Living in Blucksberg Mountain
An unincorporated Meade County community on the I-90 corridor, made up of several recorded Blucksberg plats rather than one subdivision.
- Jurisdiction
- Unincorporated Meade County
- County
- Meade County
- Utilities
- Varies by plat. Blucksberg Mountain #1 is a regulated community water system. Confirm provider and rate by parcel. Septic common in current listings. Confirm the system by address.
- Population
- 467 at the 2020 Census
- Drive To Rapid City
- Not measured for this page.
- To Ellsworth AFB
- Not measured for this page.
- School District
- Meade School District 46-1
Acreage on the hill between Rapid City and Sturgis, where the recorded plat you are standing on decides your water, your road and your covenants.
Facts checked August 2026
Hill ground off Interstate 90 between Rapid City and Sturgis, with acreage, trees and the interstate humming somewhere below you. About 467 people live up here. It is unincorporated Meade County, so county permits, septic approval, legal access, fire protection and recorded covenants govern it rather than a city hall. Blucksberg is not one subdivision. It is five separate recorded plats, No. 1 through No. 5, recorded at different times with different arrangements, so the plat you are standing on decides your water, your road and your covenants.
At a glance
- New Construction
- Limited
Last verified August 2026. How these figures are calculated
Five recorded plats, not one neighborhood
The recorded family is Blucksberg No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, each its own parcel family in the Meade County record. The older Pleasant Valley plat nearby is a different recorded subdivision and is not part of Blucksberg.
So a listing that says Blucksberg Mountain needs its legal plat checked before you compare utilities or covenants against another house up the road. The map below draws the five families separately for that reason.
Water and wastewater
Community water service varies by plat and address. Blucksberg Mountain #1 has a regulated community water system, confirmed by the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources 2025 drinking water report. Confirm the exact provider and current rate for the parcel.
Public records indicate separate water arrangements exist in different parts of Blucksberg, which is another reason the plat matters more here than the place name.
Septic is common in current residential listings, but not every parcel has the same setup. Treat wastewater as address specific and get the permit and inspection record for the property.
Jurisdiction and schools
Unincorporated Meade County. Roads, plowing, fire response and building review are county or district arrangements rather than city services, and some interior roads may be private.
Meade School District 46-1. Verify the assigned building by address with the district.
Where Blucksberg Mountain sits
The outlines below are drawn from county records, not surveys. Neighborhoods with a guide are linked underneath the map.
The recorded plats
- Blucksberg No. 1, recorded as Blucksberg No. 1
- Blucksberg No. 2, recorded as Blucksberg No. 2
- Blucksberg No. 3, recorded as Blucksberg No. 3
- Blucksberg No. 4, recorded as Blucksberg No. 4
- Blucksberg No. 5, recorded as Blucksberg No. 5
Outline dissolved from parcels in the public Meade County parcel layer. Reference geometry, not a recorded plat or survey. Verify the legal description, the recorded plat and utility service by address.
Recorded plat names
- Blucksberg No. 1: Blucksberg No. 1
- Blucksberg No. 2: Blucksberg No. 2
- Blucksberg No. 3: Blucksberg No. 3
- Blucksberg No. 4: Blucksberg No. 4
- Blucksberg No. 5: Blucksberg No. 5
What to check before you write an offer
On any address you are serious about, buyer due diligence should include the school assignment from the district, the water quality report from the utility that serves it, and the assessed value and levy from the county. Here are the sources for each one.
The sources, by category
Schools
Confirm the assigned school for a specific address with the district, because boundaries change and they change more often than people expect. Meade School District 46-1 · School and district profiles on GreatSchools · Preschools and private schools in the Black Hills
Crime data
Drinking water
Every public water system publishes an annual water quality report. Read the one for the system that serves the address you are considering, not the one for the town next door. Rapid City water quality reports · City of Box Elder Water Division · City of Spearfish water · EPA drinking water lookup
Property taxes and assessed value
Meade County Equalization · Pennington County Equalization · Lawrence County Equalization
The county record, the plat and the recorded covenants are the three documents to read on any address here. I do not rate schools and I do not characterize neighborhoods as safe or unsafe. Those readings are yours to make from the sources above.
