South Dakota

There’s no place like South Dakota. This small mid-western state is the land of faces and great places. It imbibes the spirit of America like no other state with its Old West history and modern-day adventures, wide open spaces and bustling cities. There are several out of the way places that must be visited in South Dakota to capture this intriguing spirit of the place. Sioux Falls is one of the safest cities in the states. Chamberlain is a beautiful place also along the Missouri River.

The Black Hills, highest mountains east of the Rockies, offer a lot for the tourist passing through the state. Mount Rushmore in this group, is famous world wide for the world’s greatest mountain carving by Sculptor Gutzon Borglum - the faces of four exalted American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. A memorial to Crazy Horse is also being carved in granite near Custer. When finished, it will stand 641 feet long and 563 feet high. Other tourist attractions include the Badlands, the World’s Only Corn Palace, in Mitchell; and the city of Deadwood, where Wild Bill Hickok was killed in 1876 and where gambling was recently legalized.

Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery & Aquarium
If your group is heading to the Black Hills, check out the unique attraction. The hatchery is strategically located on the Missouri River near Lewis and Clark Lake and Lake Yankton. Gavins Point NFH is one of 65 Federal Hatcheries and Fish Technology Centers operated nationwide by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The outfit’s primary responsibilities include raising endangered and threatened fish species, fish culture activities of other native and nonnative species, operation of the aquarium for public use and other public outreach activities, and the management of Lake Yankton fish populations.

The aquarium displays up to 50 native and introduced species in 13 large tanks and several smaller tanks. It also has several educational displays to help visitors learn more about fish. Open open daily from May to September and weekdays only during April and October. Contact: www.fws.gov/gavinspoint/