What's Good, Black Hills?

Guide: See Mount Rushmore for Free

August 27, 2025
Head to Norbeck Overlook and take advantage of this local hack.
- Location: About 6 miles south of Keystone; 30 miles southwest of Rapid City; 20 miles northwest of Custer
- Duration: Two hours+ round trip from Rapid City. 90+ minutes from Custer
- Must-brings: Your eyes. Binoculars. A camera with a telephoto lens, if you’ve got one.
- Dogs allowed: Leashed.
- Why go: Getting a peep of Mount Rushmore is a must-do, even if it’s a quickie from a distance.
Maybe you’re just cruising through the Black Hills and don’t have time to stop and explore Mount Rushmore. Or you’ve visited before and want to get a unique perspective. Or, perhaps you’re a fan of the TikTok trend that’s presumably paying homage to this moment in National Lampoon’s Vacation where people show up, take a look at Mount Rushmore and then say, “Okay, we’ve seen it. Let’s go,” then turn around and leave. Whatever the case, sometimes you just ain’t feeling like committing to the entire Rushmore experience,

I understand and I got you.

Just one of many things named in honor of Peter Norbeck, an important South Dakota political figure of yesteryear, the Norbeck Overlook is a scenic point from which you can view the famous faces of Mount Rushmore through old-timey “tower viewers,” with your naked eye, or a spotting scope, what have you.

You won’t get awestruck by the sheer magnitude of the carvings like you would up close. You are looking at the memorial from across a large valley, after all, but you can still get some detail and scope of just how massive they are, even from a distance.

Specifics

You can reliably online map it right to the site. If you’re coming from Rapid City, you will pass through the tourist trap of Keystone. If you are traveling from the Southern Hills (Custer/Hill City), you will arrive at the overlook first. From either direction, you ascend the paved, winding, two-lane Iron Mountain Road. You may want to stop and snap photos at one or two of the famous Pigtail Bridges and the very small tunnel (hole) cut right through a rock wall so cars can pass through. Take it slow on the curvy road, it has been reported that some people (my kids) have a tendency to get carsick.

Be advised that your actual destination has no trash and no bathrooms. If you require the use of a restroom, there is a porta-john (open Memorial Day to Labor Day) at the Iron Mountain picnic ground, just before the overlook. Also noteworthy: the Black Hills through-hiking equivalent to the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail, the Centennial Trail, cuts right by this area.

Once you reach the overlook, you will find ample parking. From the parking lot, follow the path to the right directly to the viewing platform with the tower viewers pointed at Mount Rushmore. The memorial is framed nicely between hanging tree branches. It’s very picturesque, but hard to nail a clear photo without a telephoto lens. Try some sick foreground/background action if you’ve got the skillz.

Note that there are paths going to the left and right, each with an overlook at the end. It’s worth following the path to the left to check the alternate view from the other platform, as well. Bonus: depending on the time of year (Labor Day-ish) you may get a chance to snack on the wild raspberries that grow along the left hand path.

You can’t see them, but the faces of our country’s luminaries are there, trust me.

Between the two viewing platforms is a large rock formation. Younger kids and rock hounds can spend some time sorting the shale, iron ore, granite, quartz and mica lying around, among other geological items of interest. Older kids and rascally adults may want to mess about on the formation, which seems to be allowed.

Afterward

Stop by one of Keystone’s many attractions, if you’re not in a rush. You could hop on the 1880s Train to Hill City, tour main street there and then ride the train back, knocking out multiple locations in one day. If you’re headed back to Rapid City, consider grabbing a beer and a bite at The Gaslight in the village of Rockerville. Sample South Dakota’s (supposedly) most famous dish, chislic, or—I don’t know if you could really call pepperoni rolls “legendary” but—The Gaslight’s pepperoni rolls are as close to legendary as pepperoni rolls get.

Have you been to Norbeck Overlook? Was it worth the trip? Let me know in the comments. If not, then…

Go Forth, But Treat Lightly!
Guide: Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary

August 25, 2025
Spend a few hours recharging in this otherworldly, Black Hills-exclusive Shangri-La.

Picture a place where some of the most influential thinkers, mystics and philosophers of all time got together and left a little breadcrumb trail of wisdom for you to follow in one of the most beautiful settings possible.

Well you don’t have to imagine it; it exists and it’s called Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary. And you can visit from Memorial Day weekend to October 15th.

Threading through what was once called the Juso Ranch, Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary is a Black Hills secret gem that offers a one-of-a-kind experience.

