Places To Go » Wall

January 5, 2009 6:45 PM

Welcome to Wall, South Dakota

A wide open welcome at Wall

Ice water, art, history, kitsch and stunning beauty await

Sitting 50 miles east of Rapid City on Interstate 90, Wall Drug and Badlands National Park make a surprisingly enjoyable day trip for visitors and residents alike.

Today, Wall Drug consumes most of the town’s Main Street. It has grown from what was a simple small-town drug store in the 1930s to a shopping emporium complete with a Western art gallery and clothing store, a bookstore stocked with a varied selection by regional authors, a fudge shop, rock shop and jewelry store.

Its claim to fame is, of course, many of its kitschy items that fit every tourist’s fancy — including jackalopes, turd birds and unique T-shirts.

Open year-round, it still houses a pharmacy, but it mainly caters to tourists, with as many as 20,000 visitors a day stopping at Wall Drug during the peak summer season.

Badlands beauty

While visiting Wall, be sure to take in the beauty of Badlands National Park. The park is open year-round, and the main entrance is about 10 miles south of Wall on S.D. Highway 240. This road, also known as the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway, will take you on a 38-mile scenic drive showcasing the park’s tinted spires and multicolored rock formations — mostly created by wind and water erosion.

Buffalo, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mule deer and prairie dogs may be glimpsed throughout the park.

The road has many pullouts for scenic vistas and offers marked hiking trails. One of the most popular trails is the 1/4-mile Fossil Exhibit Trail, which is wheelchair

accessible. Along the trail are exhibits of some of the 30-million-year-old fossils of three-toed horses, saber-toothed cats and giant rhinoceros-like beasts called titanotheres that have been discovered among the rugged landscape of the Badlands.

Within the park, the Ben Reifel Visitor Center includes natural history exhibits, books about the area and a film about the park. Next door, Cedar Pass Lodge offers a gift shop with pottery, beadwork and jewelry, as well as the traditional souvenirs. During the summer season, the lodge’s restaurant serves Indian tacos, trout, steaks and buffalo burgers. (There’s even a campground and small cabins for rent; call 433-5361 for more information.)

The Badlands Loop Road connects with I-90 at Exit 121. This is the east entrance to the Badlands. Just before you reach the interstate, you’ll see the Prairie Homestead, which is on the Register of National Historic Places and is one of the only original sod dwellings on display in South Dakota. The homestead gives a glimpse of pioneer life on the prairie and is open daily in the summer. Admission is charged. An adjacent gift shop features an extensive selection of Sioux pottery.

More to do

While in Wall, also consider visiting the Wounded Knee Museum, open 8:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m. daily, admission charged. Through a narrative format with photos and exhibits, the museum tells the story of the U.S. and Native American conflict in the late 1800s, and the resulting massacre on Dec. 29, 1890, of Lakota men, women and children. New exhibits are being added to the museum, including a children’s corner that will teach about Lakota life.

Wall is also home to the National Grasslands Visitor Center on Main Street two blocks south of Wall Drug. The center includes an exhibit room with information about the grasslands and wildlife common to the area. Educational videos about the region are also shown on request. Open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission is free.

Wall, SD 2008 Events

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Wall SD, Quick Facts

Quick facts Government: Mayor and council Sheriff’s deputies: 3 in Wall; 63 countywide Fire dept.: 28 volunteers Fire insurance rating: Class 5 City zoning ordinance: yes County zoning ordinance: Yes On the Web Chamber of Commerce: www.wall-badlands. » read more