Corona South DakotaATTRACTIONS & THINGS TO DO
Listed below are the best attractions and things to do near Corona, South Dakota.
1. Hartford Beach State Park
LAKESIDE RECREATION AREA
Hartford Beach State Park offers beautiful lakeside recreation on the shores of Big Stone Lake. Visitors can enjoy swimming, boating, fishing, and camping facilities throughout the warmer months. The park also features hiking trails through scenic woodland areas, providing opportunities to observe local wildlife and natural beauty.
2. The Wharf
WATERFRONT DINING EXPERIENCE
The Wharf is a popular waterfront dining venue located in Corona, South Dakota. The establishment offers fresh local cuisine with spectacular views overlooking the water. Patrons particularly enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and seasonal menu featuring locally-sourced ingredients.
3. Breezy Point Picnic Area
SCENIC LAKESIDE LOOKOUT
Breezy Point Picnic Area provides a picturesque setting for outdoor gatherings with stunning views of the surrounding landscape. The area features well-maintained picnic facilities and walking paths along scenic overlooks. Visitors appreciate the peaceful environment and beautiful panoramic vistas of the lake region.
4. Big Stone Lake State Park
OUTDOOR WATER RECREATION
Big Stone Lake State Park spans the border between South Dakota and Minnesota, offering extensive water recreation opportunities. The park features excellent fishing, boating, and swimming facilities on one of South Dakota's largest natural lakes. Visitors can also enjoy camping, picnicking, and wildlife viewing in this tranquil setting.
5. Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AREA
Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area spanning over 11,000 acres along the Minnesota-South Dakota border. The refuge serves as an important habitat for migratory birds, native plants, and diverse wildlife species. Visitors can explore hiking trails, observation points, and auto tour routes while experiencing the natural beauty of the prairie landscape.
6. Mount Rushmore National Memorial
ICONIC PRESIDENTIAL MONUMENT
Mount Rushmore National Memorial features the carved faces of four American presidents—Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln—standing 60 feet tall on the granite face of the mountain. The memorial attracts millions of visitors annually who come to admire this monumental sculpture created by Gutzon Borglum between 1927 and 1941. Visitors can explore the Presidential Trail, museum exhibits, and evening lighting ceremony that illuminates the faces.
7. Crazy Horse Memorial
NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBUTE
Crazy Horse Memorial is an ongoing mountain sculpture project honoring the Lakota leader, which began in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski. When completed, it will be the world's largest mountain carving, depicting the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse riding a horse and pointing to his tribal lands. The site includes the Indian Museum of North America and the Native American Educational & Cultural Center, offering visitors insight into Native American history and culture.
8. Wind Cave National Park
UNDERGROUND NATURAL WONDER
Wind Cave National Park protects one of the world's longest and most complex cave systems, known for its rare boxwork formations. Above ground, the park encompasses 33,851 acres of mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine forest that provides habitat for diverse wildlife including bison, elk, and prairie dogs. Guided cave tours offer visitors the opportunity to explore various chambers and learn about the unique geology and natural history of this remarkable underground system.
9. Badlands National Park
DRAMATIC ERODED LANDSCAPE
Badlands National Park showcases a dramatically eroded landscape of colorful spires, buttes, and canyons formed over millions of years. The park preserves 244,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie ecosystem home to bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets. Visitors can explore scenic drives, hiking trails, and fossil exhibits that highlight the area's rich paleontological history dating back to the Oligocene Epoch.
10. Jewel Cave National Monument
CRYSTALLINE UNDERGROUND WORLD
Jewel Cave National Monument protects the third-longest cave system in the world, featuring over 208 miles of mapped passages. The cave earned its name from the calcite crystals that line its walls, creating a sparkling, jewel-like appearance under artificial light. Ranger-guided tours take visitors through chambers filled with unique formations including stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, and the distinctive hydromagnesite balloons.
11. Custer State Park
WILDLIFE AND SCENIC DRIVES
Custer State Park encompasses 71,000 acres of diverse terrain including granite spires, mountain lakes, and rolling prairie. The park is home to one of America's largest free-roaming bison herds, along with pronghorn antelope, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, and the famous begging burros. Scenic drives including Needles Highway and Wildlife Loop Road provide visitors with spectacular views and wildlife viewing opportunities throughout the Black Hills region.
12. Iron Mountain Road
ENGINEERING MARVEL DRIVE
Iron Mountain Road is a 17-mile scenic byway featuring unique pigtail bridges and three granite tunnels strategically designed to frame views of Mount Rushmore. The road, conceived by former South Dakota Senator Peter Norbeck, winds through towering ponderosa pines and iron-rich rock formations that give the mountain its name. Drivers can enjoy numerous pullouts and overlooks, including Norbeck Overlook which offers panoramic vistas of Cathedral Spires, Black Elk Peak, and the surrounding Black Hills landscape.
13. Wall Drug
ICONIC ROADSIDE ATTRACTION
Wall Drug is a famous roadside attraction that began in 1931 as a small pharmacy offering free ice water to travelers and has since expanded into a 76,000-square-foot shopping mall and visitor center. The sprawling complex features numerous shops, restaurants, a Western art gallery, and quirky attractions including an animated T-Rex, giant jackalope, and mechanical cowboy orchestra. Visitors from around the world stop to experience this unique South Dakota landmark known for its extensive billboard advertising campaign across the region.
14. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
COLD WAR MILITARY HISTORY
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site preserves components of the Minuteman II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system, a key nuclear deterrent during the Cold War era. The site includes a deactivated missile silo (Delta-09) and a former Launch Control Facility (Delta-01) that once controlled ten nuclear missiles. Ranger-led tours provide insight into the tensions of the Cold War period and the technology that kept missile crews ready to launch nuclear weapons at a moment's notice for over three decades.
15. The Mammoth Site
IN-PROGRESS PALEONTOLOGICAL DIG
The Mammoth Site is an active paleontological excavation site where visitors can observe real scientists uncovering the remains of Columbian and woolly mammoths that died in a natural trap over 26,000 years ago. The indoor facility protects the sinkhole where more than 61 mammoths and 85 other Ice Age species have been discovered since excavations began in 1974. Guided tours, exhibits, and a working paleontology laboratory offer visitors a unique opportunity to witness ongoing scientific research and learn about Pleistocene megafauna.