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The Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD

Photo: Jeff the quiet, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

MuseumsHistory BuffFamily Favorite

The Mammoth Site

The Mammoth Site is a museum in Hot Springs, SD, part of the Black Hills guide. Cost: under $25.

1800 US 18 Bypass · Hot Springs, SD

Why you should go…

The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs is a nonprofit museum built around a prehistoric sinkhole where visitors view mammoth fossils in place as they were discovered. More than 60 mammoths, mostly Columbian with a few woolly mammoths, have been unearthed there along with other Ice Age fauna. Because excavation continues year-round, the facility functions as both a museum and an active paleontological dig site. It is open year-round with seasonal hours and is fully wheelchair accessible.

  • #fossils
  • #paleontology
  • #mammoth
  • #hot springs
  • #black hills

What's around here?

The closest stops to The Mammoth Site, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Hot Springs

    Free

    Southern Black Hills spa town with a historic sandstone downtown, mineral pools and Wind Cave nearby.

    0.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Southern Hills Vacation Guide

    Free

    A regional visitor guide for the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, covering Hot Springs, Custer and Hill City.

    0.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Outdoor Adventure

    Wind Cave National Park

    Free

    Tour a vast cave lined with rare boxwork formations, then watch bison and elk on the prairie above it.

    9.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor

  • Museums
    Family Favorite

    Four Mile Old West Town Museum

    Under $25

    Recreated 1880s Black Hills stagecoach town with over 50 buildings, western artifacts and a comic Old West show.

    23 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Family Favorite

    National Presidential Wax Museum

    Under $25

    A wax museum near Mount Rushmore with lifelike figures of every U.S. president.

    32 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Rushmore Borglum Story

    Under $25

    A Keystone, SD museum on Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum, with models, tools and a full-size replica of Lincoln's carved eye.

    32 mi awayMore like this