Main Street in Deadwood is filled with modern casinos, resort hotels, full-service spas, big name concerts, a hospital, old photo shops, restaurants, gift shops and some of the best parties. We walked in the footsteps of legends and make history since 1876. In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills, they found gold & Deadwood was born. Overnight, the tiny gold camp boomed & attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers & gold seekers. Wild Bill Hickok was one of those men who came looking for fortune. But just a few short weeks after arriving, he was gunned down while holding a poker hand of aces and eights - forever after known as the Dead Man's Hand. Calamity Jane also made a name for herself in these parts and is buried next to Hickok in Mount Moriah Cemetery. Other legends, like Potato Creek Johnny, Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen, created their legends and legacies in this tiny Black Hills town. Deadwood Alive is a theater troupe that reenacts the major historic events such as the Trial of Jack McCall and Wild Bill's assassination that inspired legends. Unfortunately, there aren't any shootouts or activities on Main Street on Sundays. I was told I could watch it on a cam live from deadwood.com read more

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This was a really great, albeit touristy stop. You know exactly what you're getting in the city does not disappoint. There is a lot to do here and you could easily spend a day or two. My husband wanted to visit the graves of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. There are lots of saloons and casinos. You can have an old-time picture done or even see a main street shootout if you're there at the right time. They also have some nice hikes and a very cool visitor center to help you with ideas for how to spend your time. We have visited a lot of towns lately and this one is definitely worth a stop. read more

Deadwood - Hotels Near Me - Deadwood, South Dakota

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This was one of our top bucket lists. Old time town and we LOVED IT!! Public parking and will need to know your license plate information when paying. Looks like an ATM located 1st floor exit. We started our visit with whiskey tasting at West River Whiskey. The staff/co-owner was knowledgeable and easy in us day drinkers. The tasting was $20, and we received several tastes and a glass souvenir. Everyone that came loved it. We played the slots and had free wine and beer. Everyone visiting and workers were kind and great atmosphere. We had our western type photos done for an upcoming celebration, and the staff were so sweet. The woodcarving was beautiful. I saw someone working hard preparing more amazing carvings. Overall, easy parking, kind staff and beautiful area. read more

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I've wanted to visit Deadwood for a long time. I've been to Tombstone and it is a can't miss stop. Also been to Dodge City and thought it was terrible. Deadwood kind of falls in between. There is some good history there especially the graves of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. However everything is so commercialized with mostly bars and restaurants lining Main Street. That made it lose alot of its western flavor for me. read more

We walked Main Street to get a feel for the old west town. Many stores are tuned to tourist shirts. Tours and casinos in maybe every source for lunch. I didn't see one the wasn't. Ha, even the gas station and laundromat had a casino. All machines as far as I could see. Still fun to see so much history. And the visitors center was very helpful. We walked Main Street read more

Deadwood - Welcome sign - Hotels Near Me - Deadwood, South Dakota

Great town for a visit!! The day I was here there was a classic car meetup. Too bad I didn't see the historic re-enactments. Visitor center is great too! read more

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Deadwood has literally been dying. Precovid, it was fun and the slots would allow you to win (occasionally). Over the last ~20 years of coming here, I used to win larger amounts considering I typically play max betting. But it has honestly taken a nosedive. I believe a larger part of this is due to sever ownership changes in the casinos - some being owned by larger corps in the Vegas chain. It is quite sad - which really means it will fizzle at some point. There has been some of the establishments that have changed hands on several occasions. Another example is Mustang Sally's. Now, this plays has never been a spot for gambling, but back in the day, they had the best burgers HANDS DOWN. No longer that way. It used to be a lot cheaper. There is still some great restaurants such as Mavericks and Deadwood Social Club... it's impressive and neat to look at the history. But slots have figuratively taken a landslide. read more

