Badlands Premium Executive Van Tour

Overview

Our professional guides provide you a memorable tour to the one of a kind Badlands National Park. You learn the history of the Badlands, the local Native Americans and western homesteaders.

We tour in comfort and style, in a 14 passenger Ford TurtleTop Executive Van. Leather reclining seats, huge side windows and a touring window above the windshield. No bad views as we travel and lots of stops for photos and restroom breaks.

And we also offer this tour in our wheelchair accessible Mercedes Sprinter Van . . . single wheelchair and 5 executive leather seats. Large side and front windows for great viewing. The handicap lift allows everyone to share in the roadsides stops and boardwalk trails.

Additionally we stop to visit Wall Drug and the Minuteman Missile Site.
*Please note: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Minuteman Missile is closed.

City: Rapid City

Fri 18 Jul

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $349.00

Make a reservation

Fri 18 Jul

Starting at $349.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Local guide

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Bottled water

National Park fees

All taxes, fees and handling charges

Snacks

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately

What To Expect

Delta-09 Missile Silo

From 1963 until the early 1990s, the missile silo at Delta-09 contained a fully operational Minuteman Missile, bearing a 1.2 megaton nuclear warhead. The Delta-09 missile silo was one of 150 spread across western South Dakota. In total there were 1,000 Minuteman missiles deployed from the 1960's into the early 1990's. Visitors can now tour the site daily. The launch facility consists of a silo 12 feet in diameter and 80 feet deep made of reinforced concrete with a steel-plate liner. The door to the silo has been welded and fitted with a glass roof, and an unarmed missile placed inside. For safety reasons, tours are not conducted underground. In addition to the missile and silo, visitors will see support structures such as antennas and motion sensors.

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Short stop at location of 1950'-60's Nuclear Missile Site. Small museum provides exhibits of the 'Duck and Cover' days. During the Cold War, a vast arsenal of nuclear missiles were placed in the Great Plains. Hidden in plain sight, for thirty years 1,000 missiles were kept on constant alert; hundreds remain today. The Minuteman Missile remains an iconic weapon in the American nuclear arsenal. It holds the power to destroy civilization, but is meant as a nuclear deterrent to maintain peace and prevent war. *No Tours on Sundays, Mondays & Tuesdays (Closed)

Badlands National Park

Badlands Loop Road (SD 240) is a spectacular way to see the North Unit of Badlands National Park. This two-lane paved road is wide and safe and does include viewing wildlife along the Loop Road. We drive carefully, stopping to use overlooks and pull-outs. There are over a dozen spectacular overlooks and trailheads, we stop at the best ones to explore and take photos.

Door Trail

A wheelchair-accessible ¼ mile boardwalk leads through a break in the Badlands Wall known as “the Door” to a panoramic view of the Badlands. You have the option to explore the trail. The maintained trail ends and continues onto Badlands bedrock, with yellow posts marking the primitive portion of the trail.

Ben Reifel Visitor Center

The Ben Reifel Visitor Center is the main facility in the North Unit of the park. You can stop by to talk with rangers, explore museum exhibits, check out the Fossil Preparation Lab, or visit the Badlands Natural History Association bookstore.

Fossil Exhibit Trail

The Fossil Exhibit Trail is a fully accessible boardwalk featuring fossil replicas and exhibits of extinct creatures that once lived in the area. The exhibits are tactile, so please feel free to touch.

Pinnacles Overlook

This view displays the expanse of the Sage Creek Wilderness area. On clear days, the Black Hills are visible on the horizon. Bison might be visible in the distance, in the valley below or the upper prairie to the northwest. This overlook is also a popular spot for Bighorn sheep to gather. This is also a lambing area for Bighorn sheep in late April to early May, so it’s not unusual to see lambs traversing the rocky slopes of the Badlands.

