Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
During the Cold War, a vast arsenal of nuclear missiles were placed in the Great Plains. Hidden in plain sight, for thirty years 1,000 missiles were kept on constant alert; hundreds remain today. The Minuteman Missile remains an iconic weapon in the American nuclear arsenal. It holds the power to destroy civilization, but is meant as a nuclear deterrent to maintain peace and prevent war.
Alerts
- CautionNPS ↗Warning about GPS Systems!
Vehicle Navigation Systems and GPS units may provide inaccurate information—sending drivers the wrong way on one-way roads, leading them to dead ends in remote areas, or sending them on roads which are impassable. Use the Interstate exits for wayfinding.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Delta-09 Missile Silo | Daily · 9:00AM - 3:00PM |
| Delta-01 Launch Control Facility | Daily · 9:00AM - 3:00PM |
Delta-09 Missile Silo, Delta-01 Launch Control Facility: hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hours | 9:00AM - 3:00PM |
| Sep 6, 2026 to May 17, 2027NowWinter Hours |
|
| Nov 26, 2026Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Christmas Day | Closed |
| Jan 1, 2027New Year's Day | Closed |
| Sep 6, 2027Labor Day | Closed |
| Oct 12, 2027Columbus Day | Closed |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and February the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Minuteman Missile NHS Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The visitor center is the best place to begin your visit to the park. Exhibits, films, and a bookstore allow visitors to explore the story of the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile System and its role in the larger context of the Cold War.
No campgrounds, no webcams or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
Things to do
- Tour the Front-line of the Cold War at Delta-0145-60 Minutes
Learn what it was like to have the awesome responsibility of thermonuclear war at your fingertips. The thirty-minute guided tour of the control center at Delta-01 begins with a walk through of the grounds and topside support building.
Opens on the Park Service site - The Minuteman Missile Mobile Tour20-60 Minutes
A Mobile Phone guided tour of Delta-09 and Delta-01 is available for visitors to learn the history of Minuteman Missile on the Great Plains and how it was operated for thirty years.
Opens on the Park Service site - Spot a (Former) Nuclear Missile Silo1-4 Hours
The South Dakota landscape hides former missile silo sites in plain sight - many of them can be found in-between Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Interstate 90, and Badlands National Park.
Opens on the Park Service site - Get Your National Park Passport Stamped at Minuteman Missile5-15 Minutes
The Passport program was started by Eastern National in 1986 and was established to help visitors discover the beauty and history found in America’s national parks. Cancellation stamps can be found at national parks and monuments.
Opens on the Park Service site - Visit the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility
For every 10 Minuteman nuclear missiles (know as a Flight) there would be a Launch Control Facility that housed Air Force personnel. Delta- 01 occupies an open, grassy tract of land approximately one-half mile north of Interstate 90.
Opens on the Park Service site - Driving Delta Flight3 Hours
This activity is a vehicle-based driving tour beginning at the visitor center, and visiting all eleven locations that made up Delta Flight.
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 7Hide
- Consider Deterrence and Destruction at Delta-0910-30 Minutes
Gaze Armageddon in the face with a visit to the Delta-09 missile silo. The viewing enclosure over the silo allows for visitors to gaze directly down at a Minuteman II missile.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Minuteman Missile National Historic SiteSite · Rapid City · 7.1 mi
- Quinn Methodist ChurchBuilding · Quinn · 8.2 mi
- Triangle RanchBuilding · Philip · 12 mi
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Forest Service trails nearby
These trails are outside the park on National Forest land, within 15 miles of Minuteman Missile. Each one opens on Trailhead Atlas.
Distance is measured from the park's reference point to the nearer end of the trail.
Guidebooks for South Dakota's national parks and South Dakota
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Weather & climate
Rapid weather changes are common in the western South Dakota area where Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is located. Variations from season to season and from year to year are great. Characteristics of the climate are hot dry summers and bitterly cold winters. Wind is a constant on the Great Plains, winds in excess of 50 mph not uncommon. During the winter season, winds typically blow from the north-northwest and have been known to cause wind chills in excess of -40 degrees.
Questions people ask
Does Minuteman Missile charge an entrance fee?
No. Minuteman Missile is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Minuteman Missile?
Standard hours are 9:00AM - 3:00PM, every day. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Minuteman Missile right now?
1 active alert as of October 14, 2026: Warning about GPS Systems!.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Minuteman Missile?
102,146 recreation visits in 2025, number 217 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Minuteman Missile?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 4G LTE, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 4G LTE. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Minuteman Missile established?
1999.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Minuteman Missile?
Rapid weather changes are common in the western South Dakota area where Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is located. Variations from season to season and from year to year are great.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
