Nemo Road and Rimrock
Two roads west out of Rapid City into the pine: Nemo Road over the ridges toward Nemo, and SD 44 up the Rapid Creek canyon through Hisega and Johnson Siding.
- Typical Lot
- 2.39 acres at the median house lot on Nemo Road; 1.06 acres along the Rimrock Highway.
Facts checked November 2026
Leave Rapid City on Jackson Boulevard and it turns into SD 44, the Rimrock Highway, and drops into the Rapid Creek canyon. Leave on South Canyon Road and it turns into Nemo Road, which climbs northwest over the ridges. Norris Peak Road ties the two together at Johnson Siding. Everything between them is unincorporated Pennington County in the pine, and the two roads buy very differently.
Where it is
West of Rapid City between Nemo Road on the north and SD 44 on the south, from the city limits to Johnson Siding, covering the Pennington County parcels in the Doty and Johnson Siding fire districts that sit in Rapid City Area Schools.
Nemo Road
Nemo Road starts where South Canyon Road ends at the west edge of the city and runs northwest past Kings Road, Westberry Drive, Emerald Ridge Road and Palmer Road, into Meade County and then Lawrence County before it reaches Nemo. The Pennington County stretch is the Doty Fire District: 871 parcels, 665 of them carrying a house, on a 2.39 acre median house lot.
Water here comes in pieces. South Canyon Country Estates runs its own system of 138 connections, and the state lists separate ones for Westberry Trails at 62 connections and Ponderosa Ridge at 36. Canyon Springs Preserve is the one subdivision with a district for both water and sewer, the Canyon Springs Water and Sewer District. Off those systems it is a well and a septic tank.
From the Emerald Ridge Road area it is 19 minutes to downtown Rapid City, 9.5 miles, and about 26 minutes the other way to Nemo. Nemo itself is across the county line in Lawrence County, where the Nemo Guest Ranch keeps a general store and the Brandin' Iron Restaurant and Bar along the creek.
Rimrock Highway and the Rapid Creek canyon
Past Cleghorn Springs State Fish Hatchery at 4725 Jackson Boulevard, where an enclosed spring pours about six million gallons of 52 degree water a day into Rapid Creek, the highway narrows into the canyon. Cleghorn Canyon, Dark Canyon, Big Bend and Hisega come one after another, then Johnson Siding at the Norris Peak Road junction. The Johnson Siding Volunteer Fire Department covers all of it from its firehouse there.
The lots get small along the creek. Up to Johnson Siding the median house lot is 1.06 acres, and old placer claims like Big Bend Placer and Fort Meade Placer were cut into lots well under an acre. Sewer is mostly septic, with two exceptions: the Rapid Canyon Sanitary District at the bottom of the canyon, around Cleghorn Canyon and Lee Estates, and the Tomaha Ridge Sanitary District in Hisega Heights #2. Water ranges from private wells to small systems such as Hisega Meadows Water at 197 connections and Pine Cliff Estates at 73.
The creek is the reason to live here and the thing to check first. The 1972 flood destroyed homes in Dark Canyon, and 266 of the 1,012 house parcels in this stretch touch a mapped FEMA flood hazard area somewhere on the lot. On Highway 44, Dark Canyon Road, Thunderhead Falls Road or Cleghorn Canyon Road, pull the flood map for the exact parcel before anything else.
One practical note. There are no fuel pumps at Johnson Siding now; the old gas station's system was removed and the building is listed for sale, so fill up in town.
West of Johnson Siding the school district changes
Everything on this page is in Rapid City Area Schools 51-4. A little past Johnson Siding, toward Pactola, Edelweiss Mountain and Black Forest Village, the parcels switch to Hill City School District 51-2. If a listing says Rimrock and sits west of the Norris Peak Road junction, check the county record for its district.
Where Nemo Road and Rimrock sits
The outlines below are reference geometry from county records, not a survey. The recorded plat and a current survey control the exact lines for any one lot.
