Black Hawk, SD
An unincorporated pocket about 12 to 15 minutes from downtown Rapid City, where the subdivision covenant does the governing instead of a city ordinance.
About 12 to 15 minutes
Communities
Where to live in the Black Hills, South Dakota
Before I sold homes I photographed them across this region, which is how I came to know these places in detail. Some of these are incorporated cities and some, like Rapid Valley, have no city hall at all. These guides cover what buyers ask: how long the drive is, which district you are in, what the winters do, and whether you can rent the place out.
The map
Pick the area first. The subdivision maps are inside each guide.
Start with how you live
Compare Communities
Price level, utilities, acreage, new construction and the tradeoffs side by side.
Healthcare and VA AccessHospitals, specialty care, Fort Meade, Hot Springs VA and what is changing in Rapid City.
Black Hills Lifestyle GuideLakes, trails, skiing, parks, pools, food, shopping and recreation across the region.
School DistrictsDistrict boundaries, split communities and what to verify for a specific address.
Rapid City and the Ellsworth corridor
Everything within about twenty five minutes of downtown Rapid City or the Ellsworth main gate, where most of the newer inventory, the shortest commutes and the jurisdiction questions about city versus county service are.
Community guideBlucksberg Mountain
Blucksberg Mountain, SD
An unincorporated Meade County community on the I-90 corridor, made up of several recorded Blucksberg plats rather than one subdivision.
Not measured for this page.
Box Elder, SD
The city at Ellsworth's main gate, growing faster than anywhere in the region on the strength of the B-21 mission.
About 19 minutes, 10.9 miles
Community guideColonial Pine Hills
Colonial Pine Hills, SD
The pine country address southwest of Rapid City, roughly 900 feet above the city off Sheridan Lake Road, with county rules instead of city rules.
Roughly 6 miles northeast
Community guideGreen Valley
Green Valley, SD
A growing unincorporated pocket on Highway 44 east of Rapid City, out on the prairie, where the school district changes depending on which street you are on.
About 6 miles northwest
Piedmont, SD
A small foothills city on I-90 where much of my current listing inventory sits, about 26 minutes north of downtown Rapid City.
About 26 minutes from the Prairie Haven side, longer from the upper plats
Rapid City, SD
The region's hub for jobs, medicine, dining and flights, within an easy commute of Ellsworth Air Force Base.
The hub itself
Community guideRapid Valley
Rapid Valley, SD
Eight thousand people, Rapid City schools, Rapid City minutes, and no city hall. The largest community in the region without a government of its own.
11 min, about 5 miles west to Rapid City
Summerset, SD
A recently incorporated city on I-90 between Rapid City and Sturgis, with the newest construction pipeline in the northern hills.
About 15 minutes
Northern Hills and I-90
The Sturgis to Belle Fourche side of the Hills, with its own hospitals, schools and employers, so a job in Spearfish or Sturgis does not have to mean a Rapid City commute.
Community guideBelle Fourche
Belle Fourche, SD
The Butte County seat and a working ranching hub, ten miles north of Spearfish and out past the tourist traffic.
About 55 to 60 minutes
Lead and Deadwood, SD
Two towns, one Northern Hills market, and completely different ownership stories. Three miles apart, and the rental rules, the street pattern and the reason people buy are not the same in both.
About 50 minutes
Community guideNewell
Newell, SD
A federal reclamation town in Butte County that exists because a dam was built in 1904, still runs its own K through 12 school, and still runs a federally reported sheep auction.
About 54 miles, roughly 70 minutes
Spearfish, SD
One of South Dakota's fastest growing towns, with a university, a canyon out the back door and a downtown you can walk across.
53 min, 47.8 mi to Rapid City
Community guideSt. Onge
St. Onge, SD
An 1891 French-Canadian railroad townsite and cattle-auction crossroads, eleven miles from Spearfish, where three school districts meet.
About 44 miles, roughly 48 minutes
Sturgis, SD
A full-service small town at the north end of the hills, ordinary 50 weeks a year and the center of the world for the other two.
33 min, 28.9 mi to Rapid City
Community guideWhitewood
Whitewood, SD
A small Lawrence County town in the Meade school district, close to Sturgis, Deadwood and Spearfish without being in any of them.
About 35 minutes
Central and Southern Hills
In the timber and on the far southern edge, where lots get larger, well and septic get common, and the drive to a full service hospital becomes part of the decision.
Community guideBuffalo Gap
Buffalo Gap, SD
A hundred and thirty people in a National Register main street, eighteen minutes from the hospital in Hot Springs, in Custer County but in the Hot Springs school district.
About 45 miles, roughly 56 minutes
Custer, SD
Acreage inside the Hills at the door of Custer State Park, with a new hospital, sit down restaurants downtown, and rental rules that change at the city line.
About 50 to 60 minutes
Community guideEdgemont
Edgemont, SD
A railroad town of 725 on the far southern edge of the Black Hills, with its own school district, the nearest hospital 35 miles east in Hot Springs, and two big questions hanging over its economy.
About 100 miles northeast
Community guideHermosa
Hermosa, SD
A Custer County town 26 minutes from Rapid City with its own elementary and middle school, sitting where the prairie runs into the Black Hills.
About 26 minutes
Community guideHill City
Hill City, SD
A real Main Street in the middle of the forest, with the Mickelson Trail through town and Rapid City about half an hour away.
About 30 to 35 minutes on US-16
Hot Springs, SD
The southern Hills banana belt: warmer, drier winters than the northern Hills, and a sandstone downtown built along the Fall River.
About 60 minutes
Community guideKeystone
Keystone, SD
Two hundred and forty residents, two and a half million visitors, and Mount Rushmore just past the edge of town.
About 25 minutes northeast
Prairie and Badlands
East of the Hills on the open prairie, where lots run larger, water is often a private well, services are thinner and the wind and the drive are the tradeoffs.
Community guideNew Underwood
New Underwood, SD
A town of 590 east of Rapid City that still runs its own K through 12 school, 18 miles from the city and 11 from the Ellsworth gate.
About 18 miles west on Interstate 90
Community guideWall
Wall, SD
A prairie town of 699 that runs its own K through 12 school, sits at the Badlands' front gate, and triples in size every summer.
About 50 miles west on Interstate 90
Beyond the guides above
Micro-areas and rural pockets
Caputa, Johnson Siding, Nemo, Vale and Nisland. A post office, a bar or a creek crossing rather than a town center, and mostly private wells and septic on county roads.
Read the GuideNot sure which town fits?
Free download
The Black Hills Buyer's Guide
All 25 communities side by side with drive times, plus what to verify on wells, septic, shared roads and roof age before you write an offer.
Get The GuideTell me your commute, your budget and what you want out of a Saturday, and I will narrow it to two or three areas worth your time. If you would rather browse first, every active home in the region is searchable on my search site. Calling or texting 605-490-2040 is the fastest way to reach me.