An interesting place to visit for a couple of hours and we would have been the poorer on our Black Hills - Mt. Rushmore - Badlands - Custer State Park trip in South Dakota had we not stopped in Deadwood for a look see. But we're grateful we didn't make plans to overnight here to be caught in what seems mostly a western tourist trap town. Some of which is owned by actor Kevin Costner it seems, with tour buses disgourging passengers to walk the streets. Costner put 1000 acres near Deadwood, a site of an ill fated planned resort, on the market the week we visited. But business must be booming in Deadwood itself given the opening of a large, new Springhill Suites and other Hilton family (like Hampton Inn) properties there. Still, our advice to other travelers would be plan in a few hours to see the highlights then move on to stay in Hill City SD as a good base of operations for your vacation. While we browsed the streets of Deadwood I wondered what my great-great grandfather would think of the town now. I remember the stories told by my great-great grandmother, who was alive to tell them up until I turned fifteen, of his visits to Deadwood when he was part of Custer's 7th Cavalry stationed near there in the mid 1870's and how in August 1876 Calamity Jane, with whom he sometimes rode, took out with an ax after the killer of Wild Bill Hickock, with whom she was smitten. Although the feeling was not returned my gramps reported. Calamity Jane rode like a man, he shared, and he meant that as a compliment. She also looked like a man, he shared, and he did not mean that kindly. I paid some attention to the stories of the history shared by my nana, but but now I wish I had an oral history of them as I tried to put together what I was seeing and what Great great grandfather must have seen. THIS N THAT: 1) ACCESSIBILITY: Sidewalks are dicey and some of the buildings have barriers to entry. Folks using wheelchairs will likely not find Deadwood a particularly friendly place to visit although "do-able" in parts. 2) EATS: if you're not going to eat in the one or two Costner owned restaurant there (Diamond Lil's and Jakes I think), "stay hungry my friends". Deadwood is marginal for eats options. 3) SALOON #10: Some history books say Wild Bill met his maker in Saloon #10 in 1876 after being shot in the back of the head while playing poker and seated, uncharacteristically, with his back to the door. There is a Saloon #10 in today's Deadwood that has fun with laying claim to being that place. But the fact is that in 1879 a massive fire destroyed much of Deadwood, including the saloon where Wild Bill was murdered, and the main street and buildings were moved some distance away. So this is just for tourist trap entertainment, today's place called Saloon #10 but still a friendly casino / bar. 4) BELLE JOLI winery's tasting room on main street is a nice place to stop in and enjoy the patio for a glass of vino on a nice day. Seriously. http://www.yelp.com/biz/belle-joli-winery-tasting-room-deadwood I wonder what the ghosts of Deadwood past would think? read more

Deadwood - June 2013 - Hotels Near Me - Deadwood, South Dakota

Deadwood is a super cool city. The history and the authentic saloons/casinos/theaters are reason enough to visit this tiny town. It is located in the middle of the Black Hills and about an hour ride from the Keystone/Mt Rushmore area. And a beautiful ride at that I might add. We visited for a quick lunch before hitting Custer State Park and loved the ambiance of the place. You feel like you are back in the Wild West. We ate lunch at Deadwood Social Club, they have a fantastic outdoor rooftop patio that has great views of Main Street. The social club is above Saloon No 10, which is where Wild Bill Hickok was shot. So much richness and history in this place. I highly recommend stopping by if you're in the Keystone area. read more

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Historic Deadwood Old west style village. Nestled in deadwood next to spearfish canyon. Very beautiful even if it snows. read more

Deadwood - Hotels Near Me - Deadwood, South Dakota

A fun place to visit and test your luck lol. We stayed at the Historic Iron Horse Hotel. Great location with free parking, very friendly owner and staff. We did the Boothills tour and loved all the history and knowledge our tour guide shared with us. We would also recommend the Adams Museum. We had fun just walking Main Street. read more

More Pirate flag and rubber shrunken head souvenir touristy than we expected and the historical spots are not accessible. Saloon #10's current location is NOT where Hickok was shot. It was across the street in a now closed building. Most the stories now spun are pulp fiction. Many casinos have folded as have other businesses. Has the feel that gambling hurt more than it helped. Machines are tighter than whale sex and that's water tight. You can drive your Polaris Rzr or Can Am in town which is cool. Lots of bars to hop and we never got the surly tourist trap attitude from any employee anyplace. Parking can be tricky, be patient. read more

