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Get the inside scoop for your upcoming vacation —> this itinerary is the most detailed, epic, and easy-to-follow guide to the park!
1. Cave Tour
Explore the narrow passages and dark corridors of this spectacular underground world. A tour of Wind Cave is certainly the highlight of this national park — get ready to see something you’ve likely never seen before!
What You Need to Know
Wind Cave is not the most beautiful cave you’ll ever see — far from it, in fact. Even nearby Jewel Cave is often preferred over this one. But here’s the thing…..you’ll likely never see such a massive collection of BOXWORK in any other cave you ever visit!
This cave is all about the boxwork, a mysterious honeycomb-shaped formation that can be found all over Wind Cave and almost nowhere else. Crazy, right?! I’ve been to dozens of caves all over the country and have never seen anything like this.
The beauty of this cave is in its rare formations and small details.
To see the cave and its famous boxwork, you’ll need to take a ranger-led tour. There are several tour options:
- Garden of Eden — This is the shortest and easiest tour offered. The tour route is in the upper level of the cave, which is not where you’ll see the highest concentrations of boxwork.
- Natural Entrance — This tour is slightly longer and more challenging than the Garden of Eden, and it is the most popular tour in the park. It travels through the middle level of the cave, where you’ll find boxwork galore!
- Fairgrounds — This is the longest and hardest traditional tour offered. After a lot of stair-stepping, you’ll explore both the upper and middle levels of the cave.
Tickets for these three tour options can be reserved in advance at Recreation.gov. If you’re unable to get tickets in advance, a portion of tickets are set aside for same-day purchase at the visitor center.
To learn more about each tour option, or to glance over the current cave tour schedule, click here.
The Accessible, Wild Cave, and Candlelight tours are also available at Wind Cave, and you can learn more about those options here.
As a reminder, please do not touch anything in the cave — the oils on your hands will ruin the formations. Backpacks, food, drinks (including water), and camera bags are prohibited in the cave. White Nose Syndrome (a devastating disease that affects bats) has been found in this cave, so please do not wear anything that you’ve worn in other caves.
Getting Here
Cave tours begin at the Wind Cave Visitor Center.
2. Rankin Ridge Trail
From up here on the Rankin Ridge Trail, you can certainly see why this area is called the Black Hills! Enjoy the views of the dark, tree-covered hills and the golden prairie grasses from the highest point in the park.
What You Need to Know
The Rankin Ridge Trail is a 1-mile loop that gains 230 feet in elevation. It travels to a lookout tower at the top of a hill overlooking Wind Cave National Park.
This trail is stunning — it’s my favorite trail in the park! I love being able to see for miles and miles across the vast South Dakota prairie.
Bison like this area, and you’ll likely see some (or signs of them) as you hike, so be on the lookout. You’ll also pass by a few prairie dog towns as you drive to this trailhead.
Pets are not permitted on this trail.
Getting Here
From the Wind Cave Visitor Center, drive north along the park road until you reach the intersection with Highway 385. Take a left, and then turn right onto Highway 87 (following signs for Custer State Park). Drive north for 5 miles until you see the sign for the Rankin Ridge Trailhead on your right. Turn here, and drive for 0.3 miles until the road dead-ends at the trailhead.
There is no room or turnaround for RVs or trailers at this trailhead, so you’ll need to park down by the trailhead turnoff and walk the rest of the way if you’re in a larger vehicle.
3. Bison Flats
If you’re hoping to see wildlife during your trip, the name Bison Flats says it all. Get a closer look at prairie dogs, pronghorn, and bison in Wind Cave National Park — no hiking required!
What You Need to Know
Driving along the park road in the Bison Flats area is the easiest way to see the local wildlife, including bison, prairie dogs, and pronghorn.
All you need to do is roll down the windows, get out the zoom lens, and hang out at the southern end of the park!
