Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills & Badlands [Paperback]

Barbara Tomovick (Author), Kimberly Metz (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Insiders' Guide | Publication Date: April 2000

The Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills and Badlands offers travelers, newcomers, and even locals the best, most comprehensive information on what's happening in the area. An Insiders' selection of the best places to dine, to sleep, to play, and to enjoy...it's the perfect traveling companion. Get the lowdown on Deadwood gambling, Indian pow wows, Devils Tower, Wounded Knee, and dozens of recreational opportunities, from rodeos to spelunking to hiking and more.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills and Badlands offers travelers, newcomers, and locals the best, most comprehensive information on what's happening in the region. The Black Hills - home to Mount Rushmore, the burial place of Wild Bill Hickok, and the site of Custer's last stand - and its Badlands are filled with natural and historic wonders. Trendy restaurants and rustic bars, sophisticated art galleries and annual powwows, and ghost towns and modern cities are just a few of the highlights of what this area has to offer. Use this guide to discover century-old wagon trail ruts or places to hike or climb, as well as opportunities for fun, shopping, and adventure. (6 x 9, 448 pages, b&w photos, maps)

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Insiders Guides; 1st edition (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573800562
• ISBN-13: 978-1573800563
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,146,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Travel > United States > States > South Dakota

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb travel guide, September 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills & Badlands (Paperback)

If you are going to the Badlands or the Black Hills, this book is a must have. On our recent trip, this book was an invaluable guide to getting around and I would highly recommend it. It saved us tons of time that would have been wasted just driving around.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this book for vacation planning!, August 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills & Badlands, 2nd (Insiders' Guide Series) (Paperback)

We bought this book only because the Moon Handbook was unavailable. We hoped to use this as a vacation planner. The book appears to have lots of information, but for us, interested in tent camping and hiking, with some in-town activities, the information was largely irrelevant. Things worth dwelling on--such as Spearfish Canyon--are mentioned with much less emphasis than the exhaustive coverage of shopping facilities, for example. The text is incessantly cheery and reads like a school newsletter. We would have preferred the intelligent critical evaluation that makes the Moon books such great reading--and such great resources.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre guidebook. Better than nothing, but poorly done., July 15, 2004

By 

Quickhappy "quickhappy" (Big city, big country) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills & Badlands, 2nd (Insiders' Guide Series) (Paperback)

My family just got back from South Dakota, where we used this book. I can't begin to tell you how far this book falls short. Want info. on hiking the Badlands? Forget it. Want to know about activities and food in Rapid City? You're pretty much out of luck.

The book's organization is atrocious. Restaurants in one place, lodging in another, attractions in another. So when you pull into a place, you have to flip all over the book just to figure things out.

Basics are missing. For example, say you want to know the best things to do in the Black Hills--it's very difficult to excavate from this book. Instead you learn about real estate, shopping, and many unneeded details. Hikes in the Black Hills? Forget it? How to tackle Wind Cave National Park? Little help.

After travelling around the world with opinionated and helpful Lonely Planet guides, I am sorely disappointed with this book. This book is definately better than nothing, but look elsewhere for help with your trip to beautiful South Dakota.