While visiting Deadwood you must visit Mount Moriah Cemetery where Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok are buried. I would not suggest trying to walk to the cemetery from Historic Old Town. The cemetery is a the top of a very steep hill overlooking the town. One of the people at the visitor’s center told me that even the people in the very best condition have found it extremely difficult. So, cemetery visitors should drive up the steep curvy road to the small park lot and visitors center. Parking is very limited but once you find a parking spot, make your way to the small visitors center where I paid the $2.00 fee for a map to use for the self-guided tour. You must walk when touring the cemetery and it is rather hilly, but the Graves of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok are just a short walk from the entrance gate. If you have the time, use the map from the visitors center to explore some of the other notable graves in this cemetery including Seth Bullock who was sheriff of Deadwood. Also, most people just come to visit the graves of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill, but if you continue a little farther toward the flagpole you come to a very nice veterans memorial and an overlook that give you a very nice view of the Town of Deadwood below. All total I spent about 90-minutes walking around the cemetery. I was able to visit many of the graves on the map. If you just want to visit Calamity Jane and Wild Bill’s grave, you can certainly accomplish this in as little as 30-minutes. But there is so much history here you should probably allow at least an hour to see some of the other sites here. A visit to Mount Moriah Cemetery is a must for anyone coming to Deadwood and the $2.00 fee and map are...
Read moreWe are visiting from out of state, and we love touring old cemeteries. We, as always, have our dog. This is not a normal cemetery and requires tickets. But they are only $2. When we got to the booth, the sign said no dogs. We have never encountered this before and asked how strict the rule was. We were told we could bring her in as long as we carried her. I said that would work and ran my bag back to the car so I had both hands free. We paid and started towards the gate, and the same woman called out and said, "You can't bring that dog." I said you just said we could if I carried her, and she said no, rules are rules. I responded I understood, but why say we could go in and then as soon as she had our money, she said no. She offered to take our dog which was not going to happen, then suggested we tie her to a post in the parking lot, also not happening, or leave her in the car on an 80 degree day while we took the tour. When I told her none of that was acceptable, she started to call someone on her cellphone ranting loudly to herself about people breaking the rules. At this point, we demanded our money back, which in her only defense she did agree to do. While it is extremely odd to have a no dog rule at a cemetery that has large paved path through it, we tried to adhere to the rule she set for us. She changed the rule, badgered us, and made suggestions that were entirely devoid of any empathy towards living beings. This woman should not be allowed a public...
Read moreNo fee to enter during off-season! I went at the beginning of November. It was cool to walk around and see the history. Of course, you have to check out the few famous Graves as well. There's a hike up a steep hill if you want to see Seth's grave. There were a lot of deer, turkey, chipmunks, and squirrels throughout at 9 am. I don't know anything about Wild Bill, but I enjoy cemeteries, and it was nice to go for a walk here. I surprisingly spent about 1.5 hours here. It's not good for handicapped as it's a lot of hills. Not walker/wheelchair friendly. I'm curious what the stack of rocks up by Seth's grave is for. Also, I didn't like that people were placing rocks all over the headstones. Makes the place...
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