Pet Boarding in South Dakota

South Dakota offers some of the most dramatic scenery in the American interior. Mount Rushmore is the obvious landmark, but the Badlands — their striated, alien-landscape geology unlike anything else on Earth — are in many ways more spectacular and less crowded. The Black Hills in the southwestern corner of the state are genuinely beautiful, a granite island of forest rising from the surrounding prairie. Custer State Park hosts one of the largest free-roaming bison herds in the world. For people who love big, dramatic, uncrowded nature, South Dakota is a revelation.

Sioux Falls, in the state's southeastern corner, is South Dakota's largest city and its most economically vibrant — a regional hub that has attracted significant financial services industry and has a surprisingly sophisticated pet care market for its size. Rapid City, the gateway to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore, is the western anchor of the state's boarding market, serving a significant tourist economy. Pierre, the small capital on the Missouri River, has modest but functional options.

South Dakota winters on the plains are serious — blizzards can arrive quickly and temperatures can drop to -20°F or colder. The state sits in a zone where weather can change dramatically in a matter of hours, and facilities must be prepared for rapid onset winter conditions. Summers on the plains are warm and sunny; the Black Hills run slightly cooler and are spectacular for hiking from June through September. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August brings enormous numbers of visitors to the western part of the state — if you're traveling through that region in early August, book boarding very far ahead.