With the price of oil breaking $100 a barrel and no sign of it going down anytime soon many people in South Dakota have started to wonder what this will mean for this summer’s tourist season.

With places like Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Black Hills National Park, Deadwood and Sturgis drawing millions of tourists each year, tourism is easily one of the major sources of revenue for the state of South Dakota. With gas prices soaring though many are starting to wonder if this summer will be as busy as past summers.

Gas prices are nearly $3.50 a gallon and diesel is nearly $4.00 a gallon here in Spearfish, SD where I go to college. This is not only going to take a toll on tourism this summer but it is hitting the college students hard too. It has many college students finding creative ways to get their gas for cheaper.

One way that many have found to do this is by traveling 10 miles to Beulah, WY where gas is only $3.14 a gallon for all octanes. Most everyone that I know would rather drive the 10 miles for that cheaper gas than have to pay more for the gas here in South Dakota—and most do.

“It makes it harder to afford the things you need to live when you have to pay so much for gas,” said Lindsay Sparks, a 20 year old student at Black Hills State University. “As student’s we already have loans and rent and things to pay for, we shouldn’t have to choose between putting gas in our cars and food for our houses.”

Analysts have predicted that gas prices are only going to keep rising, so what will that mean for this summer? Will we see less bikers during the Sturgis Rally? Will less families come to see Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Black Hills National Park? Will gambling be on a downslide in Deadwood? Only time will tell—I’ll be keeping you all updated on what is happening throughout the summer.