South Dakota Scenic Train Rides (2026): A Complete Guide

Last revised: October 2, 2026

South Dakota’s scenic train is the Black Hills Central Railroad, the 1880 Train, between Hill City and Keystone. The ride is a narrated 20-mile round trip on the old Burlington mine spur, about an hour each way with a short layover in the other town. October sits inside a season that runs from May into the holiday trains. Steam is what the railroad schedules for summer. Diesel-electric #63 is named for the Holiday Express in November and December. The Mallet in the photograph is not a promise for the day you book. Prairie Village, near Madison, is not a regular scenic railroad. Its own hours page says the 2026 season, including the train, is over, while tourism listings still name a Pumpkin Train on October 3. Call before you drive there. South Dakota has no Amtrak station.

Black Hills Central 2-6-6-2T 110 leading a train toward Keystone, South Dakota, in 2013

Black Hills Central 2-6-6-2T #110 leads a train toward Keystone on June 5, 2013. Drew Jacksich photo. The engine in the picture is not assigned to every 2026 trip.

Tourism and excursion destinations only. South Dakota has no Amtrak stop. The nearest long-distance train is the Empire Builder, on the North Dakota page.

South Dakota Train Rides at a Glance

Railroad / attraction	Area	Notes	Site
Black Hills Central (1880 Train)	Hill City and Keystone	Narrated 20-mile round trip. About an hour each way, plus a layover. Confirm the locomotive	1880train.com · (605) 574-2222
Prairie Village Pumpkin Train	Madison	Confirm only. The village says the railroad is closed for 2026. Listings still name Oct. 3, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.	prairievillage.org · (605) 256-3644

Wine trains, Oktoberfest, and the Holiday Express are other tickets, not the regular round trip. Compiled October 2, 2026.

State Rail History (Brief)

The first railroad into what is now South Dakota was the Dakota Southern, built from Sioux City toward Yankton. It reached Vermillion in the summer of 1872 and Yankton in February 1873, and in 1881 it entered the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. The two Dakotas became states on November 2, 1889. The Milwaukee and the Chicago & North Western were the through roads. The Milwaukee’s Pacific Extension went west from Mobridge, and the last spike was driven at Garrison, Montana, on May 19, 1909.

The train you can still ride is a mine spur, not one of those main lines. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy laid the Hill City–Keystone track in the late 1880s to serve the mines and mills. William Heckman started the 1880 Train on that grade in 1957. The railroad calls itself the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge tour railroad in the country. It rosters three steam locomotives and two diesels. No. 7, a 1919 Baldwin 2-6-2 that came from the Prescott & Northwestern, is a static display at Hill City. It is not the assigned road engine. News reports in May 2026 placed the sale of the railroad with World Choice Investments.

Related: Railroad history · North Dakota · Nebraska · Minnesota.

Tourist Railroads & Excursions

Black Hills Central Railroad (1880 Train)

You can start at either end. Hill City’s depot is 222 Railroad Avenue, Hill City, SD 57745. Keystone’s is 103 Winter Street, Keystone, SD 57751. The phone is (605) 574-2222. The railroad’s own description is a two-hour narrated trip of 20 miles, an hour each way and about 15 minutes of layover. Budget two and a half to three hours if you come straight back, and longer if you stay in the other town for lunch. The booking calendar is the list of departures. This page does not copy the clocks.

Steam is scheduled for the summer departures. The completed second large steamer is what lets the railroad keep steam on those trips. October is shoulder season. Read the listing for your date, and do not assume #110, or any other engine in a photograph, is the one on the train. Diesel-electric #63 is the locomotive the railroad names for Holiday Express trips in November and December. Wine Train, Oktoberfest, and Holiday Express dates use enclosed cars. Hill City pairs with the railroad museum next to the depot, for as long as that museum is still open. Keystone is the Mount Rushmore side.

South Dakota fall trains · 1880 Train fall ride · 1880train.com

Prairie Village

The grounds are at 45205 SD Highway 34, Madison. The phone on the chamber listing is (605) 256-3644. The railroad is the Prairie Village, Herman & Milwaukee, about two miles of track, and the steam on the property has been Duluth & Northeastern 0-6-0 #29 and 0-4-0T #11. That is a description of the equipment, not a promise for a fall date.

The village’s own hours page, and its homepage, say Prairie Village is closed for the 2026 season, including the historic buildings, the railroad, and the carousel. Camping with self check-in was to run through Saturday, October 3. Tourism calendars, and a September 29 television interview with the general manager, still name a Pumpkin Train that same Saturday, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., out to a pumpkin patch. Those two statements do not agree. Call before you go. The regular Saturday train, and the August steam jamboree, are already over.

The Hill City Museum

The South Dakota State Railroad Museum is Building A, 222 Railroad Avenue, next to the Hill City depot. The phone is (605) 574-9000. It is a display museum. It does not sell a ride. The website, checked for this revision, still said open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. News reports do not agree on the last day. Trains reported a public close on October 12, from a statement the museum posted. KELO and Railfan & Railroad reported October 16. Both accounts say the organization is to be out of the building by February 1, 2027, because the railroad’s new owner did not renew the lease, and both quote the board president that the museum is not disbanding. Call before you plan the visit around the depot stop. Do not treat either close date as the one.

Planning Tips

Hill City or Keystone: book the round trip on 1880train.com, and read which engine, or which kind of engine, that departure uses.
Steam: a summer promise. An October ticket is the consist the railroad assigns that day.
Madison: only if you have called and the October 3 pumpkin train is actually loading passengers.
Across the state: South Dakota has no Amtrak station. The Empire Builder is on the North Dakota and Minnesota pages.

Seasonal & Related Reading

South Dakota fall trains · 1880 Train fall ride · Fall foliage
National tourist trains · Christmas trains · Amtrak
Neighbors: North Dakota · Nebraska · Minnesota

Always verify schedules on the operator’s website before you travel. American-Rails.com does not sell tickets.

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