Getting Here
From the Wind Cave Visitor Center, drive south for about 0.5 miles until you reach the intersection with Highway 385. Turn right and drive south along the highway for about 3 miles until you reach Gobbler Pass, which makes a good turnaround point. That 3-mile stretch includes Bison Flats and is a fabulous place to look for wildlife.
4. Prairie Vista Trail
Enjoy a short stroll through the picturesque prairie lands of South Dakota! This trail is not only beautiful, it also highlights some of the most fascinating parts of the national park.
What You Need to Know
The Prairie Vista Trail is 1-mile roundtrip, and it gains 100 feet of elevation. This is more of a leisurely walk through the grass than a hike. It is one of two trails that allow leashed pets in the park (the other being the Elk Mountain Trail).
As you start this trail from the visitor center, you’ll soon pass by the natural entrance to Wind Cave. This cave entrance “breathes” and is the reason for the park’s name. After passing by the natural entrance, the trail will travel through the picnic area and then up the hill to the prairie views.
You’ll definitely want to stay on the established path as you hike this trail — ticks and poison ivy are two of the reasons that it’s a good idea not to venture off!
After making your way through the grassland, you’ll start hiking down the hill to complete the loop. Toward the bottom of the hill, look for the gravestone for Alvin McDonald. From the age of 16 until his death at age 20, Alvin extensively explored and mapped out many of Wind Cave’s passages by using candlelight and string. He was a remarkable adventurer! You can see his original journal on display in the visitor center.
Getting Here
This trail starts at the Visitor Center. Walk into the building and take a left to exit out the side. You’ll see a path from there that leads to the natural entrance and then continues on — this is the Prairie Vista Trail. When you reach the picnic area, walk straight across the parking lot and past the restrooms to find where the trail picks up again.
5. NPS 5 and NPS 6 Backroads
Get ready for a big adventure as you drive along two of the park’s most magnificent backroads. You’ll discover an area of the park that is wild, free, and seldom seen!
What You Need to Know
If you like getting off the beaten path and losing the crowds, then driving the NPS 5 and NPS 6 dirt roads will be perfect for you. There’s a good chance that you’ll see more buffalo than people out here!
These dirt roads connect to each other, which is why I recommend both. If you start with NPS 5, you’ll drive through the prairie and down into the gorgeous Red Valley. From there, it’s easy to get to NPS 6, which will take you up near where the bison herds like to graze. You can enter via a “secret entrance” into Custer State Park from here (near the buffalo corrals), making it easy to continue your day of adventuring!
These dirt roads are well-maintained and are typically fine for cars. Rain or snow will often make the roads muddy and impassable, so you’ll need alternative plans if the road is wet.
You likely won’t have cell service out here, so be sure to take the park map with you. It’s also wise to have a full tank of gas before setting out on any backroads.
Getting Here
From the Wind Cave Visitor Center, drive north along the park road until you reach the intersection with Highway 385. Take a left, and then quickly turn right onto Highway 87 (following signs for Custer State Park). Drive north for 7 miles until you see a small sign for NPS 5 on your right. Turn onto this dirt road to begin your backroad adventure.
After driving along NPS 5 for 6.5 miles, you’ll reach an intersection with another dirt road on your left. This is NPS 6, and you’ll want to turn left here and drive north for 4.5 miles. At this point, you’ll enter Custer State Park. You can turn around at any time if you want to go back to the visitor center.
Have a fantastic trip to Wind Cave National Park! For more trip planning help, click NEXT to see the Ultimate Wind Cave Trip Planning Guide.
Is Prairie Vista Trail a “can’t miss” mainly due to the natural entrance, or do you feel the views further up the trail are particularly nice and unlike other views in the park? Wondering whether to just turn around after seeing the natural entrance given that the gravestone further on in the trail doesn’t interest me.
The natural entrance is the most interesting part of that trail. The views are nice, but if you plan on doing any other hikes in the park, you could skip the rest of the Prairie Vista.