Rapid City (Lakota: Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe: "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. It is named after Rapid Creek, on which the city is established and it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. It is also known as the "Gateway to the Black HIlls" and the "City of Presidents". Ellsworth Air Force Base is located on the outskirts of the city.
      Deadwood is named after the dead trees found in its gulch and the entire city is a National Historic Landmark Distric, for its well-preserved Gold Rush-era architecture. The settlement began illegally in the 1870s on land which had been granted to American Indians in 1868 Treat of Fort Larami. In 1874 Colonel George Armstrong Custer led an expedition into the black Hills and announced the sidcovery of gold on French Creek, near Custer, SD, this triggered the Black Hills Gold Rush and gave rise to the lawless town of Deadwood. Wild Bill Hickock was murdered on August 2, 1876, Mount Moriah Cemetery is the resting place of Hickok and Calamity Jane.
     Deadwood is about 42 miles from Rapid City (about 46 minutes) 
Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, 30 minutes southwest of Rapid City. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture's design and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).[ South Dakota historian Doan Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likeness of famous people into the Black Hills.
1880 Train, see the black hills of South Dakota by vintage steam train. Leave from Hill City or Keystone.This historical seam train experience is narrated and fun for railroad enthusiats of all ages. https://www.1880train.com/  Hill City is 27 miles from Rapid City and Keystone is 21 miles.
Bear Country USA, located 8 miles from Rapid City, features the world's largest collection of privately owned black bears.  Take a leisurely 2 mile drive through this spectacular wildlife park nestled on 200 acres of Black Hills beauty where you'll see black bears, grizzly bears and over 20 other species of North American animals like buffalo, wolves and elk all from the comfort of your vehicle.  After your drive through tour, walk around Babyland where baby bears frolic in the outdoors. You'll need 1.5 hours for your visit to Bear Country USA. https://www.bearcountryusa.com/
Black Hills Greatest Cave Adventure - Black Hills Caverns! 4 miles west of Rapid City on Hwy. 44.HISTORICAL FUN The Caverns were discovered in 1882 by gold seekers, but the Lakota Indians had found strength in the power of the calcite crystals centuries before. Come discover the wonder of the glittering underground world and see its many fantastic animal formations. A NATURAL WONDERLAND Black Hills Caverns is a huge cave with a fantastic variety of formations: * Logomites * Stalagmites * Stalactites * Helictites * Rare Frost Crystal * Flowstone * Dogtooth Spar Crystal * Boxwork * Cave Flower * Soda Straw Stalactites * CBlack Hills Greatest Cave Adventure - The Lokota Indians had found strength in the power of the calcite crystals centuries before. Come discover the wonder of the glittering underground. Geology and Chemistry The walls of Black Hills Caverns consist of two types of limestone (coeymans and manlius). http://blackhillscaverns.com/
Black Hills Glass Blowers is nestled in a lovely area of Keystone. Keytone is 21 miles from Rapid City.

At the studio Peter Hopkins & Gail Damin create art glass by using blowpipes to gather molten glass from a 2000 degree furnace. The hot glass is blown and tooled to create vases, bowls, goblets, and paperweights in an array of form and color. They also lampwork figurines, animals, flowers, ornaments by using a torch to melt glass rods and tubes.Visitors can often see the blowing process or lampworking technique. On location, a beautiful selection of art glass and figurines is displayed for your shopping pleasure. http://www.blackhillsglassblowers.com/

Chapel in the Hills:

Nestled at the foot of the Black Hills, on the western edge of Rapid City, SD, the Chapel in the Hills is a quiet retreat open to all visitors. As a special ministry of the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the chapel reaches out to vacationers and local residents alike, who look for a place to experience God's peace in their busy lives.

The chapel itself is an exact reproduction of the famous Borgund Stavkirke of Laerdal, Norway. Our chapel was built in 1969 as the home for the Lutheran Vespers radio ministry. Today, visitors from all around the world find the chapel to be a place of beauty and inspiration. http://www.chapel-in-the-hills.org/

See bronzes of all of our nation's past Presidents. The Presidents are life-size, standing as pedestrians on the street corners of downtown.
Crazy Horse Memorial: Born in 1840 along Rapid Creek, Crazy Horse rose to become one of the most powerful and most recognized Native American figures of the Lakota Indian Tribe, second only to Sitting Bull. Cemented in history as a Native American war leader and fearless defender of Native American culture, territory and life, Crazy Horse has come to represent the freedom of the Native American spirit and the historic, continuing effort to preserve Native American culture within American society. His is an intriguing and vibrant legacy, inspiring the world’s largest mountain carving, currently in progress, right here in the Black Hills of South Dakota. https://crazyhorsememorial.org/

Custer State Park is a 71,000-acre vacation paradise with abundant adventure and scenic landscapes. The park is home to a diverse range of wildlife including bighorn sheep, antelope, deer, elk, coyote, prairie dogs and "begging" burros. The park also contains one of the nation's largest free roaming buffalo herds, making it common to encounter a "Buffalo Jam" while driving in the park. Custer State Park and South Dakota have been named one of the World's Top 10 Wildlife Destinations.

The park is also home to a wide variety of historic sites including French Creek, made famous when gold was discovered in the Black Hills, and President Calvin Coolidge’s Summer White House, the historic State Game Lodge. http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/custer/default.aspx   Custer is about 42 miles from Rapid City.