Things to do in Deadwood
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Deadwood
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, June for full falls and green canyon, September for Deadwood Jam, autumn colour and thinner crowds.
Days of 76 in late July brings the parade and PRCA rodeo, Deadwood's most authentic big week.
Sturgis Rally spillover in early August floods the town and spikes prices, then Kool Deadwood Nites brings classic cars late in the month.
Oktoberfest runs two days in early October, a brat cook off, wiener dog races and a German car show.
Winter brings Terry Peak skiing and the lowest prices, but several museums close or cut hours and daylight is short.
Shoulder season with kind prices and no crowds, but attractions reopen on staggered dates toward Memorial Day.
What's on
- Wild Bill Days mid June
Concerts and reenactments honouring Wild Bill Hickok, without Rally scale crowds.
- Days of '76 late July
Historic parade and PRCA rodeo honouring Deadwood's 1876 pioneers, held since 1924.
- Sturgis Motorcycle Rally spillover early August
The Rally centred in Sturgis floods Deadwood, spikes room rates and books the town out months ahead.
- Kool Deadwood Nites late August
Classic cars, free Main Street concerts, a parade, show and shine and a classic car auction.
- Deadwood Jam Mid September each year
A two day free admission music festival at Outlaw Square in the heart of the Black Hills.
- Deadwood Oktoberfest First weekend of October
Brat cook off, wiener dog races, beer barrel games and a German car show on Main Street.
Best things to do in Deadwood
Historic Main Street
Preserved gold rush facades, saloons and casinos on the street where the whole town is a National Historic Landmark.
Outlaw Square
Deadwood's town square for free concerts, movies, skating in winter and Deadwood Alive shootout shows in summer.
Mount Moriah Cemetery
Boot Hill above the gulch where Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Seth Bullock are buried, with views over town.
Adams Museum
The oldest history museum in the Black Hills, three floors of gold rush artefacts and Deadwood legends by donation.
Days of '76 Museum
Wagons, carriages, rodeo memorabilia and pioneer artefacts from the celebration Deadwood has held since 1924.
Broken Boot Gold Mine
A guided tour underground in an 1878 gold mine, then gold panning where you keep what you find.
Tatanka: Story of the Bison
A huge bronze bison hunt and a Lakota interpretive centre telling how the great herds were lost.
Historic Adams House
An 1892 Queen Anne home left with original furnishings, seen on a guided tour that tells the family story.
Where to stay in Deadwood
Historic Main Street
first trip, walkable base
Walk to dinner, saloons and museums and sleep in the buildings the town is famous for, with trolley links to the rest.
Deadwood Gulch and Pine Crest, above town
families, resorts and quiet
Bigger, newer resort stays with pools and free parking, a short drive or trolley ride above the casino strip.
North entrance and Cadillac Jack's corridor
modern rooms and easy parking
The newest chain rooms and easiest parking at the north end of Main Street, a trolley or short drive from the historic blocks.
South Deadwood, Charles Street
budget
A short walk or trolley ride below Main Street, with the town's honest budget hotel and its diner restaurant.
Think twice about
- Sturgis as a Deadwood base
Eleven miles east and quieter with less to walk to outside Rally week, and the most expensive, congested base in the Hills during it.
- Isolated highway motels and cabins outside town
They look close on a map but leave you driving dark, winding, deer crossed roads after every dinner.
Best restaurants in Deadwood
Legends Steakhouse
Deadwood's consensus best dinner, 28 day aged steaks and a buffalo ribeye in the calm Franklin Hotel dining room.
Deadwood Social Club
Bison ribeye and Italian steakhouse cooking above Saloon No. 10, with a rooftop firepit over Main Street.
Jake's Fine Dining
Deadwood's most formal room, steaks and seafood above the Midnight Star for anniversaries and splurge nights.
Mavericks Steak & Cocktails
The reliable mid tier steakhouse at the Gold Dust, generous portions and easy group dinners without a booking battle.
Jacobs Brewhouse & Grocer
A brewhouse, bakery and grocer in an 1895 building, with brisket dishes, house brews and picnic supplies to take out.
Mustang Sally's
A retro sports bar famous for its buffalo burger, fries and fast service, and Deadwood's favourite cheap feed.
Lee Street Station Cafe
Breakfast in a converted 1950s gas station, chicken fried steak and a giant cinnamon roll to start the day.
