29-05-2025
Travelers gateway to the Black Hills: Wall, SD
Wall, S.D. (KELO) — Any trip this summer to the Black Hills needs to have Wall, South Dakota, on a places to see list.
Measles inching closer to South Dakota
This town sees thousands of visitors each day.
For many, summer kicks off after Memorial Day Weekend. However, for Wall, guests start arriving as early as late April.
'Kind of preparing people to stop here in Wall, but once they get here we definitely have the Badlands and that's well known. We get a lot of travelers that will come through the Badlands, see the Badlands, then come through Wall and stay in Wall and then kind of finish through the Badlands to the Black Hills, ' Wall Chamber Executive Director Ali Webster said.
Mary Williams, the current and first female Mayor for Wall, has seen an evolution over the years as more people continue to show up.
'Welcome to Wall is what we say to the new faces that come and yes Wall Drug since 1931 has made this community an international destination because of their billboards they have world wide,' Williams said.
Wall Drug struggled at the beginning. However, after putting up their famous signs, the business began to grow by first handing out free water to people going through the Badlands. Now that growth is seen a few generations later.
'Ted went and hired a high school boy and lettered the sign, went out and put it up and before he got back to the drug store, the first customers had already stopped. They were giving out free glasses of ice water, they were selling ice cream cones, Coca-Colas, snacks and knickknacks and instantly they weren't going broke anymore,' Wall Drug Chairman Rick Hustead said.
Over the years, Rick's father Bill Hustead constructed the Wall Drug seen today and increased its size from roughly 4,000 square feet to now 76,000 square feet.
'And you'll notice in our community we have paved streets throughout town and that's important for us to give our visitors just a very inviting look when they drive into our community,' Williams said.
So far, Williams has counted people from 37 different states that have already visited this season, with around a dozen different countries represented as well.
'Constantly growing, constantly shifting, to how we meet the needs of the people who are coming here. Do we need to build new hotels, do we need to renovate hotels that are already existing? Just trying to keep it a pleasurable experience for all of our visitors,' Webster said.
In addition to seasonal staff, several people who grew up in the area have returned to take over shops and businesses from previous generations.
'And they're taking over businesses in the agricultural area, as well as the tourism area. So yes, Wall Drug is in their fourth generation, and we've got other main street businesses in that same manner,' Williams said.
Wall Drug itself employs close to 200 staff to help it navigate its busy season
'We believe we're the best roadside attraction in America and we want to keep that title. We want our customers to have a great experience, enjoy Wall Drug and keep them coming back generation after generation,' Hustead said.
Wall averages around 10,000 to 15,000 visitors each day, who stop by to eat, shop or just take in all that Wall and Wall Drug have to offer on their travels.
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