See what's for sale now
These open my search site, where the listings update from the MLS through the day. This page is the background; that one is the inventory.
Can you rent it out?
Short term rental rules here come from Meade County and from the covenants on the recorded plat, not from a city ordinance.
The rules in detail
- Confirm Meade County zoning and any conditional use requirement for the parcel before you count on rental income.
- Read the covenants for the specific recorded plat. Some restrict rentals where others do not.
- Renting 10 or more days a year requires a South Dakota sales tax license, and state lodging licensure applies.
- The statewide 4.2 percent sales tax and 1.5 percent tourism tax apply.
Short-term rental rules change, and they change fast. This summary reflects my research as of August 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. If rental income is part of why you are buying, verify the current requirements with the city or county that has jurisdiction over the specific address, and read the subdivision covenants, before you write an offer.
Schools
Blucksberg Mountain is in Meade School District 46-1. Verify the assigned building for the exact address with the district.
School by school
- Meade School District 46-1 covers this part of the county.
- Bus routes and the assigned building can differ between the Blucksberg plats. Ask the district about the specific address.
- Verify current boundaries with the district for any specific address.
I provide objective school information consistently and do not personally rate or recommend schools. Attendance boundaries can cross city and county lines, and the district's current assignment for the exact address controls. Verify directly with the district before making a school-driven decision.
Eating, and what people do
Where to eat
Nothing in the community itself. Sturgis and Rapid City are the two directions:
- Sturgis, north on Interstate 90
- Rapid City, south on Interstate 90
What people do
The hill and what is around it:
- Bear Butte State Park, north past Sturgis
- Boulder Canyon and the run up toward Deadwood
- Black Hills National Forest access west of the corridor
- Yard and acreage work, and August on the hill with the Rally running below on I-90
Common questions
Is Blucksberg Mountain one subdivision?
No. It is a Census designated place made up of five separate recorded plats, Blucksberg No. 1 through No. 5, each its own parcel family in the Meade County record. That matters because water service, road maintenance and covenants are set by the plat rather than by the place name. Before you compare two houses here, we check which plat each one is in.
Does Blucksberg Mountain have community water?
Blucksberg Mountain #1 has a regulated community water system, confirmed in the state's 2025 drinking water report. Other parts of Blucksberg have separate arrangements. Confirm the exact provider and the current rate for the parcel rather than assuming the community has one system.
Is it in Sturgis city limits?
No. This is unincorporated Meade County. County and district services apply, and some interior roads may be private, so ask who plows the one serving the property.
Also compare
The nearest town for groceries, fuel and schools, north on the interstate.
PiedmontThe other side of the corridor, with a similar acreage pattern and its own water arrangements to check.
SummersetCity water and sewer at a similar distance from Rapid City, if you would rather not manage a well and septic.
Still sorting the towns out? Compare every community side by side on price, commute, utilities and what each one costs you.
New to the Black Hills? Start with the questions people ask.
Which recorded Blucksberg plat a parcel sits in, what water system serves it and who maintains the road are all address level questions. Settle them from the county record and the provider before you write.
Considering a home here?
Send the address and we can talk it through. The details that change from one property to the next are jurisdiction, water and sewer, the school the district assigns, covenants, road maintenance and the rest of what never shows up on a listing.
Talk to Henry
Call or text 605-490-2040 and we can talk through what is realistic in Blucksberg Mountain right now, including what has closed. Every active listing in the area is on my search site.
Last updated August 2026
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, lending or financial advice. Facts and figures are cited from public sources as of August 2026 and change over time. Henry Roy is a licensed real estate professional with Ascend Realty in South Dakota. Equal Housing Opportunity.