Pump House at Mind Blown Studio
Coffee and breakfast inside a working glassblowing studio, open from 6am for the earliest start in town.
Outdoor things to do in Deadwood
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway
A limestone canyon drive beside Spearfish Creek, with Bridal Veil and Spearfish Falls right by the road.
Roughlock Falls State Nature Area
A multi tiered cascade reached by short easy trails with bridges, viewing decks and picnic ground in the pines.
George S. Mickelson Trail
A 109 mile rail trail starting in Deadwood, with a downhill return on the family friendly section toward Kirk.
Terry Peak Ski Area
The Black Hills ski hill above Lead, with Deadwood as its apres base for skiing, boarding and winter weekends.
Devils Tower National Monument
The first national monument, a fluted rock tower sacred as Bear's Lodge, circled by a 1.3 mile base trail.
Boulder Canyon Golf Club
An 18 hole public canyon course near Sturgis, scenic and playable, and the closest good round to Deadwood.
Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club
A championship public course over 7200 yards with big elevation change and the best practice facilities in the Hills.
Mount Roosevelt Monument
Seth Bullock's stone Friendship Tower for Theodore Roosevelt, a short pine trail to a northern Hills panorama.
Best hotels in Deadwood
The Lodge at Deadwood
Deadwood's resort stay on its own hill, with large rooms, an indoor water playland and a trolley downtown.
Holiday Inn Resort Deadwood Mountain Grand
A big event resort above Main Street with suites, balconies, free garage parking and Deadwood's main concert hall.
Celebrity Boutique Hotel
A small ornate boutique hotel on Main Street with marble bathrooms, a memorabilia museum and the Guitar Bar.
Bullock Hotel
Built in 1895 by Sheriff Seth Bullock, with Victorian rooms, a casino and ghost tours in the centre of Main Street.
Franklin Hotel
Deadwood's grand Main Street hotel by Outlaw Square, paired with the Silverado casino and Legends Steakhouse.
SpringHill Suites by Marriott Deadwood
Modern suites with a pool and free parking at Cadillac Jack's, the predictable chain option at the north entrance.
Deadwood Miners Hotel & Restaurant
The honest budget stay, simple affordable rooms plus a diner restaurant famous for giant caramel rolls.
Is Deadwood expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $180 a person |
| Splurge | $340 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Broken Boot Gold Mine: a few days ahead
- Historic Adams House: a few days ahead
- The Brothel Deadwood: a few days ahead
- Terry Peak Ski Area: a few days ahead
- Devils Tower National Monument: a few days ahead
- Boulder Canyon Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club: a few days ahead
- The Lodge at Deadwood: weeks ahead
- Book rooms months ahead for Sturgis Rally spillover, Kool Deadwood Nites and Deadwood Jam.
- Book Legends Steakhouse when you book the room, and Deadwood Social Club for weekend dinners.
- Book the Brothel tour, Adams House tours and Elkhorn Ridge tee times ahead in season.
- Check seasonal openings before travelling, as the Adams House, Broken Boot and Tatanka close or cut hours in winter.
Is Deadwood safe?
- Watch for deer on unlit highways at dusk, the most dangerous part of most visits here.
- Carry water on the Mickelson Trail, where phone signal drops in the canyons, and allow for altitude near 4500 feet.
- Use the trolley instead of driving after an evening in the saloons and casinos.
- In winter, expect steep icy streets and canyon roads that can close in storms.
Deadwood travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The generic Main Street souvenir strip of identical T-shirts and novelty signs, where nothing needs a special trip.
- Casino buffets and the cheapest sandwich board steak specials, when Mavericks and Legends exist in the same town.
- Guided bus tours of Mount Moriah for able bodied visitors, for a short self guided visit that costs a few dollars.
- Rushing Deadwood as a midday day trip only, when the town rewards an evening far more.
Getting around Deadwood: public transport and more
- Walk the historic core, which is only a few blocks, and park once for the day.
- Ride the Deadwood Trolley for a dollar a ride to Mount Moriah, the Days of 76 Museum and The Lodge.
- You need a car for Spearfish Canyon, Devils Tower, golf and Terry Peak, all on two lane mountain highways.
- Rapid City Regional Airport is roughly fifty miles away, with no practical public transport to Deadwood.
Who Deadwood suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Deadwood your trip
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