How to get there: Rochford (rotch-ferd) Road via Lead (leed) or Spearfish Canyon. Google maps will guide you there just fine.

What to bring: Comfortable walking shoes, water, $10-20 donation money, an open-mind, and an open heart.
- Length: 1 ¾ miles
- Duration: 90+ minutes
- Difficulty: Very easy; great for kids.
Summary:

Not a hike, in the traditional sense, more of a metaphysical ramble—a walkabout, if you will—Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary is my personal favorite spot in the Black Hills, bar none.

I was fortunate enough to have once met the original owner, Dave Snyder, as he was putzing along the broad, green meadow in a haywhacker(? I don’t know machines) cutting timothy-grass. With tears welling in my eyes, I thanked him for gifting the world such a meaningful place.

Pathways is a bit tough to describe. It’s neither a museum, nor a maze. It’s a loop footpath with numerous “exhibits” the symbolism or metaphorical significance of which is explained in brief on a plaque. The plaques usually contain quotes from such luminaries as Eckkart Tolle or Chief Seattle or Albert Einstein. All of the exhibits have a connection to either nature, spirituality, the spirituality of nature or the nature of spirituality. There are park benches along the trail where visitors can sit and pick up the provided notebook and journal or sketch, or simply just rest and take in the sheer rapture of it all, then leave the notebook for the next wanderer.

Upon passing through the entry gate, you first encounter The Invocation: a sculpture of a Native warrior astride a horse and holding up a buffalo skull in supplication to sun and sky. There’s a decent chance that you’ll spot a raptor gliding lazily overhead, too far away to photograph, but just near enough to sear the spectacle on your soul for the rest of your days. This tableau sets the scene for a truly transcendent experience.

As you walk between stands of paper white birch and quaking aspens along the wood chip, sod and dirt path, there is a feature called labyrinth. It’s a winding gravel path contained within a large semi-circle that you are meant to follow around. It’s similar to the mazes you would trace with a pencil on paper when you were a kid.

Next is a short walk up a gentle slope alongside a beautiful open meadow. It’s the kind of place you only see in movies or in your dreams. Yet it’s right there.

Other highlights of Pathways include:

As the trail continues, you will encounter several other mini-features. Here are some of the most noteworthy.

A Gurgling Pond

This pond sits at the top of the meadow just described. You can sit on a shaded bench and stare at its murky waters, filled with algae and other aquatic plant life, or just enjoy the tranquil silence of the woods that surround you.

Supersized wind chimes

The perfect spot for selfies, these wind chimes vary in sizes, but all of them are larger than a person. When struck, each produce a pleasing tone; together, a majestic harmony.

The Old Philosopher

A grizzled face sculpted on a hunk of knotty wood, the Old Philosopher is the perfect encapsulation of the interlocking relationship between deep, contemplative thought and reverence for nature in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau or John Muir.

“Airplane Hill”

My personal favorite doesn’t have a name that I’m aware of, but my family calls it Airplane Hill. The last length of the path is another walk beside the meadow, except downward this time. My family visits Pathways at least once a year. My kids and I have a tradition of running down the hill, arms extended at our sides, like airplanes. Occasionally, we roll down the very top of the hill before our “flight.”

Evocation

As you return to the entry gate at Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary, you leave a slightly different person than when you came. It’s a kind of aura that suffuses with your being and beckons you to come back from time to time to ensure that the world can still contain such meaningful and thoughtful perfection. When you visit the Black Hills, be sure to include Pathways on your itinerary and…

Go Forth, But Tread Lightly.
*Crickets…*

August 23, 2025

(and grasshoppers)

Take a stroll through any patch of grass in late summer and you are bound to kick up a jumping jamboree of grasshoppers. A nuisance to some people, grasshoppers can also be a soothing sensory experience, their songs can provide a soundtrack to your outdoor adventures.

Likewise, one of the many simple pleasures of living in the Black Hills is turning down for the night, windows open, a gentle breeze wafting into your room. Even though the days are hot, the temperature usually cools tolerably overnight. Due to the lack of light pollution so common to more populous areas, the nights around here are pretty dark. The more remote you are, the darker it gets.

Nights like these, you will hear crickets aplenty. Maybe there’s a big ol’ watery moon in the clearbright sky to help lull you off to your slumber. And just like the dark, the more rural you are, the more clearly you are able to hear the crickets’ mirthful song.

It’s one of those easily overlooked joys that falls from your mind when you are away from the Black Hills for a long time. But then if you ever come back, you hear it and think, “Oh, yeah. I forgot about the sound of crickets at night. I love that.” And once you remember, you are unlikely to forget it again. It’s one of the many knots on the cord that binds you here, even if you’ve only visited.

