Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, South Dakota, United States

4Disneybus 5:00 PM Jul 2, 2021

First you duck, then you cover! Chilling - make sure you see the movie
This National Park Visitor Site is staffed with knowledgeable rangers. It's necessary to see the thirty minute movie - Beneath The Plains: The Minuteman Missile On Alert. I'm sure this affects the viewer in different ways depending on one's age. I'm of the sputnik age and remember parts of the cold war while the younger generation will find this as newly discovered history. The movie is excellent and brings forth the chilling history of that era. The displays enhance the movie's theme. Living in New Jersey as a kid I knew that missiles were somewhere in the center of the country but this site brings it all back and makes it all real. A minuteman missile site is open to all travelers further east on #90, while a tour of a minuteman launch site, also east on #90, requires booking several weeks in advance.

5spitzy135 5:00 PM Jun 24, 2022

Fascinating Inside Look into the Cold War
My husband and I lived through those scary times, so we do appreciate how serious the threat was. We visited the Visitor’s Center and the Delta 9 Silo site, both free, no tickets required. The Visitor’s Center’s historical film and displays brought back the memories of those times. But now, looking back we realize how serious the situation really was. We learned about the behind the scenes information about the people, procedures and technology behind this extraordinary effort to protect our country. Visiting the Delta 9 Silo was even more incredible and was the highlight of our visit. We heard a presentation from a Ranger who was an actual Minuteman. He explained a lot of fascinating information about the silo, how it worked in its day, and about today’s capabilities by comparison. We were able to ask lots of questions and the Ranger was both knowledgeable and insightful. Imagine getting the inside scoop about cold war history from someone who was directly involved! One word of warning, we saw conflicting hours of operation on the NPS website vs. Google Maps. We like using Google Maps because they seem to update their information more often than a lot of websites, and it gives us confirmation on the times and days these places are open. NPS says they are closed Monday and Tuesday, Google Maps says they are closed Sunday and Monday. We didn’t take the chance and visited on Saturday. The Visitor’s Center is open 8am to 4pm. The Delta 9 Silo is open 9am to 3pm.