The full guide: a day-by-day plan, booking order, the points programs and transfer paths that fit, a dated costs section, backup plans and a printable list. You read it online and can download a watermarked PDF.

Travelers planning this trip for the first time who want the plan, the costs and the points options in one place, without reading twenty blog posts.

Does it cover points and miles?

Yes. It explains which programs and hotel brands reach this destination and in what order to book. It does not quote card offers.

Every price, fee, hour and rule is traced to an official source and stamped with the date we checked it. We re-check before peak season and list changes in the update notes.

Yes. Refunds are available within 14 days of purchase.

Explore the Black Hills: Your Five-Day Road Trip

Explore the Black Hills: Your Five-Day Road Trip: free sample chapter

Read the first chapter free. No email or account required.

The five-day plan, with times

Written by PerkJolt's Growth Desk. We have not yet visited the Black Hills, and we say so. What we have done is read the official pages for every stop and stamp each fee, hour and rule with the date and the page. Where an official page did not show a number, we leave the gap and tell you who to call. No hotel point prices appear here because we did not pull any from an official award page. All times are Mountain Time.

How this guide is organized

The five-day plan, with times
Route and drive times
The eight stops, with costs
Custer State Park and the wildlife loop
Where to stay, by town, on points
The cost sheet
Booking order
Weather, winter, Sturgis week, kids and wildlife safety
Printable list
Update notes

The plan assumes a family of four with kids roughly 5 to 12, arriving at Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP) on a morning flight, and summer travel between late May and early September. It uses two bases: Rapid City for nights 1 and 2, then Custer or Custer State Park for nights 3 and 4, with night 5 either back in Rapid City or a departure that evening. Swap the bases if your flights run the other way.

Three planning rules sit behind the order:

Cave tours dictate the calendar. Wind Cave says tours often sell out March through October and on winter holiday weekends. Jewel Cave says reservations open about 30 to 60 days ahead for May through November. So the cave day is fixed first and everything else bends around it.
Group by direction. Badlands is east, Devils Tower is northwest, and the memorials, caves and Custer State Park are in the central and southern Hills.
Check the open days. Cosmos Mystery Area listed itself as open Wednesday through Sunday on the page we read, and the Jewel Cave visitor center listed Tuesday through Saturday. If your dates land on a Monday, the days below need to shift.

All drive times in this guide are approximate and measured from our own estimates of the hub route, not from an official source. Check a live map the morning you drive and add 15 to 20 minutes to each leg in summer.

Day 1: Arrive, Bear Country USA, Mount Rushmore in the evening

Morning: Land at RAP, pick up the rental car, buy groceries for lunches and a cooler. Check in to your Rapid City hotel if the room is ready, or drop bags.
11:00 Early lunch in Rapid City.
12:30 Drive to Bear Country USA, roughly 10 to 20 minutes south of town (approximate). From May 23 to July 31 the 2026 schedule shows an 8am start and last entry at 6pm; from August 1 to September 7 last entry is 5pm; from September 8 it is a 9am start with last entry at 3pm. The park closes 1.5 hours after the last entry. Plan 1.5 to 2.5 hours for the drive-through and walk-through. (checked Oct 8, 2026)
3:30 Optional: Cosmos Mystery Area if you are arriving Wednesday through Sunday, about an hour including the tour. Skip it if kids are tired. (checked Oct 8, 2026)
5:30 Dinner in Rapid City.
7:15 Drive to Mount Rushmore, about 30 minutes from Rapid City (approximate). The evening program is 45 minutes, a ranger talk, a film and the lighting of the memorial, held nightly late May through the end of September, and it needs no reservation. The sculpture itself is illuminated nightly year-round. The page gave no start time for the program, so confirm it at the visitor center on arrival or call 605-574-2523 (number from the same page); plan to arrive early. (checked Oct 8, 2026)
10:00 Back to the hotel.

Why this order: it keeps you near your hotel on a travel day, and it saves the daytime Rushmore visit for Day 5, when you can come back with the parking ticket still valid.

Day 2: Badlands

7:00 Breakfast at the hotel, fill the gas tank, pack lunch and water.
7:30 Drive toward the Badlands Northeast Entrance area, about 1 hour 15 minutes from Rapid City (approximate).
8:45 Enter the park. The Northeast Entrance accepts card only; the park does not take cash. Private vehicle fee is $30 for 7 days. (checked Oct 8, 2026)
9:00 Ben Reifel Visitor Center, on the Badlands Loop Road, for the exhibits, the Fossil Preparation Lab and the ranger desk. (checked Oct 9, 2026) The visitor center posts summer hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily (May 4 to September 26 on the current cycle) and winter hours of 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM; the 2027 holiday table lists Memorial Day, Juneteenth, July 4 and Labor Day 2027 at 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The park itself is open 24 hours.
9:45 Drive the Loop Road with pullouts, with two or three short boardwalk or trail stops.
12:30 Picnic lunch. Services in the park are limited, so bring food.
2:00 A second round of pullouts, or head back.
3:30 Drive back to Rapid City.
5:30 Dinner in Rapid City.

