Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Understand
At the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site you will find remnants of the Cold War, including an underground launch control center and a missile silo. Minuteman missiles still hold the destructive power to destroy civilization as we know it, but the same destructive force is intended as a deterrent to keep the peace. Minuteman Missile is a reminder that the threat of nuclear war still haunts the world.
A Minuteman Missile can strike a target over 6,000 miles (10,000 km) away in less then half an hour. Because it moves at speeds of over 15,000 miles an hour (21,400 km/h), a Minuteman could cross the United States from east to west in just over 10 minutes. By comparison, to drive the same distance would take a few days, and by airplane, a few hours.
Climate
Weather in South Dakota can be quite variable throughout the year. During the summer months temperatures can reach up to 100 °F (38 °C). Thunderstorms may also be experienced during the spring, summer and fall months. Winds may be high during any time of the year. During the winter months temperatures can be quite cold while blizzards are not uncommon.
Get in
The park headquarters is open all year daily from 8AM-4:30PM Mountain Time. The office is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays. Free tickets for tours of the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility can be picked up at the visitor's center and are offered daily on a first-come, first-served basis. Tours are approximately a half-hour long. Space is limited to around 6 persons at a time.
Tours of the Delta-09 Launch Facility are self-guided. An interpreter is some times on site in the morning while in the afternoon cell-phone-guided tours are available.
Get more information by calling the Minuteman Missile headquarters office at +1-605-433-5552 between 8AM and 4:30PM, daily.
For group reservations, including schools or special programs call the headquarters.
Fees and permits
There are no fees to visit the site.
Get around
The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site headquarters is located off Interstate 90, exit 131, beside the Conoco gas station. The contact station is the starting point for all ranger led tours. The contact station also includes exhibits and a park orientation video which places the Minuteman in historic context. The visitor contact station is open from 8AM-4:30PM, daily, throughout the year with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
See
The tours are approximately a half-hour in length and are limited to six people. For more information call the Minuteman Missile NHS Office at +1-605-433-5552 between 8AM and 4:30PM, daily. Spaces on these tours are very limited so plan your trip early!
For group reservations or special programs also call the Minuteman Missile Visitor's Center.
Sleep
There are no accommodations on-site, but the historic site is surrounded by the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. As with nearly all U.S. National Grasslands, you are free to pitch a tent pretty much anywhere you like, as long as you get a little ways away from the road, and make sure not to go down any roads marked private.
The nearest lodgings are in Wall.
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