In the digital era, convincing teenagers to embrace a phone-free family vacation can be challenging. Social media and virtual realms captivate their attention, disconnecting them from the present moment. However, with proper planning and the use of this trip itinerary as your guide, you can experience all that the Black Hills has to offer for a family with older children. Here's how to foster meaningful connections during a long weekend getaway - leading to unforgettable memories for all.
Accommodations for our family vacation in the Black Hills
We stayed in the private Family Cabin at Campfire Cabins located just north of Pactola Lake, directly off of Highway 385, between Deadwood and Keystone, and would highly recommend this location for any trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We were within 20-60 minutes of everything we planned to see during our adventures in the Black Hills, making this home base very convenient. The Family Cabin had 3 bedrooms that would sleep 8 people total, 2 bathrooms, full kitchen, dining room, living room, and my favorite morning coffee spot - the front porch. If you have a smaller party, there are many other smaller cabins for groups of 4-6 people (amenities will vary). Each night, the owners of Campfire Cabins would provide s’mores supplies for a fun family evening around the community campfire - hence the name!
On our way out to the Black Hills, we stopped at Wall Drug in Wall, SD, for lunch and a quick walk around the quirky shops. (My 14-year-old daughter loved the chicken tenders so much, she requested to stop on our way back home too!)
After lunch we continued down Interstate 90, and after a long 6-hour drive from our home, the first stop of our family vacation was a hike to Devil’s Bathtub located in Spearfish Canyon. We entered the canyon through the north end by Spearfish and drove the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway until we reached the parking area for our hike. Keep an eye out — the parking area will be signed.
Pro tip: Wear water-friendly hiking shoes and clothes you don’t mind getting wet, as you will crisscross through a stream multiple times during this out-and-back hike.
Looking for a more leisurely hike? There are two less strenuous hikes that lead to waterfalls in Spearfish Canyon - Roughlock Falls and Little Spearfish Falls. These are much easier hikes for people of all ages and abilities.
Once we made it back to our car, we headed down the rest of the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway and through the hills to check in to our cabin and head to dinner. Our dinner spot for the first night was Sugar Shack, just down the road from Campfire Cabins on Highway 385. (My 13-year-old niece highly recommends the BLT!)
After breakfast at the cabin, we headed down the road to our first stop of the day: Cosmos Mystery Area. Your teenagers will be trying to figure out how Cosmos defies the laws of gravity well beyond this 45-minute group tour. (Please note this may not be the stop for you if you have balance issues or get motion sickness.)
It’s not a trip to the Black Hills without stopping at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. For this trip, we took some photos on the viewing deck and then did the Presidential Trail Loop hike. Before heading on to our next adventure, we grabbed lunch at Carver’s Cafe on-site at Mount Rushmore.
After lunch we headed towards Keystone for an afternoon of fun at Rushmore Tramway Adventures. We had the Ultimate Package for our teens, which included the aerial adventure park, 800 ft zipline, jump tower, 2 alpine slide rides, and 2 tube hill rides.
Pro tip: If your teen is afraid of heights, or if this is their first time on an aerial adventure park, I would highly recommend they take the easiest yellow route to begin with. But you might end up being surprised by their bravery!
For dinner, we headed into Rapid City to eat at the Firehouse Brewing Company. It also happened to be Rapid City Summer Nights, an open air concert every Thursday night during the summers in downtown Rapid City. (Note that Summer Nights will not be held in 2025.) Downtown also has the Presidential Sculptures, so we took a walk and turned it into a game, having the teenagers guess each life-sized president statue as we walked from corner to corner.
Our first stop of the day was Rush Mountain Adventure Park. We got the Ride Wristband for our teens, which included unlimited access to all rides for 24 hours from time of activation (during normal business hours). The teens' favorite rides included the Mountain Coaster and Wing Walker Challenge Course. (Sidenote: If anyone in your party is colorblind, they will have difficulty seeing the lasers in the Gunslinger 7-D Interactive Ride.)
We had lunch at Subway Express in the adventure park before heading down the road to Sylvan Lake, where our afternoon was spent hiking to Black Elk Peak. Black Elk Peak is a 6.4 mile out-and-back trail and is the highest elevation between the Rocky Mountains in the western United States and the Pyrenees Mountains in France. The smoke from the Canada wildfires impeded our view, but typically you can see views of not only South Dakota, but as far as Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota! Plan accordingly — this hike will take you approximately 3 - 3.5 hours to complete.
Long hikes not your thing? Take the short 1-mile loop hike that goes around the lake - the Sylvan Lake Shore Trail. Then spend the rest of your afternoon lounging on the beach and swimming in Sylvan Lake.
Once we made it back to the trailhead after hiking to Black Elk Peak, we headed on our way to dinner at Legion Lake Lodge via the incredibly scenic Needles Highway. After dinner, we enjoyed cruising the Wildlife Loop Road at sunset before making our way back to the cabin.
Before getting on the road to head home, we had one more stop planned at Bear Country USA. Having the bears and other animals walk right along side your vehicle can get even the oldest of teenagers engaged. At the end of the drive-thru portion, you are able to park and explore the Wildlife Walk area, where you’ll see baby bear cubs, wolf pups and more! Our teens loved watching the bear cubs play and could have stayed at that exhibit for hours.
Embarking on a family vacation with teenagers proved to not only be doable, but an also highly successful experience for all. Disconnecting from screens and embracing the beauty and adventure of the Black Hills allowed us to foster genuine connections as a family, and create core memories during these fleeting teenage years.
