3 FREE places to go with kids in Rapid City!

     Rapid City was quite overwhelming for us in that there is SO many great choices when it comes down to what to do. However, we decided that we wanted to keep our cost down on this little jaunt as much as possible so that narrowed our options some. We found time to explore 3 fabulous free places but I know there is more just waiting for our return trip!

Story Book Island

     Story Book Island is a children's theme park with hands-on playsets and storybook characters. Even without children, this is a fun place to stroll through! Weather permitting, it's open 9am-7pm daily in the summer. While there is no admission fee, donations are appreciated. I may have went overboard on pictures :).

Such a good reminder!

The first thing we had to do, is dig in the sand.

What a fun swing!

The 3 Little Pigs

Pooh and friends

Raggedy Ann & Andy

The princess on the left is my favorite :)

This rainbow actually had a pot of gold at the end!

101 Dalmations

The Cat in the Hat

Cinderella and her carriage 

This little train gave rides around the park for only $2 a ticket.

He was SO excited.

They all enjoyed it!

Noah's Ark

Jack and Jill

Jack and the Beanstalk

Fun slides

Bambi!

Loved the water fountains!

Smokey Bear

Cute little horses

In the belly of the whale.

Peter's Pumpkin

An old fire engine kids could play on.

This train engine had  lots of levers to pull and buttons to push. It was probably Ethan's favorite thing here!

Leaving, after 2 hours!

We had to cross the bridge of the Troll and the Billy Goats to enter and leave :).

Dinosaur Park
     There isn't a whole lot to say about this place except that it was really fun for the kids. There is a cute little gift shop across the road and we enjoyed a picnic there and topped it off with root beer floats. Makayla used some of her birthday money to purchase a South Dakota jacket as well.
     Once you walk across the road, you'll be climbing lots and lots and lots of steps to reach the dinos. I thought it was bad in 90* weather so it must be brutal in July and August! But, how often is there life-size statues that you are free to climb on?!

Pretty flowers

And some more!

The children were amazed at the size!

You could slide down this guy!

The biggest of them all!

Ethan said, "His engines not working!"

Big smiles all around.

Scary looking fellow here!

     We'd come here again since it was free. The kids loved it and it was neat but certainly not our favorite place.

North Dakota Air and Space Museum 
     The Air and Space Museum was not what we expected but we certainly enjoyed it. They have a lot of great exhibits and historical information. Of course, the kids loved all the real planes as well as the miniatures.   

Ethan was sure someone would give him an airplane ride :)

Some of these planes are so small it's scary to think of a person flying in them!

The bomb disposal suit  from WWII

A happy plane!

It was so hot, so I sat in the shade with these 3 while Eldon and Michael walked around and looked at the 15+ planes outside.

In front of each plane was a sign that told us what it was used for, how fast it could fly, and how high it could go.

We were impressed with how Michael hung in there and acted interested. 

     The Museum is right next to the Air Force Base and we saw a couple planes doing practice maneuvers. That was exciting, especially for the children! There is a free tour of the Base as well but we decided to save it until next time since our kiddos were exhausted at this point!

      What did I miss? If you've been to Rapid City and found great kid-friendly activities please let me know in the comments. If they're free it's even better!