From Wikitravel

Minuteman Missle National Historic Site [1] is a United States National Historic Site in South Dakota in the USA.

[edit] Understand

At the Minuteman Missle National Historic Site you will find remnants of the Cold War, including an underground launch control center and a missile silo. Minuteman missiles held the destructive power to destroy civilization as we know it. Yet the same destructive force acted as a deterrent which kept the peace for three decades. Minuteman Missile makes it possible to revisit a time when the threat of nuclear war haunted the world.

A Minuteman Missile can strike a target over 6,000 miles away in less then half an hour. Because it moves at speeds of over 15,000 miles an hour 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 40 hours.

[edit] History

[edit] Landscape

[edit] Flora and fauna

[edit] Climate

Weather in South Dakota can be quite variable throughout the year. During the summer months temperatures can reach up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 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.

[edit] Get in

The park headquarters is open all year Monday through Friday, 8AM-4:30PM. 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 currently offered from Thursdays through Tuesdays on a first-come, first-served basis. During Wednesdays reservations are taken for tours. 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 located on site from approximately 8:30AM to 11:30AM while in the afternoon cell-phone guided tours are available.

Reservations can be made by calling the Minuteman Missile headquarters office at +1-605-433-5552 between 8AM and 4:30PM, Monday - Friday.

For group reservations, including schools or special programs call the headquarters.

[edit] Fees/Permits

There are currently no fees to visit the site.

[edit] Get around

The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site headquarters is located off Interstate 90, exit 131, beside the Badlands BP trading post. The contact station is the starting point for all tours to the site. 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, Monday through Friday, throughout the year with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

[edit][add listing] See

The tours are approximately a half-hour in length and are limited to six people. For more information or to make a Wednesday reservation, call the Minuteman Missile NHS Office at +1-605-433-5552 between 8AM and 4:30PM, Monday-Friday. 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.

[edit][add listing] Do

[edit][add listing] Buy

[edit][add listing] Eat

[edit][add listing] Drink

[edit][add listing] Sleep

There are no accommodations on-site, but the historic site is surrounded by the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. 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.

[edit] Stay safe

[edit] Get out

This is a usable article. It has information about the park, for getting in, about a few attractions, and about accommodations in the park. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!