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All the United States South Dakota

The Atlas Obscura Guide To South Dakota

61 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in South Dakota

Updated June 14, 2024

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Cities

Top Cities
Hotel Alex Johnson.
Rapid City
View of the ghost town
Sioux Falls
Lemmon
The exterior of the Hall of Records
Keystone
Wall
Mitchell
All Cities
  1. Belle Fourche
  2. Deadwood
  3. Garretson
  4. Hot Springs
  5. Keystone
  6. Lemmon
  7. Mitchell
  8. Mobridge
  9. Philip
  10. Rapid City
  11. Sioux Falls
  12. Spearfish
  13. Vermillion
  14. Wall
Attractions
Food & Drink
Map
Leaderboards
Stories

Unusual Attractions in South Dakota

Custer, South Dakota

Crazy Horse Memorial

The world's largest mountain carving could fit all of Mount Rushmore inside it many times over.

Wall, South Dakota

Wall Drug

The granddaddy of all tourist traps, built on ice water, jackalopes, and a giant dinosaur.
Skeleton Man Walking Skeleton Dinosaur.

Midland, South Dakota

Skeleton Man Walking Skeleton Dinosaur

Just a man taking his prehistoric pet for a stroll.
Hotel Alex Johnson.

Rapid City, South Dakota

Hotel Alex Johnson

One of America’s oldest and spookiest hotels, thanks to the residency of ghosts, dead presidents, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Nightmare fuel.

Montrose, South Dakota

Porter Sculpture Park

A roadside collection of over-sized iron creations that are a bit more macabre than most.
Hot Springs Mammoth Site

Hot Springs, South Dakota

Mammoth Site

This prehistoric sinkhole lured exclusively male mammoths to their death, much to the delight of science.
The exterior of the Hall of Records

Keystone, South Dakota

Hall of Records in Mount Rushmore

Hidden behind Lincoln's head is a 70-foot-long chamber containing enamel plates documenting American history, sealed in a teakwood box in a titanium vault.
Devil’s Gulch

Garretson, South Dakota

Devil's Gulch

The ravine where Jesse James supposedly performed an impossible jump to evade capture.
See All 61 Things To Do in South Dakota

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in South Dakota

Rapid City, South Dakota

Firehouse Brewing Co.

South Dakota's oldest operating brewery is housed inside a historic firehouse.
An Indian taco on frybread.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Watecha Bowl

Chef Lawrence West serves up Indian tacos, wojapi, and other Lakota dishes at the brick-and-mortar incarnation of his popular food truck.

Rapid City, South Dakota

McDonald’s Quarter Pounder Monument

Calidum et Deliciose Succosum!
The replica rail car.

Spearfish, South Dakota

Fish Car No. 3

This vintage train once gave new meaning to “swimming upstream.”
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In partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

A Feminist Road Trip Across the U.S.

Atlas Obscura has a tradition of exploring the stories of women who changed the world, from wildlife biologists and mountain climbers to Civil War spies and tattoo artists. To celebrate these daring women who struck out on their own, we’ve put together a cross-country road trip. Over 12 stops and more than 3,000 miles, this route will give you a front-row seat to women’s history in America.

View Itinerary

Explore South Dakota

Statues 9
Monuments 8
Museums 7
Dinosaurs 6
Roadside Attractions 6
Art 6
Sculptures 5
Abandoned 5
Wild West 5
Ghost Towns 5
History 5
Animals 4

South Dakota Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Kevin OKeeffe
    9
  2. rbt45769
    2
  3. Sydney Rose
    2
  4. srh2767
    2
  5. Gregory T Janetka
    2
Join the Ranks!
Add an unusual place to South Dakota.

Places Edited

  1. Kevin OKeeffe
    13
  2. breaingram
    11
  3. Rachel
    10
  4. Collector of Experiences
    10
  5. lendog666
    8

Places Visited

  1. Kevin OKeeffe
    50
  2. chip520
    39
  3. adamaldrich
    36
  4. susanjanesmith73
    36
  5. kevbot
    36
Join the Ranks!
Visit a place in South Dakota.

Recent South Dakota Activity

  • dwlover907

    wants to go to Creston Dinosaur

    1 day ago
  • dwlover907

    has been to The Corn Palace

    1 day ago
  • dwlover907

    wants to go to Cosmos Mystery Area

    1 day ago
  • kiwipoots3

    wants to go to Falls Park

    1 day ago
  • tmmunguia

    has been to Mammoth Site

    1 day ago

Stories About South Dakota

Podcast: Welcome To Wall Drug

In the South Dakota badlands, a small pharmacy employed an ingenious marketing gimmick.
by The Podcast Team
June 5, 2024

Podcast: The Corn Palace

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
August 29, 2022
The Cataract House Hotel, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the 1890s.

Podcast: The Divorce Colony

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
June 15, 2022
How many of you were there?

The Thorny Problem of Tallying Every T. rex to Ever Live

Here’s why it’s really, really hard to count how many of the apex predators once stalked Earth’s surface.
by Jessica Leigh Hester
April 19, 2021
Stan sold for a thunderous sum.

The Fossils That Get Away (From Scientists)

A high-profile T. rex sale is a reminder that paleontologists get stressed when fossils vanish into private hands.
by Jessica Leigh Hester
November 13, 2020
Bison help engineer the spring regrowth with their grazing patterns.

Understanding How Bison Might Help Shape the Future of the Badlands

New lessons from resurgent herds.
by Isaac Schultz
November 18, 2019
Chuckwagons often carried heavy loads, including a water barrel.

The Company Building Chuck Wagons for Races and Cowboy Cookoffs

A South Dakota shop still builds the iconic wagons.
by Anne Ewbank
April 15, 2019

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