Well done! Very informative displays and easy to navigate. QR codes at each site play a narrative…read moreof what you are looking at during the self guided tour. Takes about 1-2 hours to see everything. Gift shop is okay and there is a snack shack out front selling hotdogs/hamburgers/ chicken strips and nachos. I would highly recommend stopping by The Mammoth Site if you are in the area.

Well worth a visit if you like science and have an interest in fossils. Very interesting how this…read moresite was discovered and fossils recovered. Nice displays and exhibits.

This Museum is a must visit. Every time you go you learn something new. Frank Garcia,…read morePaleontologist welcomes you each time you come visit, and will tell you stories about his life, discoveries, and show you things you never thought you'd ever see in your lifetime. I will always have this place in my heart, definitely will return and visit again! The gift shop had wonderful crystals, fossils for sale at reasonable price as well, we left with a few treasures.

Don't let the industrial exterior scare you away. The building may look small from the outside but…read moretons of fossils on display with a separate attached shop where fossils and gems can be purchased. We were lucky enough to meet Frank Garcia himself, who gave us an impromptu tour and explained much of the history to how the fossils were found by him during his long career. Yet another place here in hot springs that blew past our expectations. Another quick visit that turned into a much longer and engaging visit. The other staff are very knowledgeable also. Definitely worth the price of admission.

**June 2025: Monday Afternoon Visit**…read more When I was researching things to do in and around Hill City, this shop/musuem came up highly recommended. Hours: 9am-6pm Adults $7.50 Admission There's parking right alongside the museum and on my visit the area was not very busy. The museum is very small and I think the gift shop is actually the same size or slightly bigger than the exhibit; however, they had a pretty impressive selection of T-Rex skulls, other dinosaur bones, and misc fossils. Some were real and some were accurate size replicas, but the size of these dinosaurs were pretty intimidating and honestly I'd probably be terrified if these ever came to life. I think I spent maybe an hour or so inside reading all the cards and seeing all the bones. I think if you're looking for things to do you could add this, but it would be a if I had extra time in my South Dakota agenda. Enjoy!

My son is a big dinosaur fan (well, let's be honest, I am too) so of course we had to stop by here…read moreduring our MEA Fall Break vacation in 2021 to South Dakota. They were closed on the first day we tried to come (make sure to check time availability) but we wanted to check this place out so we made another trip from Rapid City on another day. This place isn't very big but they pack a lot of specimens into it. I was impressed by how many T. Rex specimens they had on display and the variety of dinosaurs shown. I had watched the Dinosaur 13 documentary a few months before coming to this place (it is actually how I found out about it) so it was interesting viewing this place and the town from that narrative. My kids were fascinated by the scale of the fossils and had a blast getting up close to the fossils. You have to pay admission (moderate price per person) to see the fossil displays but you can walk around the gift store for free. The gift shop is stocked with so many dinosaur lover gifts and fossils and was a big hit with the family. It made for a fun afternoon. Tip - Make sure to visit the giant open pit mine in the next town over, we made a day of visiting both.

As little house on the prairie fans we had to stop and see what they had preserved from Carrie…read moreIngalls. They had a room filled with curated items that we saved prior to Carrie's house burning down. They also have a room filled with local keystone historical items from both settlers and Native Americans. GPS brought us close but not directly to the location but we could easily see how to get the last few hundred feet. Another hidden gem. The volunteer at the door helped guide us and gave us background that wasn't written on any of the exhibits. The classrooms upstairs look like the students just left the room. Great place to visit for local history.

Great place with great volunteers So neat to learn so much…read moreabout Keystone, and Carrie Ingalls

