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South Dakota vacation rentals

Book unique homes, vacation rentals, and more on Airbnb

Top-rated vacation rentals in South Dakota

Guests agree: these vacation rentals are highly rated for location, cleanliness, and more.

Superhost
Apartment in Spearfish
Boutique 1BR Retreat | Walk to Restaurants/Coffee
Relax comfortably in our newly remodeled 1BR apartment! Conveniently located off the highway, it's a short walk to downtown Spearfish's dining, coffee, and shopping. Explore nearby parks, trails, and a grocery store, making it an ideal spot for your stay. Start your day with coffee or tea from the fully stocked coffee bar, cook with brand-new appliances or take in views of Lookout Mountain from the front porch. Thoughtfully appointed with upscale touches, our space ensures an exceptional stay.
$109 per night
Superhost
Cabin in Spearfish
Charming 1890's Log Cabin 2
Recently featured in 605 magazine, this Scandinavian log home was originally built in 1890 and has been remodeled with Black Hills pine beetle floors and reclaimed barn wood trim. Centrally located, within a block walking distance to 3 local restaurants, 2 blocks from spearfish creek bike path, 2 miles from spearfish canyon and within 60 miles of attractions such as Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Devils Tower and many more. This cabin has a private entrance, bathroom, kitchen and parking.
$90 per night
Superhost
Home in Spearfish
Private Farmhouse Studio
Enjoy a stylish experience at our private studio, located within walking distance to great eateries, a brewery, farmer's market, bike path, and Spearfish creek! Two sisters with a love for design renovated a small cabin into this cozy space for guests intending to explore the beautiful Black Hills. With a fully-equipped kitchen, this charming home is full of custom touches including a handcrafted barn door and bathroom vanity. Dogs allowed by PREAPPROVAL ONLY, please message for details!
$104 per night

Home rentals in South Dakota

Superhost
Home in Sturgis
Entire Home in the Black Hills
$130 per night
Superhost
Home in Rapid City
Clean, one-level living close to amenities!
$78 per night
Superhost
Home in Hill City
Cabin on 20 acre horse ranch w/goats & mini donkey
$225 per night
Superhost
Home in Rapid City
Private comfy house close to park & bike trail
$119 per night

Your guide to South Dakota

Welcome to South Dakota

The landscape shocks and awes in Mount Rushmore State, nicknamed for one of the country’s most iconic monuments. Bighorn sheep inch among brightly banded rock pinnacles in Badlands National Park. Some 70 miles west sprawls Custer State Park, offering twisty drives, cool mountain lakes, and some of the best wildlife viewing on the continent. Long to experience the prairie? Turn to Wind Cave National Park, one of America’s oldest preserves. Bison and elk roam the ancient grasslands blanketing one of the most complex cavern systems in the world.


The best time to stay in a vacation rental in South Dakota

Heat-seekers should aim to book one of the state’s cabins during summer, when daytime highs reach 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with night temperatures dropping abruptly to the 50s and 60s. Fall gets chillier before the severely cold winter conditions set in. Think substantial snow and average lows of 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr! For shoulder-season deals and sparser crowds, opt for fall over spring, which serves up more thunderstorms. However, February does bring the quirky Nemo 500 Outhouse Race, where fundraising contestants rally in human-powered shacks with at least one seat hole.

Late June kicks off with the FinnFest in Frederick, celebrating Nordic traditions including a wife-carrying championship in which the prize is the rider’s weight in beer! Also notable: the Fourth of July celebrations at patriotic Mount Rushmore, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August, and September’s Buffalo Roundup (part of the state park’s herd management). For Indigenous history and culture, there’s October’s three-day He Sapa Wacipi Na Oskate (Black Hills Pow Wow), which includes grass dancing.


Top things to do in South Dakota

Badlands National Park

Around 75 million years ago, a shallow inland sea covered what is now Badlands National Park. After this salty basin drained into the Arctic Ocean, erosion helped sculpt the terrain into an otherworldly riot of pinnacles, buttes, and gorges. One of the world’s richest fossil beds remains, capturing traces of the ancient horses, rhinos, and catlike animals with saber teeth who once roamed the grasslands. Today visitors are more likely to spot bison, bighorn sheep, and black-footed ferrets. If you need a little extra animal excitement, stop just outside the park. A 12-foot-tall concrete prairie dog looms there, near an enclosure with a colony of its live cousins.

Skeleton Man Walking Skeleton Dinosaur

The family behind 1880 Town inexplicably built this landmark nearby. A human figure leads his bony T-Rex buddy on a leash: a sight best viewed (carefully) from the roadside. Stretch your legs in earnest 16 miles east at Okaton, a prairie ghost town originally settled by railroad workers. Today you’ll see ramshackle houses, rickety fences, and rusting farm equipment, alongside traces of a failed attempt to monetize the haunting, picturesque spot.

Wall Drug

Eight miles north of Badlands National Park stands a humble 1931 pharmacy that transformed modern tourism. The Hustead family erected signs offering free ice water to drivers on Route 16. Soon their kitschy hand-painted billboards marched across the prairie and even further afield, cropping up in London, Morocco, and even Easter Island. Stop in to see the jackalopes and giant dinosaurs.