6 Best Things to Do in Hot Springs, SD

By VI Staff on January 2, 2020

Hot Springs is a small city in Fall River County, South Dakota. The area has been known for millennia for its hot springs, considered by the Sioux and Cheyenne people as sacred. European settlers built a number of resorts in the 19th century, including the Evans Plunge, an indoor pool filled with hot spring waters. Paleontological sites around Hot springs found a large number of well-preserved mammoth bones. Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary protects the native habitat and a herd of abandoned and unwanted wild horses. Pioneer Museum has 25 distinct areas with exhibits telling the story of the life of Native Americans and pioneers living in the area.

1.Mammoth Site of Hot Springs

The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota is an active paleontological site and a museum near Hot Springs, South Dakota. The area surrounds a prehistoric sinkhole that formed and was consequently filled with layers of sediments during the Pleistocene era. The sinkhole fill includes the remains of various flora and fauna which has been preserved by being buried in the sinkhole. This site contains the remains of 61 mammoths, including 58 North American Columbian and three woolly mammoths, the world’s greatest concentration of mammoth remains. The museum, which encloses the site, was established in 1974, when the bones were discovered and now contains an extensive collection of mammoth remains. The Mammoth Site offers guided tours, a gaming app and Summer Educational Programs.

1800 US-18 BYP, Hot Springs, SD 57747, Phone: 605-745-6017

2.Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary was founded in 1988 by Dayton O. Hyde. It is one of the greatest private wilderness areas in the States. The sanctuary, which covers 11,000 acres of private land, is managed by the Institute of Range and American Mustang, also founded by Dayton O. Hyde. It is dedicated to preservation of a balanced ecosystem of the Southern Black Hills. The main mission is to save this once sacred land full of rich Native American and Early Pioneer history from development, to preserve the natural habitat of the ingenious wildlife that lives on the land and to provide a home for unwanted American Mustangs. The sanctuary provides not only freedom and protection for unadoptable and unwanted wild horses, where wild horses can run free in their natural habitat, but also a research area dedicated for solving wild horse herd management.

12165 Highland Rd, Hot Springs, SD 57747, Phone: 605-745-5955

3.Evans Plunge

Evans Plunge is an indoor pool in Hot Springs, South Dakota, filled with naturally warm mineral water from the local thermal springs. The Lakota and Cheyenne knew about and used the natural river of warm water springs that flows through present-day Hot Springs. Evans Plunge was built in 1890 over a number of small, sparkling springs and one especially large spring of mineral water. The largest spring, at the north end of the Plunge, is known as the "Original Indian Spring." Native Americans drank and bathed in the spring's healing water. Evans Plunge and the other mineral baths in Hot Springs were considered as a cure-all for a multitude of illnesses and were a popular tourist attraction. Today, different springs may be felt as one moves through the clear water of the pool towards the original Indian Spring.

1145 N River St, Hot Springs, SD 57747, Phone: 605-745-5165

4.Pioneer Museum

Pioneer Museum in Hot Springs, South Dakota is located in the former elementary school, a large four story sandstone building on a hill in the town center. The museum is managed by the Fall River County Historical Society and contains a number of unique artifacts from the pioneer era. The exhibits represent the history of Fall River County and surrounds and are displayed in the museum’s 25 exhibit areas. The exhibits include original art by local artisans, including paintings and sculptures made of sandstone, marble and alabaster. There are also hundreds of historic photos of Hot Springs and the Black Hills, as well as famous prints and rich tapestries and quilts from the days gone by. The museum also exhibits objects used in daily lives of pioneer farmers and ranchers such as handcrafted tools, wood cook stoves, old washing machines and kerosene lamps.

300 N Chicago St, Hot Springs, SD 57747, Phone: 605-745-5147

5.Woolly's Grill and Cellar

What started out as a drive-thru spot serving gourmet coffee and fresh smoothies in the Southern Black Hills in Hot Springs, South Dakota, has grown into a popular farmhouse-style elegant restaurant. It is today an upscale restaurant with cozy, warm interior, several originally decorated dining rooms, excellent cellar and superbly prepared original dishes cooked to perfection by a masterful chef. Woolly's Grill & Cellar is the locals' destination for special occasions and celebrations. The restaurant specializes in charbroiled steaks and grilled foods served with Texas toast, baked potato, rice pilaf, BBQ baked beans, buttered corn or green beans. There is also a salad bar, with the freshest seasonal local produce. The restaurant still offers a gourmet coffee and smoothie bar during regular business hours.

1648 US Highway 18 (Truck Bypass), Hot Springs, SD 57747, Phone: 605-745-6414

6.Earth Goods Natural Foods

Earth Goods Natural Foods is a grocery store located in the beautiful southern Black Hills, in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Opened since 1996, the store offers the freshest natural foods, food free from chemicals, preservatives and artificial ingredients with no GMO ingredients, a wide variety of vitamins and herbal supplements, extensive selection of gluten free breads, baking mixes, pasta and cookies, bulk herbs and foods, organic produce, green household products and natural body care products. The store also offers occasional seminars on natural and alternative medicine and sampling of healthy foods, as well as a range of free printed literature on nutrition.

738 Jennings Ave, Hot Springs, SD 57747, Phone: 605-745-7715