Many have been the nights where I have lain in bed, maybe gazing through an open window with the moonlight peeking in, listening to the dark. In college, when I would come back for the summer, my parents’ house was across the valley from the Homestake Mine in Lead. Before their move, we had lived a few miles outside of town, near the turnoff to Terry Peak ski area. I had grown accustomed to a nightly cricket summer symphony unspoiled by the noise of industry, beyond the odd motorcycle rumbling by. However, in my parents’ new place, I came to identify the mechanistic yawns and somnambulant sighs of the nighttime mine with a different, but no less powerful coziness.

Those same summers I spent with my parents, the sound of crickets pre-dawn would accompany my dad and I all the way out to the jobsite, where they would cease only with the full light of day or the firing of the chainsaws we used for our work, whichever came first.

Very few things can summon that homesick ache like the sound of cricketsong. And now, many years later, when the feeling is right, those sounds sometimes come echoing back to me across the void of time. I am briefly overcome with a sense of nostalgia, both pleasure and pain. My heart hurts for the very time and very place where I now live—summertime, in the Black Hills.

And then there are those mornings as the season winds to a close, where you walk outside—maybe heading to work, maybe to going for a hike—where the crickets sing you to your destination and the grasshoppers take over and carry you on your merry way.

If you find yourself in the area this time of year, don’t forget to focus your mind and open your ears. Let the crickets make that same impression on you, so that the memory of the Black Hills will stay ever in your heart.

There really is no other place like it. The crickets tell me so.

Now Go Forth! But Treat Lightly.
Grabbin’ Crappy Crabapples

August 22, 2025

In which the cousins of apples encounter the cousins of me.

First they’re hanging from a tree, ruby red and tantalizing. For about a week. Then, they’re squishing beneath your feet and getting stuck to the bottom of your shoes, causing you to slip around on flat concrete like you’re an unwitting participant in a Benny Hill sketch. I am of course speaking of crabapples.

Florida has oranges. Georgia has peaches. And the Black Hills of South Dakota has these surprisingly awful tasting mini-apples that only birds and deer love. A sure sign that autumn is upon us, there are a surplus of crabapples sprouting up around my Rapid City neighborhood, thanks, most likely to the endlessly rainy summer we’ve had thus far. They make for colorful photos and break up the monotony of the customary yellow tones of the late summer.

A quick google search reveals that there are many crabapple recipes out there. The main ingredients seem to be sugar, sugar, crabapples and then sugar.

From deep in the vault of my mind a memory floats to surface upon my consciousness. A memory of the Great Crabapple Caper of 1987.

I have two cousins, one that is my same age (around 8 at the time) and another that’s around five years older (most likely about 13 at the time). I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, so for the purposes of this story, I will graciously change their names to protect them. The younger, one of my closest friends then and unto this very day, I will call “Tad.” The older one, I think I will call…just grabbing a name at random here: “Chod.” Chod had a friend his age at the time whose name was Matt. I don’t know where that guy is and he ain’t family, so it’s up to him to protect his own self.

It began as a sleepover at my cousins’ house in Deadwood, summer 1987. We were to sleep in their camper parked just outside their front door. At some point after dark, when the thrill of being allowed the unsupervised sanctuary of the camper wore off, Chod and Matt began scheming to steal apples from the tree in the yard of an elderly couple across the street.

This old couple were the grandparents of a kid both our age and Chod’s, one of whom was then and later a very good friend of mine. For some reason, we didn’t dare ask permission to take the crabapples, such is the twisted logic of young minds.

Obsessed as we were at the time with action films, which we called “Arnold Schwarzenegger movies” the older boys concocted an overly elaborate plan. The bulk of the risk, naturally, was thrust upon the two younger boys, Tad and I. Flashlights were gathered, backpacks were shouldered. Binoculars were probably requisitioned then tossed aside when it was discovered they don’t work at all in the dark.

Chod and Matt took strategic positions as lookouts while Tad and I crept through the shadows into the yard across the street, which was a grand total of about 20 yards away. A back porch light cast an eerie, gloomy glow upon half of the tree. The other half loomed solitary and skeletal in the darkened yard, where Tad and I lay in waiting.

When the moment seemed opportune, we darted under the tree but quickly realized that the branches were too high for our third-grade arms to reach, so we began frantically snatching fallen, half-rotted crabapples from the ground, stuffing them into the backpack. I have a vague recollection of being caught redhanded in the act and then running away, a voice shouting after us in bemused indifference. As I looked over my shoulder I caught only the silhouette of a backlit figure standing at the back porch, hands on hips, face obscured by the glow of the porch light.