Where it is
The large pin marks the approximate center of Nemo Road and Rimrock. The smaller pins are the Ellsworth Air Force Base main gate, downtown Rapid City, Monument Health Rapid City Hospital and Rapid City Regional Airport. Approximate locations only, not a boundary or a survey.
How far to things
- Downtown Rapid City
- 28 min, 15.2 mi
- Nearest hospital
- 32 min, 16.7 mi
- Rapid City Regional Airport
- 46 min, 25.2 mi
Monument Health Rapid City Hospital
Typical driving time with clear roads.
Why buyers choose Nemo Road and Rimrock
- Pine, ridges and canyon walls inside half an hour of downtown.
- Rapid Creek below the canyon lots and Black Hills National Forest above them.
- Acreage on Nemo Road; cabin size lots along the creek at a lower assessed level.
At a glance
- Typical Lot
- About two and a half acres on Nemo Road, about an acre along Rapid Creek
Last verified November 2026. How these figures are calculated
What to check at this address
- Jurisdiction
- Unincorporated Pennington County. County permits and zoning, with no city services.
- Water
- Private wells and small community systems, which vary by subdivision
- Sewer
- On site septic, except the Canyon Springs, Rapid Canyon and Tomaha Ridge districts
- Streets and snow
- No city plowing. Eleven road districts on Nemo Road and 29 along the Rimrock Highway cover part of each corridor; other parcels sit on county roads or private drives.
- School district
- Rapid City Area Schools 51-4
- Fire district
- Doty Fire District on Nemo Road; Johnson Siding Fire District along the Rimrock Highway.
- Flood maps along Rapid Creek, and a county rental license that excludes floodway houses.
- A different water arrangement nearly every subdivision.
- Volunteer fire districts and a wildfire conversation with every carrier.
- No fuel at Johnson Siding, so errands start in Rapid City.
Open the ones that apply to the address you are looking at.
Flood mapping
On Nemo Road only 33 of the 665 house parcels touch a mapped flood hazard area, so the creek bottoms are the exception there. On either corridor, pull the flood map for the parcel, find where the house itself sits relative to the line, and get a flood insurance quote before you write the offer.
Private well
If the home is on a well, ask for the well log, test flow rate and water quality, and find out the age of the pump and pressure tank before you remove inspection.
Read the full guideShared water system
South Canyon Country Estates, Westberry Trails, Ponderosa Ridge, Hisega Meadows, Pine Cliff Estates and Rimrock Heights each run their own small system. Ask for the rate sheet, the last few years of minutes and any repair work planned.
Septic system
Get the tank pumped and inspected, ask the county for the permit and as-built drawing, and confirm the drainfield location so you know what you cannot build over.
Read the full guideAssociation or district water and sewer
Canyon Springs Preserve has its own water and sewer district, and the Rapid Canyon and Tomaha Ridge sanitary districts serve parts of the canyon. Each levies its own charges on the tax bill.
Wildfire risk and insurance
Get an insurance quote before your inspection deadline, because a pine-heavy lot can change the premium and, in some cases, the carrier's willingness to write it at all.
Read the full guideWho maintains the road
Find out whether the last stretch to the house is a county road, a road district, a shared easement or your own responsibility, and get the answer in writing. Ask what the district assesses and what that assessment covers.
Snow removal on this street
Ask which priority tier the street is on, or whether anybody plows it at all. On a grade or a cul de sac it changes how you get out on the third morning of a storm, so ask a neighbor rather than the seller.
Short term rental rules
Both corridors fall under Pennington County's Vacation Home Rental license: $150 for three years, five bedrooms and 14 guests at most or less if the septic system says so. The county does not allow one where any part of the house sits in a floodway, which rules out some creekside cabins on the Rimrock Highway entirely.
Read the full guideWhich school this address feeds
A district line can run through a single subdivision, so confirm the assignment for the specific address with the district office rather than the plat or the listing. Boundaries also change between years.