I completely love Deadwood! There's just SO MUCH to explore..... so much history! And it is absolutely beautiful. From casino's to gift shops, to museums & restaurant, it's all so unique. I especially love the road and the light posts... odd I know but they were so pretty! I stayed at the First Gold Hotel which is just a very short drive from the main casino and restaurant area. I would have walked except it was 26 degrees when I went. And I California city girl in the cold is NOT COOL! I wish I had more time to explore and focus but I was too busy trying not to freeze to death. Check out some of the photos to see a little bit of Deadwood and some of it's history. read more

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It is a shame, you have a very historic town with lots of charm. Unfortunately, the downtown is very dirty, and the shops are very lack luster. In the downtown it is just on crap shop after another. Not one shop that I saw put any imagination in it just crap crap crap! Too bad read more

i love this town. so much history~! so much richness here. it's authentic. although i had got a couple stares... it's two things my buddy and i laughed about... when's the last time they saw a korean here? =P i'm joking, the locals were great! When they asked where we were from, they accepted los angeles as an answer without the typical, wink wink, "where are you really from bull shit?" Either way, Wild Bill and great wild west brought me here and i loved it. Don't drink outside. The bar-maid dragged me back in as i wanted to see how cold it was here at night! Thank you. read more

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We own a home on the outskirts so we come here a lot. Whatever season you pick there are lots of things to do. Some of the reviews talk about the places to go and things to do so I will list some out of the ordinary things. Hill city is 30 min tea south. Awesome small town with great shops, restaurants and a train that takes you to Keystone-where Mount Rushmore is located. Definitely a thing to do when you come here. Drive down early morning, take the train to Keystone, explore and take train back to Hill City and explore. Great poker tournaments at night at most big casinos in downtown Deadwood. Fun times as there are always people from all over the U.S. Great New Year's Eve celebration in downtown and at midnight they drop a ball above the Franklin Hotel. The college crowd comes in from Spearfish. Drive through Spearfish Canyon and stop at the Spearfish lodge. Short walk to bridal veil falls and great food across the street fringe lodge. Make sure to stop at Chubby Chipmonk truffles near the hardware store just south of town. Great great truffles. Jakes restaurant upstairs at Kevin Costners casino The Midnight Star. A bit pricey but excellent food especially the fish specials. The trolleys run continually and for a few bucks you can go anywhere within city limits. There is so much more that has been written on other reviews. Great place to spend a week. read more

We enjoyed stopping in the town and learning the history of its inhabitants. It's a really cute area. Unfortunately, the old town portion is a lot of touristy crap. We aren't gamblers either so one afternoon here was all we needed. Very glad we stopped in, it's a beautiful city! read more

Nice town! A definite stop in South Dakota. Cute town. Lots of bars and casinos though so we stayed only one night but that was perfect for us. We saw and did everything we wanted to before leaving and heading to Mt. Rushmore. I highly recommend the stop! Clean. Beautiful town. Very scenic. The streets are brick so historic! read more

Won't be back! We are regular visitors to SD/WY. This year we brought 2 couples with us to share the sites! Our our list was the bus tour of Deadwood. (Loved it!) However, we pulled in the Visitor Center's parking lot-parking along the building's sidewalk-and walked directly to the bus. Upon our return all three trucks had tickets. $55!!! The longer trucks were slightly over the sidewalk to properly clear the driving area of the lot. There are NO signs posted at the entrance to the parking lot indicating you have to pay to park. (We never had to in the past.) We stood there is disbelief as we witnessed an officer circling the lot & ticketing other vehicles. More than half the vehicles parked received tickets. What a racket! Pay stations are located along the street sidewalk - not easily seen nor identified. We did NOT encounter this anywhere else we went in SD. All other lots were marked upon entering. Found this very upsetting and unwelcoming - especially given this is the situation one encounters right in front of the Visitor Center. As I said - WON'T COME BACK TO DEADWOOD! They clearly don't appreciate visitors. read more