The details of the aftermath are now irretrievable but I do remember that we took a bite or two out of several of the crabapples, which were well past their due date, and then pretty much just forgot about the rest of our loot. We returned to the camper and settled down until the two bored, older boys teased and bullied us back into the safety of the house, where a still brand new Nintendo Entertainment System waited to console us.

As for the taste. I will let Tad himself tell you what he thought of that:

Go Forth! But, like a prepubescent crabapple thief in the darkness, Tread Lightly.
Black Hills, My Friend, Do you Speak It?

August 21, 2025

You’ve heard of Minnesota Nice. You’ve seen the Fargo TV show and the movie, so you are painfully aware of the stereotypical Narth Dahkohtah accent. “Aw jeez, oofda and darn, dontchaknow. Youbetcha!”

But did you know the Black Hills has a vernacular of its very own?

“Oh, you’re fine.”

I have known, somewhat by coincidence, several people who are from Ohio. And they each like to make fun of the tendency of people in Ohio to apologize, sometimes to a comical degree. I lived half of my life under the mistaken impression that people from South Dakota invented the apology, but I now realize that what we are actually experts at is waving off apologies.

A typical exchange goes like this: you are walking out of an elevator and there is someone there waiting. You step out and almost bump into them. You say, “Excuse me, sorry.” And they respond, “Oh, you’re fine.” It’s just like that, every time. Some people may switch it up and try out variations or elongate the saying, “Oh, you’re absolutely good. Don’t even worry about it,” is one that snuck up on me recently. Nonetheless, the basic ingredients remain the same.

“Crick” not creek

As far as actual regional vernacular, this is fairly common, particularly amongst kids: “We were playing down at the crick.” It isn’t necessarily specific to South Dakota. Though I have found it to be more pervasive here, than in say, Montana, where I have also lived and have heard it said.

Ending Days of the Week in “ee” as in “Fridee,” “Mondee”

This only seems to apply to days of the week and not to words like “daytime.”
This affectation is particularly common with people who say “rig” or “vehicle” instead of car or truck. It’s a bit of ranchspeak, in other words.

“Warsh” (wash) as in “warsh” your hands

More common with the older generations, semi-intentional mispronunciations of certain words must have been a trend at one point in the Black Hills and some of those seem to have stuck. “Westren” (western), “restrunt” (restaurant), “thee-YAY-ter” (theater) and “puh-TAY-duhs” (potatoes) are all words that exist under this same idiom. Add to that a hard a in avocado, like the one in avalanche, so that it becomes “ave-a-cado” and you’ve got yourself a subvernacular!

Special Guest, from the East River of South Dakota: Pierre

In this case, it is often out-of-staters who mispronounce it “pee-air.” It’s actually just “peer” or “pier” if you’re the seafaring type. The name comes from a person, and not a butler in a Vaudeville caper, but Pierre Choteau, Jr, a wealthy Missouri merchant/robber baron. It is apparently a mistaken pronunciation of his name, after all. And—wait, it’s his first name, not his last name? What the heck? No wonder it’s so confusing. That’s East River for you.

That’s why I prefer to stay west of the Missouri river, where I say, Go Forth! But Tread Lightly.
The Black Hills: Who is it Good For?

August 7, 2025

What kinds of people should move to the Black Hills of South Dakota?

Do-It-Yourselfers

The fact that Rapid City alone has 8(!) different, large hardware stores should give it away that home repair hobbyists, shop junkies and hands-on experimenters love to tool out here. Home ownership is probably the biggest draw to the Black Hills area, along with the prospect of raising kids in a safe place and the outdoor life (see below). There’s great satisfaction in being able to mow your own yard, shovel your own snow and just generally be responsible for your own maintenance without having to wait for some villainous landlord to get off their duff and deign to see to fixing your Victorian-era boiler.

Fuel fumes are practically a food group here. Many a morning is greeted with the sweet sound of a snowblower, a motorcycle, or a chainsaw firing up in the distance. Even if it isn’t your gig, (I sympathize, because it’s not mine, either) it’s best to just embrace the majesty of motor music. It’s a way of life. Which leads me to…

Gearheads

Odds are if you are reading this you are at least passively aware of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Motorcycles from all across the planet gather en masse the first two weeks of each August, but many locals ride the rest of the year, too. Show and shine/car show culture, as represented by events like Kool Deadwood Nights, the annual Black Hills Corvette Classic in Spearfish and even a vintage Saab museum in Sturgis should not be dismissed as imitations, despite paling in size and gravitas, by comparison. There are Jeep meet ups, side-by-side/ATV adventures and many other opportunities for off-roading. People are very enthusiastic about all things that go vroom. And there are rebuild, paint and body shops aplenty to keep your engines humming.

