We are coming out to the Black Hills in October for a week of SxS riding.
We are staying central to the Black Hills.
Where would you say your must stop at places are? Small Gun shops/pawn shops, dinner options, and so on.

Its my understanding you are now Permitless CC. I have my WI CC Permit, Am I good to CC?
When Riding I am more comfortable Open carry, Do people get hassled around there for open carry? Firearm would be a Taurus 605 .357 Mag Revolver

Now a question about looking for treasures. Can we pan gold at random creek crossings or do I need to get really in depth and find claim maps?
How about bringing a metal detector? Picking up antlers or anything, is that legal? From what I see it is not but I have read about people shed hunting out there so I'm confused.

Places to stop:
Depends on what kind of food you like and what you like to do but lets get cracking
Gun wise:
The best shops in western SD are Southern Hills tactical and First stop guns. First stop will have all the blackhills ammo you want and southern hills tactical is great if you need a HK93, couple machineguns , 40mm, cans, etc etc. Mike at Southern Hills Tactical is great dude who will chat as long as you want.

Food wise:
"Central Hills" smells like Hill City or there abouts so id stop at the alpine inn for lunch one day, its cash only but top tier German food. Their dinner menu is different and not as strong in my opinion.
Hill City also has the Chute Rooster which at first looks very campy but is stand up chuckwagon food
If you are north of Hill City, Legends in Deadwood is probably the best in town. Its sad how poor the selection is in deadwood in my opinion.
If you are south of Hill City; Custer wolf, Hjem AM and black hills burger are solid. Avoid Sage Creek grille, bad food and a no guns sign on the door.
If you owe the wife a fancy dinner for your trip sign up for a reservation now at Skogen Ktichen. It will be expensive but its the best place in western SD hands down. Just remember to get a reservation.


CCW/OC (Not a lawyer, not legal advice):
You will be fine with CC or OC in the hills with your WI permit or without. Especially if youre on trails, just remember no CC/OC in bars.
As always id skim https://handgunlaw.us/states/southdakota.pdf for any state I go to


Gold/Trinkets:
Im not sharing where I pan for but do behave around the rivers
Antlers and Bones are a free for all (still not legal advice), nobody will hassle you or care. The hills are a very laissez faire area.
That being said, pay attention to our fire restrictions and watch where you park on the tall grass no arfcommers are allowed to burn my home down.

October is a good month out here but the weather can change quickly so make sure you take a jacket with you and have a plan for snow hitting you overnight.

Thanks I will look up all the places.
We will be staying outside of Rochford
We plan on riding all over from Spearfish to Custer and over as far as Nemo.
Not sure about gold panning, we just figured if we stop by a creek for lunch or a break could grab a few pans of gravel and see what we find.

There was a recent post in this forum about someone doing the same.  It talks about the OHV permit you'll need if you're doing trails.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/hometown/SxS-trip-in-Deadwood-area-/40-669281/

ETA:  Here's another recent thread with info on stuff besides SxS.  

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Hometown/Planning-a-trip-to-Mt-Rushmore-for-25th-Anniversary-/40-668222/

Thank I will check out the links.
I am good with all the permits. I am dual registered in WI and SD so I have a street legal plate on my machine. I already have my Off road permit also.

All cool then.  Have fun.  I'm heading up to see family for a couple of weeks starting the middle of next month.  Looking forward to escaping the heat down here.

Leave the UTV/ATV at home. They are not wanted or welcome in the black hills. One big shitshow. If you do bring them, make sure you stay on public property. Tearing up private property is not excused by not knowing where you are.

LOL hahahaha Love people like you.
I would be willing to bet they are wanted hence all the trails. The state and feds love the income. The businesses love the income.
Wait so we are not welcome? Thats odd since the state allowed me to dual register my Ranger with them to drive on all roads except the interstate and the Feds sold me a off road pass for the black hills specifically
to drive on off road trails.... I would say thats pretty welcome.
Why would I leave them home when that is the sole purpose of the trip?
Why would we not stay on public property? I do not trespass. I will know where I am at all times as I have all the maps and have done all the research.

Attached File

Yeah, there's a LOT of people pissed off at all the SxS's. Gotta admit, they do really clog up the roads. Really wouldn't mind if they restricted them to off-road use only.

Ummm...  The motorcycle rally?  700,000 plus out of towners turning the Black Hills into rush hour?

I get it about all the rental SxS that piss people off.  And tourists driving into your neighborhood (my family has property north of Custer and we see it).  But tourists bring money into the communities that keep the communities running year round.  It's a profit thing.  Come late Sept, everyone leaves and you get your peace and quiet back.

You folks who moved into a tourist area then bitch about tourists....  Just move to the the "big city" of Rapid.  

Sheesh...

No, not the Rally. Also, not my neighborhood.

@7insert
Are you able to CC in places that serve food and alcohol? Or is it just bars?

Also would it be worth getting a small game license to be able to shoot a few critter if we see them or is small game fairly sparse?

No carrying legally in any place that derives over one-half of its total income from the sale of alcohol.

Bring your side by side and have fun. Download an app called Avenza Maps. It has ALL the Black Hills trails. Don't listen to people who say your not welcome. Or leave your SxS home, it's bullshit. Just be respectful, no garbage, stay on legal trails, etc. Have fun.

I have avenza, its a great app for the hills. We are always respectful. We usually pic up any trash we encounter.
Some people are pigs.

Thats what I figured. I am figuring out a way to lock my handgun in my ranger somehow if we stop at a saloon for lunch or dinner.

If a tree falls in a forest and nobody sees it fall, was there ever a problem?
I would not leave handguns unattended in vehicles anywhere. Its a major issue in Rapid proper, not so much the hills but you never know who is passing through.