Interesting little town with lots of history. We only drove through, but were put off by the number of casinos and liquor stores. Not too far off I-90, and worth at least a quick drive through if nothing else but to see how desperate they are for tourists to visit. read more

Stopped in Deadwood and really don't know why...the museum was interesting, but the free re-enactment of a shooting on main street was lame to say the least. They closed off one block to set up the poker table. They should close off more of the street. We had the $1/ride tour bus next to us during the performance. I can certainly blame the covid situation for our feeling uncomfortable. Stores were, of course, very crowded. read more

One thing most places to shop have in them is stuff that says sd what the signs don't say is made n south Dakota by south Dakota a I went to eight different gift shop as a local artist n was told they don't sell local artists stuff there the one place that said they did wanted 55% to sell my stuff there everywhere else was selling stuff you can bye at Wal-Mart because it's mass produced yet n Deadwood it's 3 times more expensive so how is this place any good for native south Dakota's people unless it's to help them spend their money gambling read more

Very cool old town brick streets and old buildings. Definitely touristy but if you look around there is some great history here. Loved staying here and loved the town. read more

Had a great time in Deadwood and had a great lunch at the Gem. I only wish we could have hung around a couple of more days to check everything out, especially the cemetery. read more

Deadwood is one of the best places to visit in South Dakota, with history built into the bricks and roads you walk on. You'll find plaques with tidbits of history adorned onto certain buildings, and there is a definite air of paranormal energy that surrounds the town. From the live action shows, to the night time ghost tours, this town is a gem and worth every ounce of time to explore or gamble. read more

Deadwood is a tourist trap. If you like shopping for souvenirs, spending time in a saloons and casinos then this town is for you. Parking around town is $5. My 14 year old daughter said "it was boring." My husband said "It's probably not appropriate for younger kids." My son said that he was not sure what to expect but was not surprised it was touristy from the reviews. The only positive was an antique shop that was attached to the Wild Bill Saloon. The scripts performed by the street actors was tired. Would not recommend. read more

Don't even bother stopping in this over-advertised tourist trap. Lots of small casinos with hardly anyone in them; lots of cheesy touristy t-shirt shops and western wear, overpriced tour of a basement where Wild Bill was shot, and overall just a bunch of junky shops. We spent just under an hour in Deadwood, which was about an hour too long. Spent a grand total of $5.00 there, and it was at one of the casinos, which are always rigged against you in a place like this since there are nothing but mostly tourists and a few locals. There's a Catholic Church just down the street on the main drag; stop in there and say a prayer for yourself that you don't end up flushing all of your money down the toilet in Deadwood. We were lucky; we got out of there only $5.00 poorer. read more

Just a tourist trap with lots of 2 bit casinos. Cute old architecture, but ridiculous parking situation, and cheesy souvenir shops.

We arrived just in time to see the nightly gunfight. Though the acting was a bit cheesy, and we couldn't hear everything that was said even though the actors were amplified, my kids loved it. They did get very bored immediately afterwards, though. Being kids, they weren't much interested in walking around the town. We were getting hungry, and ended up going back to our camp in Rapid City because we didn't find anything reasonably priced that my wife, a gluten and dairy free vegetarian, could eat. read more

If u plan to visit deadwood, Avoid night time and off season. I can tell there are many museums to go day time. Only gamble machine for night time. read more

7/24-26/14 stayed at the Hampton Inns on the edge of the main strip, which turned out to be a good hotel and location. Was aftaid that Deadwood would turn out to be an overly cheesy tourist trap, especially following the recent HBO show. While it is touristy I did not feel it was too much so or cheesy. Much of the original buildings sitll in tact and in use. Great photo ops of old territorial town. Much to our surprise there were a number of very good eating establishments that were reasonably priced. Has a couple of casinos and won some money playing poker slots, however, if you are use to Vegas or other major casino locations these would be very disappointing. So much to see in the Black Hills region and Deadwood turned out to be a great jump off point to see Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Devils Tower, and Sturgis. Wish we had alloted more time as did not get to see any of the caves and would have liked to spend more photographing some of the nearby towns and attractions. Definitely want to return to the Black Hills some day. read more