Based in Rapid City Private tours Permitted where required
Planning feels easier with a local in your corner. Send a quick note and we’ll help you choose the right tour, then handle the details so your day stays calm and meaningful.
Founder and Lead Guide
I’m Daniel Milks, founder of My XO Adventures. My background is rooted in travel, history, and education, shaped by years of working across cultures and places that demand curiosity, respect, and context. Over time, I saw how often meaningful destinations were reduced to rushed itineraries and surface-level experiences. I believed there was a better way to travel, one that prioritized understanding, pacing, and genuine connection over volume or spectacle.
That belief became the foundation of My XO Adventures.
My journey eventually led me to the Black Hills and Badlands, landscapes that immediately felt both powerful and deeply complex. What started as exploration quickly became commitment. These places reward patience, timing, and knowledge, and they lose something when treated as drive-by attractions.
I built My XO Adventures here with the intention of guiding people through these landscapes in a way that honors their history, geology, wildlife, and cultural significance, while also respecting the communities and lands involved. While I say I did this alone, nothing happens that way. A humble and sincere expression of gratitude goes out to all those involved, especially my mother, Amiee, who speaks with each guest multiple times before their experience.
Today, every tour is shaped around how the day unfolds, not a rigid schedule.
My XO Adventures began in Sarasota, Florida in 2018, built on a simple belief: travel matters most when it feels personal. After years working for a large tour operator, I learned that trust, honesty, and follow through are what create great experiences. I also learned what I didn’t want to build, high volume travel that feels impersonal. I set out to create a boutique approach where guests are listened to, cared for, and guided with real intention.
In March 2020, while leading a group in Cuba, the world changed and travel shut down. I came home, stripped life down to essentials, converted my van into a mobile home, and drove across 38 states looking for a way forward. That journey led me to the Black Hills and Badlands, places with depth, beauty, and cultural significance that reward slowing down. I chose Rapid City as home and rebuilt My XO Adventures around private tours designed for calm pacing, real context, and meaningful connection to this region.
Today, My XO Adventures offers private Black Hills and Badlands tours rooted in thoughtful timing, genuine hospitality, and deep respect for the land and communities connected to it. The goal is always the same: a day that flows well, feels personal, and leaves guests with a clearer understanding of what they experienced.
My XO Adventures is shaped by both deep local knowledge and formal hospitality training. Before founding the company, I worked and trained within luxury hospitality environments, including Hyatt and The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida. Those experiences grounded my approach to guest care, attention to detail, and the importance of calm, well-paced experiences that feel personal rather than transactional.
That hospitality foundation now guides how tours are designed and delivered in the Black Hills and Badlands, pairing professional service standards with on-the-ground expertise in place, timing, and context.
• Founder and lead guide of My XO Adventures
• Formal hospitality training and experience with Hyatt and The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida
• Local expertise in the Black Hills and Badlands across all seasons
• Background in history, geology, wildlife, and cultural interpretation
• Certified Travel Counselor (CTC)
• IATAN accredited travel professional
• Member of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA)
• Operates with required permits and permissions, including U.S. Forest Service authorization
While I personally guide many tours, especially those that benefit from deeper storytelling or custom pacing, My XO Adventures is supported by a small network of trusted guides. When others are involved, they are selected for their local knowledge, professionalism, and ability to uphold the same hospitality standards, respect for place, and guest-centered approach that define every experience.
My XO Adventures was built around the idea that a great day in the Black Hills should feel personal, unhurried, and thoughtfully guided. Instead of running fixed routes or scripted experiences, we shape each day around the people we’re guiding and what they want to get out of it. If you’re curious how that approach compares across the region, our guide to the best private tours in Rapid City explains the key differences and helps travelers choose the tour style that fits them best.