Weekend Warriors

The Black Hills is rightly famous for its hiking, golfing, mountain biking, waterskiing, snowskiing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, fishing, hunting, and on and on. The Black Hills National Forest still allows dispersed camping, which means people can trek most anywhere on BHNF public property and pitch a tent to camp (no campfires). Several non-profit organizations work very hard to create trails and keep them shipshape in the on- and off-seasons. It’s yeomen’s work for which very few of these generous folk get their due and they are owed a debt of gratitude. So, as I often say, please do tread lightly, but go out and send, rip, climb, and shoot to your heart’s content.

Church Folk

It feels disingenuous to the point of dishonesty to ignore it: religious devotion—primarily Christianity—is a cultural thread woven seamlessly into the tapestry of the social and charitable endeavors of many people. My (admittedly limited) perspective tells me that the worship experience here is somewhat subdued and more private in comparison to say, the Southern Baptist tradition. You will not see many people bearing witness in the aisle, hand to the sky. Much like their politics, people hold their spirituality close to the vest, for one because they’re proud, private people, and secondly, that’s where their heart is.

However, the Black Hills Is Not Good For:

People On the Run

Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “The odds are good, but the goods are odd.” Some states that hold the promise of isolated, ruggish adventures seem to revel in their reputation for luring a certain sort of person. And while you can live a life of relative seclusion here, the Black Hills isn’t Alaska. People will be up in your business. Good for hiding from your psycho ex? Maybe. Hiding from the law? Do not recommend.

Nightlife

While I haven’t ever been a single adult in the area, I’ve seen far too many reddit posts bemoaning the lack of options for entertainment and the small dating pool not to comment here about it. The struggle is very real. The Black Hills is fantastic for young, married couples, especially as a starter place for those with a five-year plan to move to a bigger urban area. It’s even better for families looking to put down roots, especially those with young children. But, if you are of post-college age and are trying to Tinder up a, ahem, spouse, it’s probably not ideal to…

Go Forth! But Tread Lightly.
That Pine Fresh Scent

August 6, 2025

Wake Up and Smell the Pinene

When you first arrive in the Black Hills or when you awake on a summer morning, an extremely pleasant smell washes over you. It smells like pine trees that have been baking in the sun. And it’s because of the abundant pine (and spruce) trees that spend all day, well, getting baked by the sun.

And of all the many intoxicating smells that the Black Hills has to offer—fresh cut grass, lavender, diesel exhaust—that pine bouquet is the most alluring.

The fragrance has a name: pinene. More specifically, beta pinene. Pinene is a terpene, which is a classification for a number of chemicals that act as basic components in organic compounds such as natural rubber. Alpha pinene is an ingredient of turpentine, for example

The aroma of beta pinene, often used in fragrances, has a soothing and therapeutic—some say euphoric—effect. It’s no wonder that pine is such a common scent in cleaning products, even if those offer a poor imitation of the real thing. Other plants that contain pinene are rosemary, dill, and basil.

Pine is just one of those smells that’s so ubiquitous around the Black Hills that it’s easy to fail to notice it at all. Returning to the area after spending time away brings that lovely pine smell into sharp focus. My family and I spent the COVID-19 pandemic staying with family in the Black Hills. We drove all the way from Southern California, and when we started driving the home stretch coming from Newcastle, Wyoming and down through what is known as Ice Box Canyon, that familiar, yet somehow novel pine smell was like a caress on an aching cheek. I felt as though I was floating in a dream. It’s a feeling that carried me through the pandemic and right back to the Black Hills afterward.

It is said that smell is the sense most tied to memory, so when you come here, don’t forget to take a moment to inhale the pinene and let the Black Hills make its joyful imprint on your soul.

Go Forth! But Tread Lightly.
Black Hills on the Horizon

August 5, 2025

How to Stay Stoked for a Black Hills Move

You’ve visited the Black Hills and you’ve fallen in love. Maybe you’re poking around on Zillow, looking at homes. Or you’ve taken the plunge and made a purchase and are now committed to making a big move, but you are second guessing. “The winters are tough,” you think. Or, “will I love living there as much as I loved visiting?”

Here are some ideas to keep you excited and interested in making the beautiful Black Hills your home.

