Free & Cheap Things to Do in Hot Springs

Museums & Galleries

An active paleontological dig and museum built over a sinkhole that trapped Columbian and woolly mammoths 140,000 years ago. Visitors walk a boardwalk above bones still in the ground - the world's largest concentration of mammoth remains - and watch researchers excavate in summer.

Address: 1800 US-18 Bypass, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Tip: The indoor bonebed makes this an all-weather, all-season stop; summer has paleontologists working the dig.

Outdoors

The original 1890 Hot Springs attraction: a naturally warm 87-degree indoor mineral pool fed by underground thermal springs, plus outdoor pools, waterslides, rings, and a health club with hot tubs and sauna. The spring water turns over completely many times a day.

Address: 1145 N River St, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Tip: Admission is half-price in the last two hours of the day; closed Tuesdays.

History & Culture

A local-history museum filling a castle-like 1893 sandstone building that served as the town's school until 1961. Four floors hold pioneer-era artifacts, a one-room schoolhouse, vintage clothing, and Native American items, inside one of Hot Springs' signature sandstone structures.

Address: 300 N Chicago St, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Tip: Open May 15-October 1, Monday-Saturday; the 1893 sandstone building is itself a landmark.

History & Culture

Hot Springs' downtown holds more than 35 turn-of-the-century buildings carved from local pink sandstone - the 1891 Union Station, the 1892 Evans Hotel, the Minnekahta Block, and the castle-like Pioneer Museum. A self-guided stroll along River Street reads like an open-air architecture museum.

Address: River St, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Tip: Park near River Street and walk both sides; many buildings carry interpretive plaques with old photos.

Parks & Nature

One of the world's longest caves, famous for delicate 'boxwork' calcite formations found almost nowhere else, beneath a free prairie-and-forest park roamed by bison, elk, and prairie dogs. Surface trails and wildlife viewing cost nothing; ranger-led cave tours are the paid extra.

Address: 26611 US-385, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Tip: Surface trails and the wildlife loop are free; reserve cave-tour tickets ahead in summer.

Outdoors

The southern end of South Dakota's 109-mile rail-trail starts right in Hot Springs, following old railroad grade through pine canyons and over trestles toward Edgemont and Deadwood. Walking and hiking are free, making it an easy outing on foot from town.

Address: Hot Springs Trailhead, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Tip: No pass needed to walk or run; only cyclists pay the $4 self-serve daily fee.

Parks & Nature

A two-level creekside park in Hot Brook Canyon a short walk north of downtown, split into upper and lower sections. The naturally warm Fall River runs through past picnic shelters, grills, a playground, and scenic rock walls - kids wade while adults picnic in the shade.

Address: 12880 Hot Brook Canyon Rd, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Tip: Upper Chautauqua has the big covered shelter, year-round restrooms, and the best river access for wading.

Parks & Nature

A spring-fed swimming hole eight miles south of town where ever-warm 67-degree artesian water tumbles over a low falls into a turquoise pool. A natural ledge makes a jumping-off point, and rare ferns and orchids grow on the banks - a century-old local tradition.

Address: Hwy 71, ~8 mi south of Hot Springs, SD 57747

Tip: Watch for poison ivy and sharp rocks on the banks; a small lot with restrooms and a stairway to the water.