High Prairie Lodge and Outfitters — Hotel in Deadwood

My wife and I booked with High Prairie Lodge & Outfitters for a 5-day, self-guided turkey hunt. From the initial contact with the hosts Dave & Teri, we knew we had selected the right outfit. Both Dave & Teri were warm, friendly, and very knowledgeable folks. Dave patiently answered all of my questions and ensured that we were well-prepared for our hunt. ||||We opted to do this hunt as a self-guided option, and if you are not an experienced woodsman, I recommend that you elect to use Dave or one of his experienced guides for this hunt. The Black Hills is big country and terrain can be rugged and challenging. Unfortunately for us, the birds were not gobbling well at all during our hunt, and that made for an even greater challenge as a DIY option. This is where the knowledge and experience of a seasoned local guide can make all the difference. ||||As for the lodge itself, the location is great, and the accommodations are beautiful. The lodge is located in the small town of Whitewood, SD which is close to all major attractions in the Black Hills. The view from your front porch has the Hills in the distance and a valley full of deer in the foreground (usually all day long). Don't be surprised to see a deer wandering through the front yard at any given time... The rooms are comfortable, homey, & immaculately clean, and the meals are to die for! Teri is a gourmet chef, and the food was outstanding at every meal. You will not go hungry at High Prairie! ||||Whether you are on an outfitted hunt, or simply traveling through the Black hills area on a sightseeing trip, High Prairie is a fantastic choice for your accommodations or as your outfitter. I cannot recommend them...

Let's start with the good, the lodge was very clean and the food was good. This is more of a bed and breakfast, not a hunting camp style atmosphere. Now for the bad, we booked a Black Hills Spring Turkey hunt that was supposed to be on private land. When we arrived, we drove our vehicles on pretty aggressive logging roads that are not maintained in the Black Hills National Forest. The first night our guide took us to about 15 spots where we called for turkeys and never heard a single bird gobble. The rest of the hunt we were on our own, we hunted two mornings at the spots the guide recommended, never heard a single turkey gobble on the roost or see a turkey for that matter. The 2nd day of our hunt was on a Saturday, we ran into 15-20 trucks full of hunters or ATV riders coming or going from the spots. I have hunted all over the US and never would have booked if I knew it was public land. The website talks about hunting with Dave, a guy with many years of turkey hunting experience. Never once did we meet Dave and had a young guide show us around. It wouldnt of mattered who showed us around, but was not as advertised. Upon talking to locals, sounds like the area has experienced a major loss of birds in the area. We talked to another group that got there as we were leaving, and they had the same experience. Never heard a single turkey in three days of hunting. On top of the lackluster hunting, the guides were out blasting birds on the prairie areas when the whole area seems to be in a major decline on population. This may be the first negative review I have ever done, I just dont want you to spend your hard earned money and be as...

Just got back from a 3 day semi-guided hunt. Met up with Dave around 2:30 when we arrived and rode around scouting until dark that night. Was slow at first trying to find some birds but Dave was persistent and we managed to roost 5/6 birds. Dave was very helpful with his advice and tips for hunting the black hills merriams. Dave did everything he could to ensure we would have a successful hunt. His wife, Mrs. Teri had bagged lunches for us everyday and you could tell the sandwiches were made with love. Breakfast was at the hotel we stayed at, (The lodge was under construction), and dinner we ate wherever we pleased and we’re reimbursed. Overall, it was all you could ask for in booking a semi-guided hunt.

The hunting was a little slow. We harvested 1 bird out of the 4 of us hunting. I’m sure every hunt is different for everyone but when we had success, we ended up walking around 3.5 miles up and over hills and chasing birds around. There is a lot of ground to cover and you really have to get out and put in the work. I really enjoyed the hunting. It is challenging but a great experience. 1st morning we got on a bird that was 200 yards from the road. Second morning we got on a bird that was 3 miles from the road. Every situation is going to be different, just expect the unexpected and be willing to put it the work.

With that being said, highly recommend Dave and High Prairie for a turkey hunt. No...