The Homestake Mine

We camped near Lead, and had to run down the hill to look at the Homestake Mine. It's a pretty impressive hole in the ground. They give tours, but we weren't able to get on one, so we walked down the street to the city visitor center. The city's visitor center is right on the edge of the big pit, so looking down into it is pretty cool. They also have several exhibits and mining artifacts on display.

The Homestake Mine has been a solid part of the Black Hills economy for quite a while. In addition to being a gold mine, today it is also used as an underground laboratory in it's deeper recesses. Some tunnels are 8,000 feet deep.

My wife's favorite part was the sign explaining the cyanide process for gold recovery. If you go to the visitor center, be sure to look at the various mining equipment around, ranging from power drills to mine trains, elevator flywheels, etc. At a park just up the hill is an old stamp mill. Several museums are in the area as well. You could definitely spend some time here!

Nearest City: Lead, SD

GPS Coordinates:

Time Needed: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Kid Friendly: Yes

Additional Info: The Homestake Mine