The Black Hills in South Dakota experienced a gold rush in the late 1800’s. When planning our Black Hills vacation, I knew I wanted to take a tour of one of the historic Black Hills gold mines in the area.
We selected the Big Thunder Gold Mine.
The Big Thunder Gold Mine is located in the town of Keystone, South Dakota. There are plenty of restaurants, shops, and other attractions (including Mount Rushmore) nearby.
Black Hills Gold Mine Tour
The Big Thunder Gold Mine tour began with a hard hat and a story.
During the tour, we heard the story of two men from Germany who sought their fortune in the Black Hills in the Big Thunder Mine.
As we traveled through the mine we heard about their mining techniques and saw their hard work first hand.
Once we reached the end of the shaft, we had an opportunity to climb in an mining cart and take pictures.
After the mine, we visited a replica of an gold processing plant from the late 1800s.
The Big Thunder Gold Mine offers gold panning. So, we panned for gold after the tour. We did find gold. Unfortunately, it was not enough for retirement. But, it made a great souvenir.
All in all, this Black Hills gold mine was a lot of fun. It was a great experience for both kids and adults. And, you’ll just have to visit it for yourself to find out what happened to the two immigrants who came to the South Dakota to find gold.
Black Hills Trip Tip: I’m a big believer in traveling with a paper map on road trips in rural areas since you never know when cell signal will be a problem. Here is the Black Hills map we used.
For more information for your South Dakota vacation, check this out:
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