About Rapid City
Located in the state of South Dakota in The USA, Rapid City is one of the developed cities in terms of tourism. The USA’s famous monumental mountain, Rushmore, rises in the borders of the city. With many natural and human-made products to travel to, Rapid City is the gateway to Badlands and Black Hills and gets its name from the Rapid Creek flowing through the city. Every year about 3 million visitors pass through Rapid City to discover the areas tourism heritage. Rapid City was established under the name ‘Hay Camp’ in 1876 when miners came to Black Hills to dig for gold. After the railroad was built in 1886, connecting the city to Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley, the city rapidly developed and in the end became an important trade center. The city has also been home to big farms and witnessed region’s most significant agriculture and livestock activities. Rapid City today, hosts rich mines in terms of tourism and is also of the niche cities developing congress tourism.
Other than tourism, showing activity in medium and heavy industries, the city is home to cement, weaponry, and computer hardware manufacturing factories. Mount Rushmore, the rocky mountainside of Black Hills where USA presidents; Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln; are found is of the first stops of touristic travels, Journey Museum, Badlands National Park, Chapel in the Hills, Dinosaur Park, Art Alley, Canyon Lake Park, Storybook Island, Reptile Gardens, Air and Space Museum, Museum of Geology and Miners Maze is of the other stops to visit. The city’s popular sport is the Great Motorcycle Rally. During this activity Rapid City’s entire touristic facilities reach their highest occupancy rates. The city, with a cold and warm climate effect, gets a good amount of rainfall yearly. Rapid City Airport is 14.4 km southwest to the city.
Transportation to Rapid City City Center from Airport
Rapid City Regional Airport
The distance between Rapid City Regional Airport and the city center is only 6 miles or 9 kilometers. Shuttles that are regularly departing from Rapid City Airport are considered to be one of the ideal means of transportation for passengers traveling to the center time. Unlike many other airports, you cannot always find a taxi in front of the terminal in Rapid City. If you prefer to reach the center of Rapid City by taxi, you should call the taxi by phone after you arrive at the airport and wait for a while in front of the terminal. On the other hand, airport shuttles can be easily preferred with their reasonable prices and continuous departures throughout the day.
Hotel shuttles might be another convenient alternative that you can use after landing at Rapid City Airport. The shuttles of the hotels located in the city center take their passengers from the front of the terminal to the hotel directly. Moreover, these vehicles are usually free. You can contact your hotel in Rapid City Before your journey for more detailed information, and ask for a shuttle to the airport terminal informing the hotel about your landing time.
Airport Shuttle
If you would like to travel to the city center from Rapid City Airport with one of the vehicles of Airport Express Shuttle services, serving in and around the airport, you need to call (605) 399-9999 or (800) 357-9998 beforehand and make a reservation. If you prefer to use RapidShuttle, another company that serves this area, you can contact 605 399 9999 and you can get to one of the shuttles that will help you get to the center quickly from Rapid City Airport. The fares for these services are 25 Dollars for a single passenger, 35 Dollars in total for 2 passengers, 15 Dollars for each passenger if the number of passengers is 3 or more. If you want to take advantage of the airport shuttles with your children, you have to pay 10 Dollars for children under 12. You can get detailed information about the travel fares that change from time to time by contacting the call centers of companies and reserve a seat to reach Rapid City. If you need to travel to places like Elsworth AFB, Hart Ranch or Box Elder, you will have to pay 30 Dollars for an adult single passenger, 40 Dollars for two and 20 Dollars for each passenger if the number of passengers is 3 or more. You must pay 10 Dollars for the children travelling with you in this route.
Taxi
Although not a preferred alternative, you can travel by taxi from Rapid City Airport to the city center. Unlike many other major airports, you might not find a taxi waiting for you at the airport exit. For this reason, if you want to come to the center by taxi, you may need to call one first and wait for a while. The fact that the airport is located just 9 kilometers from the center makes it affordable to travel to the city from Rapid City Airport by taxi. If you need to get a taxi at night, remember that different rates can be applied and you have to bargain with the drivers over the average fare if you need.
Hotel Shuttle
As in many parts of the United States, hotel shuttles are a priority choice for airport transfers in Rapid City. Although there are some exceptions, the hotel shuttles usually bring the guests to their hotel. Moreover, the duration of this journey is limited to only a few minutes, except under extraordinary circumstances.