Wall Drug

Wall Drug began as a struggling pharmacy and grew into one of America's best-known roadside attractions. Ted and Dorothy Hustead bought the only drugstore in Wall in December 1931, and business was slow until Dorothy suggested advertising free ice water to travelers crossing the prairie. Roadside signs modeled on Burma-Shave advertisements went up, and drivers began to stop. Today the store draws more than two million visitors a year, and up to twenty thousand on a good summer day, according to its own history. Inside you will find a restaurant that still serves five-cent coffee, free ice water, a maze of gift shops, western wear, a pharmacy and a backyard with a T. rex and other photo-friendly attractions. It is cheerfully commercial and entirely without pretension, which is part of the charm. Entry is free, and the store is a natural pairing with a Badlands day, since it sits only a short drive from the Pinnacles entrance.

The history makes the visit more interesting. The signs that started the legend spread across highways and, over time, across the world, creating a running joke that Wall Drug is on the way to everywhere. The Husteads also made a tradition of offering coffee and donuts to military personnel, a practice that began with Air Force travelers heading to and from Ellsworth Air Force Base and continues today.

The family's story of a risky business bet that turned into a landmark is told in displays around the store, and the whole place reads as a museum of roadside Americana as much as a shop.

Plan around the crowds. The store is busiest in summer, particularly midday and in the weeks around Sturgis in August, when motorcyclists crowd the interstate and the town. Early morning and late afternoon are quieter, and you can walk through the shops at your own pace. Hours vary by area: the restaurant and the shops open early and close in the late afternoon, and the pharmacy keeps weekday hours, so check the current schedule before you arrive.

Prices for meals and souvenirs vary, and the free items, notably ice water, are generous enough to make a stop worthwhile even on a budget.

Use Wall Drug as a hinge for the day. It makes an easy breakfast or lunch stop before or after the Badlands Loop Road, and it is the last practical shopping and fuel stop before the park if you are arriving from the west. Families enjoy the dinosaur, the animated displays and the old-fashioned soda fountain atmosphere, while adults can browse western goods and local crafts. If you would rather not drive, the shared Badlands and Wall Drug tour on this page combines both in a single day trip from Rapid City.