Hey all,
 I have 3 points so far am I am going to try for a tag this year. I've hunted (archery and rifle) in the Wasatch of Utah but not in the Hills. This spring/summer I'm planning on taking a few days and exploring some areas. By the data I'm looking at either H2A or H3A for rifle and H2A for archery. It will be just my son and myself hiking in and backcountry spike camping. Looking for recommendations on where to start (a county road or two to drive down) and if there are any thoughts on what unit to focus on to get to learn the area. Thanks!

25 years ago I could have told you exactly where you should look.  Not sure anymore. Good luck and have fun!

Good luck getting a tag. My next door neighbor finally drew a tag last year after 18 years. He went to an area called Elk Mountain and did get a smallish bull.

Unfortunately, this. Most don't even go scouting until they land a tag in SD. Check out the draw stats here:
https://apps.sd.gov/gf79license/DrawResultStat.aspx
Last year for the 2+ years preference on H2A had 37 residence tags and 6,894 applicants (0.5% chance of hitting). H3A wasn't much better with 12 tags and 990 applicants (1.2%). Archery is similar with 13 tags in the 2+ pref. with 2,997 applications (0.4%).

Don't forget that next year you also get to buy a habitat stamp with your preference point!

ETA: And then you have to dodge CWD in the elk out there... outside the park is better I understand, but still plentiful.