South Dakota still does not have a Buc-ee’s, but the chain is getting closer to the state than it used to be.
For years, Buc-ee’s felt like something South Dakota travelers had to experience only on faraway road trips. The chain’s biggest presence was in Texas and the South, far from Sioux Falls, Rapid City and the long stretches of highway that define travel across the state.
That is beginning to change.
As Buc-ee’s continues expanding into new states, nearby access is improving. Kansas City, Kansas is getting a Buc-ee’s — a 74,000-square-foot store near the Kansas Speedway at I-70 and West Village Parkway that broke ground in October 2025 and targets a late 2027 opening. Nebraska has a confirmed Buc-ee’s in Gretna near Interstate 80, targeting approximately 2028. Gretna would put a Buc-ee’s about 360 miles from Sioux Falls — not next door, but meaningfully closer than anything that exists today.
So when could South Dakota get its own Buc-ee’s?
The most optimistic answer would probably be 2030 or later.
There is no confirmed South Dakota store, no announced site and no public opening date. Buc-ee’s has too many other projects already in the pipeline for a surprise South Dakota opening to feel imminent.
South Dakota’s highway case is stronger than it looks
Interstate 90 runs straight across South Dakota, connecting Sioux Falls, Mitchell, Chamberlain, Wall and Rapid City. It carries tourists heading to the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park and Yellowstone-area routes. Interstate 29 also gives Sioux Falls north-south traffic between North Dakota, Iowa and the Kansas City region.
Those are real road-trip corridors — and the state is more accustomed to roadside destination culture than almost anywhere in the country.
Wall Drug, which sits along I-90 in western South Dakota, has been doing something similar to what Buc-ee’s does since 1936: drawing drivers off the highway with hundreds of miles of teaser billboard advertising, then delivering a sprawling, carnival-like roadside stop that customers make a point of visiting. If anything, Wall Drug proves that South Dakota’s sparse highways can support destination-style travel stops. Buc-ee’s is a modern version of the same idea — different food, different branding, same fundamental proposition.
A Buc-ee’s near Sioux Falls could pull regional drivers and I-29 traffic from Iowa and Minnesota. A site near Rapid City could lean into Black Hills tourism. A location along I-90 near Mitchell (home of the famous Corn Palace) would be more remote, but it could become a landmark stop for long-distance travelers who are already making a day of the drive.
The obstacles: population and seasonality
Buc-ee’s needs heavy traffic, not just occasional tourism spikes. South Dakota has strong summer travel, but it would need enough year-round demand to support a massive store, large staff and huge fueling operation. Its total state population is about 950,000 — less than most metro areas where Buc-ee’s currently operates. Its largest city, Sioux Falls, has about 220,000 people. The traffic math requires significant through-traveler volume to compensate for a smaller local base.
Weather also matters. South Dakota winters are severe — blizzards, ice storms and sub-zero temperatures are routine across the eastern plains and the Black Hills alike. Buc-ee’s currently operates entirely in warmer or more temperate climates (its northernmost planned location, Oak Creek, Wisconsin, is only targeting April 2027). Managing fueling infrastructure, parking and staffing through a South Dakota winter would be new operational territory.
The more likely path
South Dakota becomes plausible only after Buc-ee’s builds out more of the Plains and Upper Midwest. Nebraska (Gretna, ~2028) helps. Kansas City helps. A future Iowa or Minnesota location would help even more — both would surround South Dakota with nearby Buc-ee’s options and prove that drivers in the Northern Plains respond to the concept.
For now, South Dakota is probably not being ignored as much as it is being outranked.
The state has the highways. It has the tourism. It has a legitimate roadside-destination culture going back nearly 90 years. What it does not have yet is the year-round density and nearby Buc-ee’s network that would make a South Dakota store an obvious next move.
When Gretna opens and Kansas City opens, the map will look very different for South Dakota drivers — and for Buc-ee’s planners looking at where to push next into the Northern Plains.
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