The park is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and entrance fees are collected year-round. In summer, midday is hot with little shade, which is why this day is front-loaded.

If you would rather see Devils Tower: swap it for this day, but expect about 2 hours each way from Rapid City (approximate) and plan an early start. It is $25 per private vehicle, card only. (checked Oct 8, 2026) Do not try both in one trip with a five-day plan unless you drop something else.

Day 3: Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, then Custer

This is the day that must be booked first. Two cave tours, one at each park, on the same day.

7:30 Check out of Rapid City, load the car, eat breakfast.
8:00 Drive south toward Wind Cave, about 1 hour 10 minutes from Rapid City (approximate).
9:30 Wind Cave: aim to be at the visitor center at least 30 minutes before your tour. Choose your tour from the park's list (Garden of Eden, Natural Entrance, Fairgrounds, Candlelight, Wild Cave, Accessibility). Which tours suit kids and which you can reserve is worked out in chapter 3. Cave temperature is about 54 degrees Fahrenheit all year (Jewel Cave is cooler, about 49), so bring a layer.
12:00 Picnic lunch at Wind Cave. The surface of the park is open all day, every day, and entry is free. (checked Oct 8, 2026)
1:00 Drive to Jewel Cave, about 45 minutes from Wind Cave (approximate).
2:00 Jewel Cave tour. The Discovery Tour is 20 minutes and the Scenic Tour is 1 hour 20 minutes. (checked Oct 8, 2026) The visitor center listed Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the main entrance gate closes at 4:30 p.m. (checked Oct 8, 2026) These are 2026 season hours; 2027 hours usually post in spring, so check before you go.
4:00 Drive to Custer (short; approximate 20 to 30 minutes), check in.
6:00 Dinner in Custer.
8:00 Early night. Day 4 starts with animals.

Day 4: Custer State Park (the sample day, with Crazy Horse)

This is the sample day that PerkJolt shows free on the funnel page. The full detail for each stop is in chapter 4.

7:00 Breakfast in Custer.
8:00 Wildlife Loop at a slow pace, 18 miles, with an expected travel time of 1 hour 30 minutes that depends on "wildlife jams." Animals are most active early morning and just before sunset. (checked Oct 9, 2026) Entrance license is $25 for 1 to 7 days per vehicle. (checked Oct 9, 2026)
11:30 Picnic at Sylvan Lake. Sylvan Lake is inside Custer State Park, so the park entrance license covers it; we found no separate posted fee. SD Game, Fish and Parks lists Custer State Park among its swimming parks and says pets, boats, glass containers and fishing are prohibited in designated swim areas. We found no posted lifeguard details, so treat it as swim at your own risk and confirm at the park office (605-255-4515).
1:00 Needles Highway and a short walk to the Needles Eye. The highway (SD 87 North) is 14 miles, 60+ minutes expected. Tunnels: Needles Eye Tunnel is 8 ft 0 in wide by 9 ft 9 in high; Iron Creek Tunnel is 8 ft 9 in wide by 10 ft 10 in high. It closes to vehicles with the first snow of the season and does not reopen until April 1 or later. Wide vehicles and RVs should check the clearances before driving it. (checked Oct 9, 2026) The official page posts tunnel widths and heights but no length limit, so measure your vehicle against those numbers.
3:30 Crazy Horse Memorial. The memorial lists hours of 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, the restaurant 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM and the Snack Shop 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. (checked Oct 8, 2026) Admission is per vehicle: $30 for 3 or more, $24 for 2, $12 for 1, a 2026 rate (listed for 10/1/2026 to 5/14/2027); 2027 rates usually post in spring, so check before you go. (checked Oct 9, 2026)
6:00 Dinner in Custer or at a park lodge.
8:30 Stargazing away from town lights.

Day 5: Mount Rushmore, then Rapid City and home

7:30 Breakfast, check out.
8:30 Drive to Mount Rushmore (about 30 to 40 minutes from Custer, approximate). Park in the concession-operated structure; your Day 1 parking ticket ($10 per vehicle) is still valid. Questions: Xanterra at 605-574-2515. (checked Oct 9, 2026)
9:00 Walk the grounds, visitor center and the Presidential Trail. Plan 1.5 to 2 hours.
11:30 Drive to Rapid City (about 30 minutes, approximate).
12:30 Lunch, then a spare hour for gifts.
Afternoon or evening: Return the car and fly home.

If your flight is early, move Rushmore to Day 1 morning and do Bear Country on Day 5. If your flight is late, you have time for Cosmos or a second look at downtown Rapid City.