Join one of the many Black Hills Hiking Facebook Groups

At first it may seem ridiculous, but hear me out. These groups are a treasure trove of beautiful summertime (and occasional wintertime) photos of the Black Hills. In my personal experience, nothing could have done a better job of selling me on returning here than to log on and see these photos come up on my feed. Few things do justice to the beauty of the Hills like landscape photography. Even the most amateurish of snaps can awaken your senses to what it feels like to actually be here basking in the magic.

Indulge Your Dreams

Before my family moved here, we discussed many personal and professional goals. Some of them were impractical from the start and some of them remain achievable. One of those faroff goals is the impetus behind this very website. There was something about articulating to each other how we could envision our lives that took mere fantasy and transmuted it to achievable reality. We had to dream big to come back to our senses. Have we accomplished all of our goals? No. Not even a lot of them. But we are much closer now than we have ever been. And that in and of itself is meaningful.

Or, I’ll let my boy Barry Lopez take it:

“When a boundary in the known world…becomes instead a beckoning horizon, the leading edge of a farther destination, then a world one has never known becomes an integral part of one’s new universe. Memory and imagination come into play. The unknown future calls out to the present and to the remembered past, and in that moment of expansion, the imagined future seems attainable.”
–Horizon (emphases his)

Yeah, that’s pretty much what I said. RIP, Barry.

Do Lots Of Research

I grew up here, but you would be surprised at how much I never bothered to experience or learn. Or, at least you should be, because I was. The Black Hills, for example, are, geologically speaking, not hills, but mountains. And they are older than the Himalayas. According to Edward Raventon’s book Island in the Plains (see below) when conditions are right, these Black Hills can create their own weather systems. I didn’t know this until very recently. Very, very recently, Like, yesterday-recently.

Also, you wouldn’t think it, but the Black Hills is a remarkably biodiverse area, surrounded by what is essentially a grass desert. Hence the rarely acknowledged nickname the Island in the Plains. I haven’t even mentioned the voluminous and oft-times unflattering historical significance of the area, particularly to westward expansion and the late stage-gold rush. There are nuggets to be found, but you have to do some digging. That was a mining pun and I’m sorry.

Some books worth checking out to enrich your research: Island in the Plains by Edward Raventon, Old Deadwood Days by Estelline Bennett and especially Great Plains by Ian Frazier.

Do Some (Minimal) Shopping

This suggestion may seem a little silly, but you will probably need at least some kind of gear to adapt to the climate and/or lifestyle. Buy some overalls for yardening (yard work+gardening), waterproof shoes for hiking, some mittens for the snow, a tackle box if you’re a fisherperson—whatever it is to make the abstract process of thinking about moving physical and real. I’m no advocate for conspicuous consumption, so make sure you check Facebook marketplace for used gear. There are also a number of pretty decent consignment, vintage and second hand stores in Rapid City so you don’t have to buy everything brand new when you get here.

Then once you’re here, you can, with confidence…

Go Forth! But Treat Lightly.
Rapid City Rising

August 4, 2025

The Gateway to the Black Hills is growing. Here’s an insider’s guide.

Rapid City’s official population is around 75,000, but adding the surrounding communities balloons that total closer to about 156,000. It’s growing, but not as fast as some would have you believe. The demonym is “Rapid Citian” and most people in the Black Hills just call it “Rapid.” If the median home price of $450,000 and the weekly take home pay of around $1,050 seem wildly at odds with each other, that’s because they are. While it may be a good place to break the bank for the kind of house you could never afford elsewhere, Rapid City is not an ideal place to then unbreak that bank.

The city lies on the eastern edge of the Black Hills. Interstate 90 runs east-west along the northern boundary of Rapid, but it doesn’t come directly into town. Much of the driving around Rapid City is on surface streets. Keep going east on I90 for about 20-30 minutes and you hit flat. What is beyond that, I don’t care to know. To the northwest is Sturgis at a 35 minute drive via Interstate 90, Spearfish about 45 minutes. Lead-Deadwood about an hour. To the southwest lies Custer about 60 minutes away; to the south, Hot Springs, also 60 minutes. Rapid City is ideally situated to commute to or from any of these locations.

There is one commercial airport, Rapid City Regional. It offers a handful of direct flights beyond the region (Montana, Nebraska, Colorado, Minnesota, etc.) There are seasonal flights direct to Orlando, for Disney World enthusiasts. These run from spring to fall. The nearest hub airline is Frontier at Denver International Airport.

