Go beneath the surface and back in time with some of the Black Hills’ most fascinating family adventures. Explore remarkable cave systems, walk through historic gold mines, pan for treasure and come face-to-face with fossils and prehistoric discoveries millions of years in the making.
CAVES
Jewel Cave National Monument
Location: Custer, SD
Description: Explore one of the world’s longest known cave systems on a ranger-guided tour featuring sparkling calcite crystals, dramatic passages and fascinating underground formations.
Website: https://www.nps.gov/jeca/Wind Cave National Park
Location: Hot Springs, SD
Description: Discover one of the world’s longest and most complex caves, famous for its rare honeycomb-like boxwork formations and ranger-guided underground tours.
Website: https://www.nps.gov/wica/Rushmore Cave
Location: Keystone, SD
Description: A family-friendly guided cave tour featuring stalactites, flowstone and other natural formations beneath Rush Mountain Adventure Park.
Website: https://www.rushmtn.com/rushmore-cave/Black Hills Caverns
Location: Rapid City, SD
Description: Explore an underground network of passages and rooms filled with natural crystal formations on guided cave tours designed for a variety of ages and abilities.
Website: https://blackhillscaverns.com/Wonderland Cave
Location: Nemo, SD
Description: A historic Black Hills cave featuring more than two dozen underground rooms with stalactites, stalagmites, boxwork, flowstone and colorful crystal formations.
Website: https://wonderlandcavesouthdakota.com/
GOLD MINES & MINING
Broken Boot Gold Mine
Location: Deadwood, SD
Description: Step inside an authentic historic gold mine on a guided underground tour and learn about the miners, tools and techniques that shaped Deadwood’s Gold Rush history.
Website: https://brokenbootgoldmine.com/Big Thunder Gold Mine
Location: Keystone, SD
Description: Tour an original 1890s gold mine, explore historic mining equipment and try your hand at gold panning at this family-friendly Keystone attraction.
Website: https://www.bigthundermine.com/Black Hills Mining Museum
Location: Lead, SD
Description: Discover the story of Black Hills mining through exhibits, historic equipment and a recreated underground mine experience highlighting Lead’s rich mining heritage.
Website: https://www.blackhillsminingmuseum.com/
FOSSILS & PREHISTORIC DISCOVERIES
The Mammoth Site
Location: Hot Springs, SD
Description: Walk around an active indoor paleontological dig where the remains of more than 60 mammoths and dozens of other Ice Age animals have been discovered.
Website: https://mammothsite.org/Museum @ Black Hills Institute
Location: Hill City, SD
Description: A treasure trove for dinosaur lovers featuring fossils, dinosaur skeletons and skulls, minerals, meteorites and a full-size research-quality replica of the famous T. rex STAN.
Website: https://www.bhigr.com/museum/