A friend of ours told us about an underground waterfall. Supposedly it gushes inside of an old abandoned gold mine. Really? Road trip! We took off and drove along a pretty country road that twisted and turned along the Rapid Creek.
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| Rapid Creek |
At the ticket booth a nice lady came out and told us about the history of this famous tourist attraction. It was originally a gold mine in the 1878. She described how laborious the task was to chip and dynamite with gun powder the mine. Some gold and other minerals were extracted. One day as the miners struck the granite walls with their picks a huge underground stream was struck and a waterfall quickly developed. The mine was abandoned and forgotten about for many years.
In the early 1900’s a traveler heard about the waterfall and purchased the land. It was developed into a pretty cool (literally) attraction - Thunderhead Underground Falls. The new gold in this area became “tourists”. At one time the waterfall generated the necessary electricity to run the attraction.
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| Waterfall outside of entrance (not the underground one) |
There is a concrete pathway that leads back to the waterfall with a rail. It is delicious and cool in here. A stream goes by at a rapid pace to the right and empties out into the waterfall above.
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| Gold mine tunnell |
As you go down the path it becomes louder and louder. Suddenly the waterfall appears. It is quite a thrill to see it roaring out right from the rock..
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| Underground waterfall |
We got in free with our VIP pass (regular admission is $7/person). If you are in the area, be sure to check it out.
Afterwards we went into Rapid City to do some shopping. It was very busy. Sturgis will soon be in action and I think the local folks are stocking up. We have heard that the locals stay off the roads during this time.
first time for everything..now an underground waterfall!!
ReplyDeleteNice tour-thanks. When we were in the area during Sturgis a couple years ago, we were advised to avoid driving in the evening as many of the folks on the road have had way to much to drink.
ReplyDeleteThat is the way to do it,you hear about a good place to visit and you go for it-great shots,thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Thanks for the history of the underground waterfall! Just another interesting site we missed while we were in South Dakota a few years ago. There's just so much to see and do in that area.
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