They sold us the Trolly Tickets, stating that "they run every 15 minutes or so, all day". We bought 4 tickets and were only able to ride ONE time. They were down to ONE DRIVER and had only ONE TROLLY running. Despite that, they never said anything, and of course the tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE, even if they lied to you. Additionally, Deadwood now reminds me more of "Pottersville" instead of "Bedford Falls" (if you get the analogy to It's a Wonderful Life). I realize Deadwood was traditionally a rough town, but now it is downright sleazy. Slot machines in every store window everywhere you go, no enough vendors for food and refreshments. They are there, but not nearly enough. Also, not enough emphasis on historical Deadwood. I know the town has burned down and most of the historical locations have been built-over, but there is a lot of history here and they only have a few shows during the day to highlight some of it. So, definitely not a family place, and not much of a place to get a good historical perspective on the impact of Deadwood beginning after the gold rush...
Read moreMeh. Same as others have said, lady at the front desk was less than helpful. I suspect she's a local and like a lot of small tourist towns, they want nothing to do with the tourists. Strange to put someone like this as the "face of your town." Trolley is a racket and largely unnecessary as it's a one road town. Very walkable. Sad part, for all the wild west history, it's now reduced to a casino town. Really takes away from the historical feel. Slot machines everywhere and very unwelcoming for anyone under 21. Looks like MGM resorts owns the entire town. Pool at the rec center was great. $35/mo for the entire family and a free parking pass. If you're staying more than a day or two, grab a membership even if just for the parking pass. Actors and the reinactments are good. They're trying. Everything else is repeat tourist town shops and restaurants exploiting J1 labor. (Junior Sturgis bike rally town if you're interested) Free parking at the visitor center...
Read moreParking is free here! If you're visiting Deadwood for the first time, definitely start here! They have lots of great information and maps to help you find your way around so you can make the most of your visit!
The staff here is very friendly and informative! The bathrooms are clean and quite large and the facility isn't too busy. Make sure you grab a map or two (which also shows where the historic shootouts are and all the points of interest), and then look around to see all the cool information they have about the town and the history. One of my favorite things was looking at the old pictures of what the town looked like back in the days of old!
I highly recommend starting here first and then Historic Deadwood is right across the street, so within walking distance. Be aware though, you'll be walking quite a bit so wear comfy shoes! Overall, I'm happy we stopped in here because it helped us navigate where to go so we weren't walking...
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