Plenty to do in South Dakota's Black Hills

There's much more to do in the Black Hills of South Dakota than just admire Mount Rushmore. You can hike just about anywhere; explore caves; pursue trout; gamble in Deadwood, the old Wild West mining town where Wild Bill Hickok was gunned down; and see the emerging monument to Chief Crazy Horse.

Get a quick overview with the help of Black Hills Central Reservations -- www.blackhillsres.org/ -- and its brief capsules of information on towns, historical and cultural sites, and the area's many parks. They also offer help with reservations.

Don't worry about finding enough things to keep you and the kids busy. Visit Black Hills Tourist Info -- www.blackhillstouristinfo.com/ -- and look over Attractions and Entertainment, arranged by town.

And visit the Rapid City and Black Hills Convention & Visitors Bureau -- www.rapidcitycvb.com/ -- for help finding your way around the hills' biggest city, more tips on attractions, and Outdoor Recreation including fishing, bicycling, rockhounding, mountain climbing and camping. And golf.

Learn more about trout fishing from GORP -- www.gorp.com/gorp/activity/fishing/features/blackhills.htm -- including tips on streams to try.

Every visitor to the Black Hills goes to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial -- www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm -- the monumental presidential sculpture southwest of Rapid City near Keystone. The National Park Service suggests you plan on spending at least two hours on your visit.

Seventeen miles southwest of Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial -- www.crazyhorse.org/ -- is turning another granite mountain into an even larger memorial, to the Sioux chief.

One attraction you shouldn't miss is the Journey Museum in Rapid City -- www.journeymuseum.org/english/ -- which brings together collections of Plains Indian and pioneer history and culture, and the region's geology and archaeology.

Toward the southern end of the Black Hills at Hot Springs, budget some time for the Mammoth Site -- www.mammothsite.com/ -- where the remains of dozens of mammoths and other ice age animals have been excavated.