Decorate Your Desktop with Our South Dakota Photos

Drive Needles Highway in the Black Hills for sweeping views of stone spires and pine forests. 

A storm rolls in to Spirit Mound in Vermilion, South Dakota.

Prairie flowers brighten the South Dakota plains.

Stepping off the beaten path in the South Dakota Badlands earns the adventurous hiker an intimate brush with this land of fierce, alien beauty.

Each year, nearly 3 million people visit Mount Rushmore in South Dakota's Black Hills. The granite sculpture features the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

At Custer State Park's annual Buffalo Roundup in late September, the herd of 1,300 cascades over the hills toward corrals. 

A nightly light show illuminates Sioux Falls' Falls Park each evening from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

With an average of 200 inches of snow a year, Spearfish Canyon and the Black Hills National Forest are two of the nation's top snowmobiling destinations. More than 350 miles of groomed trails and much of the forest is open to off-road snowmobiling.

Mitchell, South Dakota, is home to the world's only Corn Palace. Each year, new murals are created on the structure's exterior to celebrate the state's agricultural heritage.

More than 80 types of butterflies live at the Sertoma Butterfly House in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Kayak down Split Rock Creek or hike alongside to admire the Sioux quartzite formations bordering the water.

Sunflowers grow as far as you can see in Sully, South Dakota. The state is one of the nation's top sunflower producers. 

The moon glows pale yellow against the blue-black sky and the jagged landscape of South Dakota's Badlands.

More than 2,000 bison roam the Triple U Buffalo Ranch northwest of Fort Pierre, South Dakota.

A rainbow arcs across South Dakota fields.

Completed in 1910, South Dakota's neoclassical state Capitol is in Pierre. 

An old mining town in the Black Hills, the entire town of Deadwood is a National Historic Landmark. Old West-theme attractions include shows, museums, and tours of the town and surrounding areas. The Bullock Hotel, opened in 1896, still welcomes guests.

Prairie grasses are silhouetted against the sun bouncing off South Dakota's Lake Oahe.

South Dakota's Lake Oahe is one of the best lakes in North America for walleye. From south of Bismarck, the lake (actually a dammed stretch of the Missouri River) flows south for 231 miles to Pierre for a total of 2,250 miles of shore and hundreds of fish-harboring coves.

A young pronghorn antelope wanders through the grass at South Dakota's Custer State Park, also home to bison, deer, bighorn sheep, elk, burros and mountain goats.

Triangle Ranch Bed and Breakfast in Philip, South Dakota, welcomes overnight guests but is also still a working ranch.

Gold and green cover the dramatic cliffs of South Dakota's Spearfish Canyon.

Terry Peak, in the Black Hills just outside Lead, is the third-highest point east of the Rockies. Skiers and snowboarders of all levels enjoy multiple runs and a sizeable Terrain Park that includes a half-pipe.

Snow covers the rugged scenery in South Dakota's Little Spearfish Canyon.