The recent addition of daily year-round American Airlines flights to Dallas/Fort Worth from Rapid City, South Dakota in April, plus seasonal flights between Rapid City and Chicago brought the choices of air service to six airlines for visitors to the Black Hills.
But the news just got better today: United Airlines announced plans to extend its Chicago-Rapid City service to year-round, after running only seasonally in the past.
Rapid City Regional Airport is one of the fastest-growing airports in the nation, and one of the few that’s growing at all. Rapid City serves western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming as well as large portions of western Nebraska and North Dakota – an area which includes some of the nation’s best vacation playgrounds. Topping the list are the Black Hills, home to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse mountain carvings, Custer State Park, Badlands National Park, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and historic Deadwood. The surrounding areas include important Oregon Trail Sites such as Fort Laramie, Scotts Bluff and Chimney Rock, the Little Big Horn Historic Battlefield, Lewis and Clark Trail sites, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The added flights are good news for Black Hills travelers. Increased flight capacity is bound to increase visitation even more, a promising sign in any economy, but with other segments of the economy showing only sluggish growth the Black Hills are bucking the trend.
For travel packages to the Black Hills and western United States contact:
Rapid City, SD
800-888-8306
Shebby Lee is a historian, writer and tour operator specializing in the historic and cultural heritage of the Great American West. Her early training was in the theatre and she served a tour of duty as an entertainer with the USO. She is also an Admiral in the Nebraska Navy.