Hill City Travel Guide

The Heart of the Black Hills Hilly City is full of beautiful landscapes, interesting history and culture. It's the second oldest town in the Black Hills and is well located for exploring Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, and Custer State Park. Downtown Hilly City has stores, antiques and art galleries plus restaurants and wineries. There's a busy and vibrant scene here all year round.

Things to Do in Hill City

Cultural attractions in town include The Museum at Black Hills Institute (for fossils and dinosaurs), the Conservation Civilian Corp Museum, and the South Dakota State Railroad Museum.

You can get a taste of the 1880s on a steam train ride that runs between Hill City and Keystone South Dakota in the scenic Black Hills.There is a tour and the whole ride takes about two hours.

Head off to explore Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument and Custer State Park all easily accessed from Hill City. You'll also discover lakes nearby (ice fishing is popular at Pactola and Sheridan Lake) plus trails for hiking, biking and running, snowmobiling in winter, horseback riding, rock climbing, golf and fishing.

With local wineries you can also plan tasting tours or make sure you are in town for one of the fun events such as the Wine Brew BBQ.

Best Time to Visit Hill City

It's great here in summer, but fall also sees dry clear weather, perfect for visiting Mount Rushmore and getting the most out of the scenery.