornpalace.org

Rapid City
Journey Museum takes you from the birth of the Black Hills through modern times in an interactive, fun setting. It tells the complete story of the Western Plains using four collections, from the history of the Lakota people to the modern-day scientists who are studying rock formations in the Black Hills and Badlands. www.journeymuseum.org

Reptile Gardens is home to 8 of the 10 most venemous species of snakes - nowhere in the world can you see so many of the world's most deadly snakes. Their collection of reptiles is unrivaled - 200 species and subspecies of reptiles. There's also beautiful birds and flora exhibited, as well as a large tortoise exhibit. reptilegardens.com

Wall
Wall Drug, the infamous drug store-turned-megastore located near the Badlands, offers tasty local cuisine (try the buffalo burgers or roast beef) and stores that specialize in souvenirs, western wear and jewelry. And, yes, they still offer the free ice water that made them famous. walldrug.com