Many of the tours we offer today didn’t exist in the Black Hills and Badlands until we created them. We saw opportunities to experience the landscape in ways that traditional sightseeing tours weren’t offering, and we built experiences around those ideas. Our Badlands Wildlife Expedition, Badlands Sunset and Golden Hour Tour, and Badlands Sunset and Night Sky Tour were designed to help visitors experience the park at the times of day when it feels most alive, from active wildlife and glowing landscapes to the quiet beauty that settles in after sunset.
These tours quickly became some of the most popular ways to explore the Badlands. Travelers were looking for something more thoughtful than a quick drive through the park, and these experiences delivered exactly that. By focusing on the rhythm of the land, the best lighting of the day, and a slower, more meaningful pace, these tours have grown into some of the most requested guided experiences in the region.
My XO Adventures operates as a permitted and professionally recognized tour company. We maintain the required permissions and industry credentials to ensure responsible access, uphold professional standards, and earn guest trust.
Verification includes a U.S. Forest Service commercial use permit, Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) credentialing, IATAN accreditation, and membership in the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA).
A private tour only works if the people behind it care about more than routes. These are the principles we guide by, in the Black Hills, the Badlands, and everywhere our guests place their trust in us.
Travel matters when it helps you feel more connected to a place, to history, to the people you’re sharing the day with. We design experiences that make space for curiosity, calm pacing, and real conversation.
These landscapes aren’t backdrops. They’re living ecosystems and sacred places to many. We operate responsibly, follow required rules and permissions, and guide with respect for wildlife, trails, and the communities connected to this land.
We welcome guests from all backgrounds and we lead with kindness and respect. Great guiding creates a space where people feel safe, seen, and comfortable asking questions, learning, and simply enjoying the day.
We aim to leave places better than we found them through responsible decisions, ethical partnerships, and community-minded choices. You can read more about our approach to this on our Corporate Responsibility page.
Hi! I’m Daniel Milks, the owner of My XO Adventures. I never saw myself traveling as much as I have, but I’m certainly grateful for it. My career began in 2011 as a sales agent, and I worked my way up through several directorships.
I absolutely love traveling for so many reasons. It’s in my lifeblood and integral to my life. My favorite place is the one I haven’t been to. Most of my offerings are based on firsthand experience in the places I visit. If you see it on the website, it’s because something personally touched me about the region, and I’m sure you’ll love it.
I’m a native of Erie, PA, and lived most of my life in Sarasota, Florida. Most recently, I’ve moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota, and I love it here. I spend my summers in the Black Hills providing the best private tours possible. During the cooler months, I’ll soon offer my international destinations.
I realize you’re looking for an experience above all else, which is what I offer. I personally escort each tour to ensure everything goes smoothly and to get to know you. My XO Adventures has quite a few repeat guests, and I give everything I’ve got to make that happen! 😉
My XO Adventures was built around thoughtful travel, personal connection, and meaningful experiences in the Black Hills and Badlands. These questions give you a clearer picture of who we are, how we guide, and what shapes the experience you’ll have with us.
My XO Adventures was founded out of a deep connection to the Black Hills and a belief that visitors deserve more than a rushed, surface-level experience. The goal has always been to create days that feel personal, intentional, and grounded in real knowledge of the land.
XO reflects warmth and connection. It symbolizes the kind of experience we aim to create — welcoming, thoughtful, and built around genuine human interaction.
When possible, yes. When additional guides are involved, they are carefully selected and trained to maintain the same pacing, tone, and guest-centered approach.
Slow down. Pay attention. Respect the land. Instead of checking off attractions, we focus on timing, storytelling, and awareness so the experience feels layered and meaningful.
Stories are chosen based on context. We blend geology, ecology, history, and local insight in a way that matches your group’s interests rather than delivering a fixed script.
Yes, with adjustments for weather and road conditions. Each season offers a different atmosphere, and we adapt routes to fit conditions safely.
Guests who appreciate thoughtful pacing, curiosity, and conversation tend to connect most strongly with our style.
When guests leave feeling calm, inspired, and more connected to the landscape than when they arrived. It’s not about how many stops were made — it’s about how the day felt.