Neighborhoods

There are, unofficially, a buttload of neighborhoods: Rapid Valley, West Rapid. Southside, Uptown (North Rapid), Downtown and Canyon Lake to name a few. Canyon Lake is so named because of the beautiful park and lake (dam) that sit on the southwestern edge of the city. Here also is the nexus of the city’s spillway, its central infrastructure solution to periodic flooding, the worst of which, in 1972, killed over 230 people.

North Rapid has become locally notorious for its vagrancy and general unsavoriness. The North side-adjacent Uptown features the Black Hills’ only shopping mall, which, sadly, is on life-support. Two of Rapid City’s three movie theaters are also in this area, as are restaurants like Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse.

Generally, most of the commercial expansion seems to be on the south side where there is a large Walmart complex and several restaurants that have sprung up in the last decade or so. There is also significant retail development to the east, most notably Rushmore Crossing, a shopping center by way of a collection of mostly big box storefronts (Target, Scheels) and standalone corporate eateries, like Panera Bread and Old Chicago. There is also a Cabela’s, a Fleet Farm and a Tractor Supply across the interstate.

The city basks in its proximity to, and association with, Mount Rushmore, having taken the nickname City of Presidents. Downtown’s walk of presidents is a collection of statues depicting all of our nation’s elected leaders posed on street corners in seemingly no particularly discernible cogent arrangement. I’ve lived here nearly three years and when I drive through Downtown I still sometimes mistake the statues for pedestrians making ready to heedlessly bumble into oncoming traffic, which causes me to momentarily hover my foot over the brake. Then I remember, oh yeah, that’s just William Howard Taft bent like he’s about to throw a pitch for some reason. Balk!

The central feature of Downtown is the block of 6th street between main and St. Joseph, with Hotel Alex Johnson, Tally’s Silver Spoon Restaurant and Main Street Square. Rapid City has really done a nice job with Downtown. It’s worth visiting all year round. Plus, the city has a spectacular, modern library right up the street.

Rapid’s Rep

There is no singular industry that defines Rapid City, which may speak to its longevity, compared to some of the more tourism-dependent, former mining and logging towns in the Hills. There are many jobs available at any given time here; careers less-so. My anecdotal research suggests that young singles do not like Rapid City’s nightlife. There is an ever-building, unique restaurant scene that keeps threatening to explode, but it’s taking its time about it. There are plays, symphonic performances and an art hub for the culturally-minded. You must stay active and aware if you like to partake of such things, lest they disappear overnight, for they are seemingly always on some kind of bubble.

Adult interests here are mainly aimed at hunting and fishing. There is a massive rodeo and stock show each winter, which brings about 330,000 people from all over the place. But Rapid is no cow town, especially in comparison to say, Billings, Montana. This is reflected mainly in its youth, which have always exuded a sort of mild, mountain-urban affect, as opposed to the affably pugilistic teen cowboy-types in other small western cities. To be sure, Rapid City has its share of broccoli-hairs driving dangerously in far-too-large Fords, but it has always maintained a genuine undercurrent of cosmopolitanism. In short, it’s more Denver than Dallas.

Rapid’s Rec

The bike path, supposedly named the Leonard Swanson Memorial Pathway but called that by precisely not one person, is pretty amazing. It’s a recreational walk, jog and biking path that I will never in my life refer to as “the Swanny.” It mostly follows Rapid Creek’s south-north path. Rapid City is not a super-bike friendly city in terms of commuting, but for pure outdoor recreation, it slaps.

The city has many, many parks. The biggest draw is a confusing mash up of city-owned and non-profit parks/hiking/biking trails along the westside’s main thoroughfare, West Omaha Street. Called Founder’s Park or M HIll as a catchall, it includes Founder’s Park, Chuck Lien Family Park/M Hill, Hansen-Larsen Memorial Park, the Rapid City Executive golf course and finally, Memorial Park with its large, legitimately fishable(!) pond.

Hansen-Larsen is a mountain biking playground, with singletrack trails crisscrossing all over. The west-facing side has a semi-hidden dirt jump track and a flow trail. This is not to mention Skyline Wilderness or any of the several other bike park projects that are in the pipeline or, for that matter, the swim center. Rapid City goes hard for recreation.

Rapid Rising

The city anticipates steady growth, in part due to expansion of nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base. Numbers have been flying around, but an additional 50,000 people moving to the area over the next decade or so is a realistic possibility. There are mixed reactions to this news. The city as an entity and body politic, in my humble opinion, is thus far slow to react to the coming adjustments. Infrastructure, public services and property taxes seem poised to exist in a gridlock with no clear winner gaining favor. South Dakota prefers to adapt to new trends and realities about ten years after everyone else. I see no reason why Rapid City wouldn’t do the same in this instance.