Visiting the Crazy Horse Memorial was one of the highlights of our trip to South Dakota. While the…read moremountain itself is absolutely impressive, what made this experience truly special was learning the incredible history and vision behind it. We stopped to watch the documentary before exploring, and I'm so glad we did. It not only explained the history of the memorial and why it was created, but also introduced us to the Ziolkowski family and the multiple generations who have dedicated their lives to carrying this dream forward. Their commitment, sacrifice, and passion are inspiring and gave us an entirely new appreciation for everything we were seeing. There is so much to experience beyond the monument itself. The grounds feature several souvenir shops, museums, a spacious restaurant/café, and a convenient grab-and-go snack area, making it easy to spend several hours exploring. One of my favorite parts was watching the Native American cultural performance. Native women and girls performed beautiful traditional dances representing different tribes and ceremonies while explaining the meaning, history, and purpose behind each dance. It added a rich cultural dimension to the visit and made the experience even more meaningful. Walking through the sculptor's original home and studio was fascinating. It truly felt like stepping back in time. Standing in the very rooms where the family once lived and worked gave us a genuine appreciation for the dedication and humble beginnings behind this monumental project. The Native American artwork and exhibits throughout the visitor center were also beautiful and well worth taking your time to enjoy. Watching the mountain being carved while learning about the engineering, the progress made over the decades, and the enormous commitment required to complete such an ambitious project was remarkable. It really makes you appreciate the scale of what they're accomplishing. If I had one small suggestion, it would be that I wish the visitor facilities were located closer to the mountain itself. The main lodge and museum are set back quite a distance, so if you want a close-up view, you'll either need to take the bus tour or use the viewing binoculars. That said, it certainly didn't take away from the experience. This was a destination I had been looking forward to visiting for a long time, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations. If you appreciate history, Native American culture, art, engineering, or simply witnessing an extraordinary vision being carried on through generations, the Crazy Horse Memorial is a place you shouldn't miss.

+ Fascinating memorial. The Lakota Sioux present that, besides neighboring Mt Rushmore…read morecommemorating US American heros, the Native Americans had heroes too. . It's just unfortunate that because they reject US gov't funding, construction continues to proceed very slowly. - Disappointed to discover we can't get any closer to the monument than the visitor center without taking a bus tour (extra $5). That means no solo driving up there, no hiking. Thus, not quite worth the obligatory $15 fee just to enter the visitor center grounds. + Pleasant ambience. + Still a nice viewing balcony right behind the visitor center museum. + Ample parking. + Located near many other exciting tourist attractions of the Black Hills, including Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park, and Needles Hwy.

Great little museum, and the gift shop is wonderful. Beautiful jewelry at great prices, and the…read morestaff was so helpful and patient with us as we looked thru everything! Highly recommend!

They are not accommodating to people with medical exemptions for masks. I brought my 4 kids for a…read morefun field trip because they love dinosaurs so much, but we were turned away at the door because I'm not able to wear a mask. They offered a face shield as the only option. That is discrimination against people with disabilities and I will not be supporting this museum in the future.

We had a fun couple of hours going through the old buildings and looking at the old time…read morememorabilia. There is so much to read and learn about the Old West. Staff was very nice and helpful. We definitely would bring others here. It was a lot of fun. Excellent photo opportunities.

So much fun, only a couple of other people here so we could walk around feeling like we owned the…read moretown, get great photos and read all the interesting snippets of historic information scattered among the thousands of artifacts. The owner is dressed up as Poker Alice, and looks like her. There is a town building for everything, over 50 in total. The town is designed around history, humor and old fashioned horse sense. The doors of the buildings are open so people can experience the feeling of pioneer living. This really is an amazing acquisition of artifacts, junk and dust down to meticulous detail. It's wonderful and worth every penny to get in. If you are expecting a fancy museum all pristine and clean then you and your granola need to stay at home. Pioneer living was a grim dirty business.

I got the chance to visit this museum after a business trip and was impressed by the collection of…read moreassorted artifacts they had. Was fun to learn, even for a lifetime resident of the state.

We visited the museum as part of Operation Black Hills Cabin. I highly recommend it. Great small…read moretown feel with a lot of local history. There are three floors and an outside display area. Also has a small gift shop and book store with local books.

Museum is in the old courthouse with displays outside, too. It has many taxidermy displays, Indian…read moreartifacts plus tells when when General George Custer first arrived in SD/Black Hills. Items miners used for panning for gold, household items that were with the pioneers, etc. upstairs is the court room and a video on the museum . The basement has all the sheriffs from the territory and county. The gun and knife display is interesting. Besides the courtroom upstairs, there are the tools used for logging. The museum has a small gift shop. Highly recommend a visit to the museum.