Radon
The Black Hills sit on granite and radon levels here run high, so test during the inspection period and price mitigation into your offer if the number comes back elevated.
Read the full guideProperty taxes
Look up the actual assessed value and the current levy for the parcel instead of trusting the listing figure, which is often a year or more behind.
Read the full guideSchools
All of the parcels this page counts are in Rapid City Area Schools 51-4. West of Johnson Siding toward Pactola the record switches to Hill City School District 51-2.
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.
Search near Nemo Road and Rimrock
Nothing of mine is listed in Nemo Road and Rimrock today. This wider search covers Rapid City, so it takes in more ground than this one subdivision.
What the county assessment shows
On Nemo Road the county carries the 665 house parcels at a $610,300 median assessed value, with the middle half between $471,850 and $814,700.
Along the Rimrock Highway the 1,012 house parcels carry a $486,250 median.
These are county assessed values used for property tax purposes. They are not sale prices and not asking prices.
County assessment roll for Nemo Road and Rimrock. South Dakota aims to equalize assessments at 85 percent of market value. That is a statewide target rather than a promise about any one property, and it does not turn an assessment into a comparable sale. Assessments are set in November for the following year, so recent sales are not in them. Current comparable closings on the specific street are the honest read here.
Common questions about Nemo Road and Rimrock
Are Nemo Road and Rimrock inside Rapid City?
No. Both are unincorporated Pennington County with Rapid City addresses. The Doty Fire District covers Nemo Road and the Johnson Siding Fire District covers the Rimrock Highway.
Which corridor is the shorter drive to town?
The bottom of Nemo Road. The Emerald Ridge Road area is 19 minutes from downtown, and Johnson Siding at the top of the canyon is 28.
Is flooding a real concern on the Rimrock Highway?
Along the creek, yes. Ask for an elevation certificate if the seller has one, and price flood insurance into the payment before you fall for the deck over the water.
Can I rent a canyon cabin to vacationers?
With a Pennington County license, unless any part of the house sits in a floodway. That exclusion is the first thing to check on a creekside cabin bought for rental income.
Is Nemo part of this?
Nemo Road is. Nemo itself is in Lawrence County, a different county with its own taxes and rules, so a house in Nemo needs its own homework.
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. Rapid City Area Schools boundary maps · School and district profiles on GreatSchools · Preschools and private schools in the Black Hills
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
Pennington County Equalization · Meade 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.
Also compare
The established association on Kings Road at the bottom of Nemo Road, with its own water system and recreation area.
Vanocker CanyonThe other road to Nemo, seventeen miles up from Sturgis in Meade County.
Chapel ValleyPine and canyon walls inside city limits, if city sewer and a city plow matter more than acreage.
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.
Keep reading on Rapid City
The region's hub for jobs, medicine, dining and flights, within an easy commute of Ellsworth Air Force Base.
An actively building Rapid Valley subdivision where the school district line runs through the middle.
A newer established subdivision on the north side, finished building, ten minutes from downtown.
An established west Rapid City neighborhood around Summerset Drive and Winterset Drive, with grown in yards and rolling streets.
Older homes on the west side with the Hills standing up in every direction.
My free buyer's guide, written for wells, septic, hail history and PCS timelines in this region.
Price, down payment, rate, taxes, insurance and HOA in one number.
New to the Black Hills? Start with the questions people ask.
Nemo Road and Rimrock also turns up in Black Hills Cabins and Mountain Homes.
Tell me whether you want the ridges or the creek, because on this side of town that one answer changes the flood map, the water system and the lot size all at once.
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 Nemo Road and Rimrock right now, including what has closed nearby.
Last updated November 2026
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, lending or financial advice. Facts and figures are cited from public sources as of November 2026 and change over time. Henry Roy is a licensed real estate professional with Ascend Realty in South Dakota. Equal Housing Opportunity.