Wall Drug

One of the world’s most well-known tourist attractions, it’s hard to believe Wall Drug Store got its start with something many wouldn’t even turn their heads at today … the promise of free ice water. But in fact, the Husteads turned free ice water into a million-dollar idea with a little determination, quick thinking and a lot of signs. Signs with catchy jingles like “Get a soda . . . Get a root beer . . . turn next corner . . . Just as near . . . To Highway 16 & 14. . . Free Ice Water. . . Wall Drug” drew weary travelers into the small-town drug store to enjoy a refreshing break. Today, more than 2 million visitors a year stop at the popular roadside attraction for a meal or activity, 5 cent coffee, and ice water – which is still free.

The Black Hills

As we drive to the Badlands and back you will have distant views of the famous Black Hills to the west and the Prairie Grasslands to the east. And as we approach the Park you will be able to discern the barren dessert tables of the Park. Many stops for rest and bathrooms breaks.

Show 6 more stops

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (42)

mimiharvey247

May 2023

Let me start by saying that communication was flowing BEFORE the tour with Rich, the owner, about meet-up, etc…as we were not staying in Rapid City. When I sent a follow up email AFTER the tour, I have gotten no response and it’s been a couple of days now. Our guide, Joe, has a great review on the page and honestly, when I saw that he was our guide, I was very pleased. Joe is a very pleasant man and informative. A little soft spoken, at times it was hard to hear him from the back seat but aside from that he had suffered a fall, the night before and tweaked his abdominal area. We completely understood his discomfort, don’t get me wrong, we even suggested he not open and close the door as we were perfectly capable in doing so, ourselves. He did snap a couple of pics for us at Wall Drug and one (on his own phone) at Badlands. Most of the time, he stayed in the van. The van was not an executive van, certainly not like the photo representation. On a warmer day, it would have been very uncomfortable. The a/c was not cooling the rear end of the vehicle and my husband and I were the only passengers. On the ride back to Rapid City, my husband dozed off. Fortunately, I did not. When I noticed the vehicle weaving, I woke my husband and we asked the driver if he was ok or needs to pull over. He insisted that he was fine. Clearly, he wasn’t in his best form that day and I understand that he works for a living, as do we, and this was an expensive tour… Not worth the money for what we got, to be honest. Thankfully, it wasn’t a catastrophic event.

Response from Host

Jun 2023

Rich Watkins May 27, 2023, 08:40 PM I replied to your email right away. I didn't notice it was sent to Viator.no reply and not your email. FYI - Joe was removed from guiding. He went to a doctor and found out he had pulled muscles. He was given a Drs return to work. I still kept him out this week and hope he can return to guiding next week. Be Well - Rich Rich Watkins May 27, 2023, 08:42 PM Here is my reply to you on the same day. From Rich Watkins Add to address book To Viator Add to address book Reply-To [email protected] to address book Date Wed 14:05 WOW! Thank you so much for letting me know. I will investigate and find out if Joe is hurt. And if so he will need to heal before going out again. I'm so sorry that his tour caused you concern. Thanks again for letting me know! Be Well - Rich ------------ To our future guests - We are just like you . . . concerned about the safety of everyone . . . guests, employees and others. Please let us know if something has you concerned. We will always investigate to make sure that any safety situation is addressed. Thank you and Be Well - Rich

T8569PTellenl

May 2023

The tour was fantastic! Joe is a great tour guide. He is very knowledgeable and great to talk to. He really wanted to make our experience the best it could be. We had a great day! We’re looking forward to coming back and doing the stargazing tour.

Response from Host

May 2023

Hi. I'm very happy you enjoyed your tour with Joe. He will be providing some of the stargazing tours this summer also. Thank you for your review. Be Well - Rich

Sandy_W

Oct 2022

Excellent tour guide driver, loved the history of the area he shared, and the hike we took! Thank you.

Response from Host

Oct 2022

Hi Sandy - I'm glad you enjoyed your tour with Jeff. Thank you for taking time for your review. Be Well - Rich