Sandstone Hills
The hillside of homes you see coming into Spearfish, 316 of them, mostly built between 2000 and 2005.
- Build Era
- 1996 to 2022, median 2004
Facts checked August 2026
Why people buy here
Sandstone Hills is one of the first developments you see coming into Spearfish, prominent houses up on the hillside, and it is still run by an active HOA. The neighborhood has an upscale feel to it. Smaller homes on the bottom of the hills and the homes get larger as you increase in elevation. There are now roads that connect Sandstone Hills in the backside around to restaurants and shopping.
How it filled in
Twenty five homes went up between 1996 and 1999. One hundred seventy between 2000 and 2004. Seventy nine between 2005 and 2009. Then it slowed hard: twenty in the next five years, seventeen in the five after that, five since 2020.
The housing stock here is overwhelmingly one era. Two houses on the same street are often two versions of the same floor plan, so a house that has been added to or left alone stands out quickly.
Twenty seven bare lots are left, so building is possible but it is not what this place is. Another eighteen unbuilt parcels are slivers and common ground that nothing goes on. You are buying a twenty year old home in a finished neighborhood.
What you get for being inside the city
All 361 parcels are inside Spearfish city limits, which means city water, city sewer, city plowing and a city fire department rather than a well, a septic system and districts you assess separately. Spearfish School District 40-2.
The development sits under Lookout Mountain, Spearfish Mountain and Crow Peak, with greenways, a picnic area and a connection to the city bike path. Spearfish Canyon Golf Club, a semi private eighteen hole course, is about a mile west.
The HOA is unusual and worth knowing about: fifty dollars, assessed in odd numbered years. That is not a typo and it is roughly what a single month of dues costs in most subdivisions with amenities. Read the covenants anyway, because a low assessment tells you what the association does not do as much as what it does.
The neighbor half a mile away
Miller Ranch is about half a mile away and it is the newest thing in town, which makes it the direct comparison almost every buyer here ends up making.
Grown trees, finished streets and a twenty year old furnace on this side. Your own floor plan, a bare yard and construction next door on that side. Neither one is the right answer, and I would rather know which of those two annoyances you can live with before we drive either.
How far to things
- Downtown Rapid City
- 51 min, 46.7 mi
- Nearest hospital
- In town
- Rapid City Regional Airport
- 75 min, 59.9 mi
Monument Health Spearfish Hospital
Typical driving time with clear roads.
Why buyers choose Sandstone Hills
- 316 homes, mostly built between 2000 and 2005, finished and lived in.
- City of Spearfish water and sewer, and the city plows.
- An HOA of $50, assessed in odd numbered years, which is nominal.
At a glance
- Construction Era
- 1996 to 2022, median 2004
- New Construction
- Limited
Last verified August 2026. How these figures are calculated
What to check at this address
- Jurisdiction
- City of Spearfish
- Water
- City of Spearfish municipal water.
- Sewer
- City of Spearfish sewer.
- HOA
- Active homeowners association. $50, assessed in odd numbered years.
- Streets and snow
- City of Spearfish plows.
- School district
- Spearfish School District 40-2
- Fire district
- City of Spearfish Fire Department
- Fifty one minutes to Rapid City and 70 to the Ellsworth gate.
- Twenty years on, so roofs and mechanicals are reaching the age where they get replaced.
- Covenants govern the exterior, so read them before you plan a shop or a fence.
- Radon testing belongs in the inspection period here.
Open the ones that apply to the address you are looking at.
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 guideHail and roof age
Hail season here runs from late May through August, so ask for the roof age, the last claim history and any impact-resistant rating before you write.
Property 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 guideCovenants and HOA documents
Read the covenants before you write, especially on outbuildings, RV and trailer parking, fencing, rentals and exterior materials.
Association or district water and sewer
Water and sewer here are the City of Spearfish, but the association is active and governs the exterior of the house and the lot. Ask for the current dues, the last two years of board minutes and any pending assessment, and read the design review rules before you plan a shop, a fence or a paint color.
Homes for sale in Sandstone Hills
Nothing of mine is listed in Sandstone Hills today. This search is set for Sandstone Hills and shows whatever is active there right now.
EvidenceThe county record, in detailParcel counts, recorded prices and what each figure comes from for Sandstone Hills.
How far along it is
316 of the 361 parcels carry a house. Twenty seven are bare lots and eighteen are slivers and common ground.
- Platted Parcels
- 361
- Parcels With A House
- 316 (88%)
- Bare Lots
- 27
- Slivers And Common Ground
- 18
A bare lot is a lot with no house on it. It is not a listing. Most are owned by somebody who is not selling.
Slivers, drainage and common ground under a twentieth of an acre. Counted because the county plats them, but nothing can be built there.
This one is finished in every way that matters. What is on these streets today is what you get, and the bare lots are scattered leftovers rather than a phase waiting to go in.
Lawrence County parcel records, 2023 cutoff.
Parcel counts and build years come from Lawrence County records. The subdivision's own website publishes 302 lots, which is the original plat count; the county now shows 361 parcels after later splits and additions. Both numbers are real and they are counting different things.
Common questions about Sandstone Hills
How many homes are in Sandstone Hills?
316 across 361 platted parcels, per Lawrence County. Twenty seven are bare lots and eighteen are slivers and common ground.
When were the homes built?
Between 1996 and 2022, with the median at 2004. The heaviest run by far was 2000 to 2004, when 170 homes went up.
Is Sandstone Hills inside Spearfish city limits?
Yes, all 361 parcels, on city water and city sewer, in Spearfish School District 40-2.
What does the HOA cost?
Fifty dollars, assessed in odd numbered years. That is genuinely all of it. A low assessment tells you what an association does not cover, so read the covenants and the design review requirements before you plan a shop, a fence or an outbuilding.
How does it compare to Miller Ranch?
Miller Ranch is half a mile away and is nine phases from finished. Sandstone Hills is finished. One gives you a lot and a build slot, the other gives you grown trees and a twenty year old house. Which is right depends entirely on your timeline.
What should I check on a twenty year old house here?
Roof age and hail history first, because this region sits in an active hail corridor and a 2004 roof has been through a lot. Then the furnace and the water heater, both of which are at or past their design life at this build date. Then radon, because the whole region is a high radon zone.
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. Spearfish School District 40-2 · 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
Lawrence County Equalization · Pennington County Equalization · Meade 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
Half a mile away and the opposite trade: pick your lot and your windows, and live beside construction while you do.
The Reserve on Higgins CreekA large Spearfish plat too, still building after seventeen years, so resale and new construction sit on the same streets.
Mountain PlainsThree and a half acres a lot outside the city limits, if a finished subdivision is not what you are after.
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 Spearfish
One of South Dakota's fastest growing towns, with a university, a canyon out the back door and a downtown you can walk across.
Five to ten acre lots south of Spearfish, platted around 2000 and still two thirds unbuilt.
A 1970s acreage pocket west of Spearfish, outside the city, with its own road district.
Native sandstone storefronts, an opera house that still books shows, and a campus at the middle of it.
A golf community on the old Frawley Ranch, inside city limits, with 82 lots still open.
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.
On a 2004 house the roof, the furnace and the water heater decide whether the price is fair. What has already been replaced comes from the seller's disclosure and the permit history for that address.
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 Sandstone Hills right now, including what has closed nearby.
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.