South Dakota is served by two major airports, Sioux Falls Regional Airport FSD, in the southeast, and Rapid City Regional Airport RAP, in the west. Sioux Falls Regional Airport is served by Northwest, United, Delta and Allegiant airlines. Rapid City Regional is served by Northwest, United, Delta and Allegiant airlines. Aberdeen, Watertown and Pierre also have scheduled commercial air service.
Two major interstates cross the state. Interstate 90 run east-west from Seattle, Washington to Boston, Massachusetts. Interstate 29 runs north-south from Kansas City, Missouri north to Winnepeg ,Manitoba, Canada. Additionally, federal highways running east-west include 12, 212, 14, and 18; north-south highways 85, 385, 83, 183, 281 and 81 also traverse the state.
South Dakota is not served by Amtrak passenger rail.
Weather & When To Go
South Dakota has four distinct seasons of weather, ranging from cold winters to hot summers. Temperatures can reach over 100*F almost 40 degress Celsius in the summer and average below freezing in the winter. Average humidity across the state ranges from semi-arid in the northwest to semi-humid in the southeast. Summers can bring severe weather in the form of thunderstorms, but most days are clear and sunny.
Summer Memorial Day/late May to Labor Day/early September is optimal for visiting many of the attractions in the state. However, weather can be mild in both the spring and fall months, and visiting outside of the summer season offers less traffic and opportunities for seeing springâs first blossoms or fallâs brilliant foliage. Very cold winter weather alternates with milder spells, and snowfall can be prevalent. December through early March is the best time to take advantage of several downhill ski areas, more than 1,500 miles of snowmobiling trails, ice fishing and other winter sports and activities.
During the summer months, South Dakota experiences approximately 15-16 hours of daylight each day. During the winter months, it averages to 9-10 hours of daylight. South Dakota observes two different time zones: Central Time in most areas of the state east of the Missouri River, and Mountain Time in areas west of the Missouri River.