This past week, some of my family came from De Smet to vacation in the Black Hills. My younger cousins are still in elementary school. Of course, they were excited to see Mount Rushmore, you know, for the first time in real life! Not just on a map or in a book! And the idea of getting dressed up and taking old time photos at Woody’s in Deadwood was pretty exciting too.

I started thinking back about my family’s vacation to the Black Hills when I was a little kid. I had a blast, but there has always been something that has made me jealous of my older brother: A picture of him sitting on a giant tortoise at Reptile Gardens.

The Black Hills have plenty of opportunities to see all kinds of exotic animals, which you’ll probably love whether you’re an adult, a child, or just a kid at heart. I compiled a list of a few of the locations below.

Bear Country USA- Take a three mile drive amongst elk, reindeer, deer, wolves, bighorn sheep and, of course, bears (just to name a few).  Don’t be surprised if they come right up to the window!  The animals in Bear Country are hand-raised, making them comfortable around humans. (Keep in mind, tame and comfortable have two different definitions, so no matter how cute the baby bear looks, please don’t try to take him home). Take a look at their webpage to see some great pics and to see some bear cubs in action.

Reptile Gardens- More species of reptiles and amphibians are housed here than in any park in any other park or zoo in the world. Reptile Gardens has lizards, snakes, frogs, salamanders, alligators, crocodiles, turtles and tortoises. They even have a ‘Birds of Prey’ exhibit and a ‘Prairie Dog Town.’ Some of the more famous residents of the park are Methuselah the giant Galapagos tortoise, a komodo dragon and Maniac the crocodile.

The Roo Ranch- Yes, the Black Hills have kangaroos! As you may have guessed, they’re not indigenous to South Dakota, so the Roo Ranch is a great place for learning about the animals. The Roo Ranch has interaction pens for visitors to interact with the kangaroos and a nursery where joeys can be seen.  Over 60 kangaroos live at the ranch, along with creatures like chinchillas, hedgehogs, lemurs, sloths, etc. etc.

Well, I’m still pretty jealous of my brother’s Galapagos Tortoise pic. I guess that means the next time he comes out to visit, we’ll just have to make a trek to some of the animal parks and snap a couple pictures, maybe this time with a kangaroo!

Here’s some more animal-related sites in the Black Hills:
Old MacDonald’s Petting Farm
Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary
Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Sanctuary