Despite this, Rapid City remains a fantastic place to live.

Thanks for reading this very broad overview of Rapid City. Hopefully you now have a clearer picture of what goes on here. Stay frosty for more upcoming insight on Rapid City and the Black Hills.

Go Forth! But Tread Lightly.
You: I’m Moving from a Large City to Rapid City, Help!

July 30, 2025

Me: I Got You, Fam.

You’ve visited from Minneapolis or Chicago or Phoenix and you’ve fallen in love with our folksy ways and the limitless possibilities for adventure in the Black Hills. You have your job and housing lined up, but you still don’t know all that much about Rapid City.

I grew up in the Lead-Deadwood area, but I also spent 19 years living in Los Angeles and 2 years in Denver before I relocated to Rapid City. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Rapid City is Business-Friendly

If you have a novel idea for a startup or want to open a business that you think Rapid City needs, there are a lot of resources to help you on your way. The city is eager for new companies to set up shop here. Elevate Rapid City, an economic development organization, is a good place to start.

Some examples of Rapid City tech startups are ReSpec, Property Meld, GenPro Energy Solutions and Wildfire Labs.

Traffic is Basically Nonexistent

People like to complain that the traffic is bad in Rapid City, which, okay fine, maybe it is compared to ten years ago. But if you’ve lived and commuted in a large city, you will find getting anywhere a breeze, unless you are put out by all of the road construction that happens every summer. Otherwise, you can join me in having a chuckle about all the people upset about “heavy traffic.” What can I say? IYKYK.

We Do Have DoorDash and Lyft Here, But…

I rely exclusively on DoorDash because I find that, in Rapid City at least, it is the most reliable of the food delivery apps. Uber Eats is available, though there seems to be less market penetration. Same with GrubHub. Unfortunately, a lot of local restaurants choose not to deliver via apps. The strange thing is that some businesses disappear off of the apps for long periods and then reappear. Or, they are not available on the apps during certain open hours, presumably their busiest periods.

Grocery pick up and delivery is also available from the larger chain grocery stores.

As for Lyft and Uber, you can get rides around town and to and from the airport and even to other towns. But I would not rely on a ride-sharing service to get you back. It’s essential to own a vehicle here. It doesn’t have to be a 4×4 SUV, but it should preferably be front-wheel drive with all-weather tires. There are some online car-sharing services starting to pop up, so you might consider a daily rental if you have to get around without your own vehicle.

Finding a Pediatrician or an OBGYN Can Be a Challenge

Rapid City’s medical services are always expanding, but there are gaps in certain areas that have yet to be filled. Speaking personally, my children go to an adult primary care physician simply because our insurance + available pediatricians = zero.

I’m a man, so I can’t speak very deeply to the gyno issue, but I know that the struggle (to find one) is real.

No Need to Worry About Craft Beer or Coffee Shops.

Rapid City’s got it covered.

Expect Unusual Behavior around Bills

This is a strange one. Margins are slim here, at least some organizations like to make you think they are. Rapid City is the first and only place I’ve ever been charged interest on a (minor) medical debt. It’s also the only place I’ve lived where a normal, monthly utility bill arrives in the mail nearly already past due. It feels scammy. Don’t let bills sit, if that is your custom. Even for a week. Pay them ASAP or you will quickly tire of being treated like a deadbeat by overly officious and punitive billing departments.

A lot of independent businesses also prefer cash such that they include a service charge for using a card. These charges are often in the 4-5% range.

Rapid City is Safe

Quick question: in your current life, do you find yourself frequenting the company of n’er-do-wells with whom you have in common an endless appetite for the acquisition and ingesting/injecting of illicit, extra-legal substances? Or, to be blunt: do you drink and do drugs with criminals? If yes, then Rapid City is not safe. For you. There are stabbings. There are shootings. Police have been murdered in broad daylight. But for all this, the habit of avoiding trouble out of sheer self-preservation is your best protection against harm. That and never getting on a motorcycle.

Property damage, though, is more of a concern. However, if you observe common, self-aware, city safeguards, such as taking valuables out of your vehicle at night, locking your doors and staying out of parts of town where you don’t belong, you (and your stuff) will be fine.

Hopefully this addresses some of your most pressing concerns about moving to Rapid City from a large city. If so, then…

Go Forth! But Tread Lightly.

Looking for more helpful tips about living in and traveling around the Black Hills? More to come. Check back often!