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Sign in with FacebookLatest Wall hotel reviews
Pro
Great little community on the edge of the Badlands
Con
Getting here is not always easy. The airport is limited.
In a nutshell
Enjoy the scenery and the town . You have traveled far enjoy it!
Toughluck Says: The 'badlands'! They claim that until these badlands became known around the world, there was no consistent name for this type of landscape. Now, there are badlands in North Dakota and Alberta (Canada), as well as Turkey.Go to my Badlands National Park%l page
Minuteman Missle National Historic Park
Toughluck Says: The ICBM program was one of three programs to counter a Soviet threat during the Cold War Years of (1946-1995). All three programs continue, but the START Treaty of 1995 (?) called for the elimination of many delivery vehicles. As a part of the treaty, each nation was allows...
apbeaches Says: After 100 miles of road signs we were happy to get to Wall Drugs. It was a fun, silly stop between attractions for lunch, a maze of gift shops with everything from western wear & gear, toys, home goods, tee shirts, magnets, yes a pharmacy and free ice water.
DSwede Says: Due to the simple word of mouth advertising, the bumper stickers and road-side billboards for hundreds of miles, Wall Drug became popular with almost sort of a cult following.As time went, many people started sending their photos from all corners of the world, all with a...
vincentf Says: If you're on the I-90 between Rapid City and Badlands National Park, you will go through Wall. Wall Drug Store is the biggest drug store in the world and even offers free ice water!
Redlats Says: Of course, Wall Drug has rows and rows of tourist souvenirs, and all sorts of things to keep you there for longer than you planned. Another set of rooms I remember was the old west town - with all sorts of machines to put your money into and listen to the honky-tonk music,...
Wall Drugs - Signage near and far
Redlats Says: If you are on your way to Rushmore, you start seeing Wall Drug signs 100 miles from Wall SD, There are more and more as you get closer to Wall - including WALL DRUGS plastered over parked semi's on the side of the road.It subliminal. You have to stop at Wall Drug. The...
BLSM Says: Inside Wall drug, there is a court yard with the free ice water and and minature old west town and other stuff for picture taking. This is the Famous South Dakota Jack-a-Lope.
thecatsmeow Says: Wall Drug is known throughout the world believe it or not. The family that runs it gives away signs to everyone so that you can advertise for them in a sense. I have several. Check out the website for more info about the signs.The drugstore takes up 2 city blocks and is just...
1 Review and 41 Opinions There are a number of chain motels in Wall; I also stayed at the Super 8 the first night, which was...
78 Opinions
Cactus Cafe & Lounge: Salad Bar
apbeaches Says: It was nice to find a salad bar; there was a nice selection of fresh veggies and prepared salads. The lunch buffet was $8.99 and we were one of the few weighing under 300 lbs. The regular, pepperoni, mushroom & also sausage pizza was a nice change but not inspiring. There...
Wall Drug Cafeteria: Tourist trap nibbles
DesertRat Says: After an hour of pawing through souvenirs and other tourist-oriented junk at Wall Drug, the Cafeteria is a nice place to unwind. The dining rooms are quite attractive with real leather in the booths, aged knotty-pine paneling, and local ranchers' cattle brands burnt into the...
WFTR Says: Those who read many of my travelogues will know that I love to sit in a Dairy Queen eating a Blizzard and writing in my travel journal at the end of a long day. In the fall when the place isn't too crowded, the Wall Dairy Queen is a pretty nice place to sit and write.
Helpfulness
Getting around Wall's no problem. You can walk. But getting to it, you'd better have a car. There are at most two Jackrabbit Lines buses that stop here each day on runs between Rapid City and Sioux Falls, but the schedules are lousy, and you'll have to be prepared to stay overnight.
By car, of course, it's no trouble at all. Located just 54 miles (ca. 84 kms) east of Rapid City, it's a bit under an hour between the two along I-90.
Written Jan 30, 2004
Helpfulness
Wall Drug sells a whole lot of overpriced junk aimed at tourists passing through. (See my more detailed description under Tourist Traps)
What to buy: Do what the locals do: Buy Levis, shoes, and prescription drugs at Wall Drug. The drugs are the cheapest in a good 100 mile radius. As for Levis, since the locals wear 501s on the outlying ranches, the prices are kept at a reasonable level. The same goes for things like boots and moccasins. You'll find a first-rate selection of both styles and sizes. If they can't fit you in a pair of mocs or boots, you probably won't find any place else in the state that can, either.
