The Black Hills

This is an extremely picturesque area of granite, pine, green grass covering 1900 sq. miles.  Using the Pope's methods, the government called in the military to slaughter all native land owners. This allowed the big money in the east to send miners to the area for materialistic gain. After that was more or less finished, the indian agents who had successfully finished their job of killing any missed indians proceeded to turn the area into a tourist trap for future generations.  If you stay in the southern part of the park you will enjoy the scenic beauty of the area. Rapid City, not so much so, is just a tourist profit center. Note: South Dakota State Park does charge $15/car entry to Custer State Park. Also the pine beetle is at work and will very likely diminish the beauty of the area very shortly.