Written Jan 30, 2004
Address: Main Street, Wall, SD
Website: www.walldrug.com
Helpfulness
If you can time it right, try to be in Wall on the 10th of July, which is an annual event that only peripherally has anything to do with the local tourist trade. This is an authentic SD celebration with a parade that starts about 10:00 a.m., a "carnival" (a roving fun fair), barbequed beef lunch in the Legion Hall, and a rodeo in the afternoon, and a dance, also in the Legion Hall, at night. Don't expect anything fancy; it's not. However, it will certainly give you an insight into how the locals live, work, and celebrate. The local high school uses the opportunity to stage class reunions that day, too, so you'll see "floats" in the parade with members of graduating classes going back to the 40s or even before. This is a bit of Americana that you won't likely run into if you're not aware of it.
Written Jan 30, 2004
truffy1024 Says: The signs go on for miles but don't stop! Wall Drugs is a drugstore made into a mall. There are multiple stores within the store selling everything from cheap toys to Indian moccasins to tourist t-shirts. The only thing they want is your money. Eat at the restaurant and...
Wall Drug, a monument to high American kitsch
DesertRat Says: On one level Wall Drug in the tiny town of Wall, SD, on the edge of Badlands National Park is a tourist trap, what with its Six Foot Rabbit (actually a stuffed burro), the tacky Cowboy Orchestra and Chuck Wagon Quartet (glassed-in tableaux with animated, life-size statues).....
Helpfulness
Wall Drug
I can't judge Wall Drug harshly enough to call it a tourist trap, and I don't want to elevate it to the status of 'must see.' It's hardly 'Off the Beaten Path' because it has put Wall, South Dakota on the map, but I think this category is best for it.
Wall Drug may be a drugstore in some sense of the word, but mostly it is a huge souvenir shop. I've walked through the official Wall Drug once, and I found bins upon bins of every kind of souvenir stuff that one can imagine. Many people are turned off by the whole Wall Drug empire. Wall Drug has rented billboards along I-90 for hundreds of miles on each side of Wall. The average tourist driving to South Dakota will start seeing these signs a day or two before arriving. If one is inclined to be stuffy about these things, Wall Drug is a tourist trap specializing in the worst kind of crass commercialism. I just think it's kinda funny. When I was there, I bought a Wall Drug Frisbee and sun shade for my truck.
There are other little shops along the 'main drag' in Wall although I don't believe all of them are owned by Wall Drug. I bought some gifts for my family in a western shop across the street from Wall Drug. I'm sure that these things are slightly overpriced, but they aren't too bad. I guess the short version is that I think Wall is kinda cute in its own way.
Written Oct 4, 2002
Ice : Give it and They Will Come
DSwede Says: Any person who visits Wall will be amazed by its size (nearly two blocks). Most visitors will remember that they give out free ice water, but few know why. The history goes that when Wall Drug was first started in the rural area business was hard, particularly in the...
BLSM Says: Lots of soveniers, western stuff and Western scenes. Also a soda fountain. Not really a drug store any more. These picture were taken in late Sept after the tourist season was officially over. During the summer you have to hunt to find a parking place.The main enterance is...
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If you are on your way to Rushmore about to pass through the Badlands, you have to go to Wall Drug. There are so many signs, you have to go, just to see if it is worth all the advertising.
Wall-How many miles away are you?
Wall, SD has always been a stop for us whenever we have been in the area as I was growing up. The main reason for going was of course Wall Drug but the town is a nice little community in itself....
Can anyone tell me where I took this photo from? The prize has yet to be determined... Distance is noted as 12,100km (7518 miles). [calculated by http://www.indo.com/distance/]
Wall is a little town on I-90 with a big marketing budget. For miles along the interstate in both directions, one can see signs advertising the famous Wall Drug. I'm sure that it can be a madhouse in...
Wall is pretty much a tourist town. Wall Drug is a almost five block area of tourist stuff. The main street is also more restaurants and western stuff. Don't forget to get you free Ice Water at Wall...
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