1880 Train

Cant wait to go again! So relaxing crusing up the rail seeing deer, and other wild life. The kids loved it. So much space to hang out and have a good time. We switched cars and rode back to Keystone in a different car. If you want to relax and take in the Black hills with your family, this is for you. I also saw alot of couples on the train enjoying the relaxing ride. Something we will do again for sure!

Little bit pricey for the trip but well worth it they’re very handicapped friendly and the scenery that you see along the way is really good the conductors right answer any question you have and very much worth the money you pay

Totally touristy but totally fun. Perfect for train enthusiasts of all ages. The conductor was nice enough to speak to my 12 year old train expert and add to his encyclopedic knowledge of trains and how they run. During the ride a recording tells the history of the area. There’s enough time in Hill City for a snack if you get on the next train back to Keystone. Just a warning, the snack shop in Hill City is CASH only. There’s an ATM in the gift shop but it was out of order when we were there. All in all my family had a great time.

The 1880’s train museum is worth the stop. It’s a quick tour with lots of good information on how the train helped develop the west. There is a video to watch and displays — I enjoyed the china from the club cars display. It’s very clean, a little snack bar and a gift shop.

Visited the black hills in June and took a ride on the 1880 train. We boarded in Hill City and did the round trip to Keystone and back. The ride was beautiful and the train was really neat. We were glad we took the ride. They allow snacks but there are no restrooms on the train which wasn’t good for our 4 year.

Went on this ride June 1, 2015. Went from Hill City to Keystone and back. Enjoyed the ride and the scenery. Was told to get on the rear car and on the right side for the best views. Then on the way back the engine comes to the rear car and pulls it going backwards, so the best thing to do is move to the rear car that was the front and get into the opposite side to see a different view on the way back.

Very fun way to spend part of a day in Keystone. The train cars are gorgeous and it’s a must if you have any train aficionados in the group. Scenic and good for the whole family regardless of age or physical ability.

This was a great experience for the whole family. 9 of us, ages ranged from 1 to 78, and all had a great time. The weather was gorgeous, which helps. The information on the train was very interesting and entertaining. The 1, 2, and 4 year olds were so taken by the passing scenery and occasional wildlife (and waving passers by), that none of them fought to run around the train — and these are energetic children. They have an electric lift for people to cannot manage the steps in Hill City, and a ramp for those at the stop in Keystone.
Definitely recommend reservations (you don’t have to pay in advance), and getting to your train about 30 – 45 minutes early to ensure you can sit together. 2 paying tickets per seat, so if you have «lap-​sitters» (under 4 I believe), there will be three of you in the seat. My sister and I had two little ones with us, and it wasn’t uncomfortable.
3 of our party of 9 got off in Keystone and spent a couple of hours shopping. There weren’t as many shops as Hill City, so you’ll want to consider that when deciding when to return. 6 of us stayed on the train for the return trip. 2 ½ hours or so total, and it was a very scenic and enjoyable for everyone. A little pricy ($ 28/​round trip), but worth it. Enjoy!

Very informative and calming train ride. There is a choice between sitting in an open trail cart or an in closed one. The closed one has cushion seats while the open one has wooden seats. The views are spectacular! Little kids may get restless since it is a two hour long ride there and back. There is no restroom on the train either. All-​in-​all a great ride!

Wonderful experience… Beautiful scenery! Unbelievable that some people complain that there is no trip to Rushmore … Can’t people read? The brochure and train station clearly tell you where the train goes and exactly how long it takes.
There is a full narration of the trip and train explaining train language and how a steam train works! A must do trip for little ones or anyone curious about train travel!

I’m mixed on this. It was pretty cool the first time from hill city to keystone. I thought the trip back would be on another route but it was the same thing. I wish they would have let us stay in keystone to see the city before coming back. Maybe we could have but our ticket showed the time we have to come back and it was only 15 mins after we arrived.

We went on the «Wine Tour» and it does not allow you to get off of the train for the trip through town. We were looking forward to that party.
Warning to tall people — hubby is 6’2″ and I am 5’10″ and our knees were literally crammed into the back of the seats in front of us. The seats that face each other caused the people to interlace their legs for lack of room… even if you are not tall!
The lines are very long even if you have bought the tickets online so get there at least 45 minutes early. The staff was fun. If you are going for the scenery there really isn’t much to see compared to the scenery of the area around there but all of the people you pass will wave.
We had a decent time but I would not go again if it were free.

I forgot to review this when I was there. We visited in June of this year. We had a gripe of 9 people. I made reservations online and it went very smoothly. Looking online, I saw that they had a special even for Father’s Day, so that is the day we picked to do it. They were doing a train robbery on that day one time for a certain trip/​time. And fathers got a discount (child price).
I wish that they would have given more information… we drove to Hill City to take this train, but it turns out we could have stayed in Keystone and got the train there (our hotel was there).
Hill City had food available before the train. It was ok. The seating is not assigned, so we stayed in line for a long time. We wanted to make sure all 9 of us could sit together.
The robbery was fun, but it all took place outside of the train. Only one side of the train could really see it.
The kids really enjoyed the train ride. I think it took about 2 hours to do the round trip, but, like I said, that was almost 3 months ago.
Seats are a little crowded when you face the seats so people can talk… so think about that if you want to do that… not a lot of leg room.

Wonderful ride, fun interaction with crew, very informative & the narration (a mix of live and recorded) was well done and audible without blaring.
We rode from Hill City to Keystone got off & shopped and site ‘saw’ for 2 hours & returned at dusk. Saw deer, & turkeys from the train. On the way back to the campground just outside of town we saw Mountain Sheep.
Both towns are ‘touristy’ but entertaining.
Found really good food in Keystone a short walk from the train station.
Despite the 90°F out of door temps, riding in the open car was refreshing, not too windy, and had adequate shade.
Compared to other tourist attractions it was reasonably priced for a two hour train ride through the Black Hills.

Beautiful ride through the Black Hills of SD. It could get a little boring for small children as everyone must stay in their seats and it is over an hour long each way. We saw deer and turkeys and enjoyed the trip.

Very fun. Lots of scenery to look at along the way. Myself, my wife and our four year old enjoyed it a lot.

Even my grandma thought this was boring.
The train cars were beautiful, but the price for the ride wasn’t all that «worth it». Might be a neat idea if you were planning on going to Keystone or Hill City for the day and did the round trip, but otherwise, skip it. The route is not very «scenic»…more like, seen it.

It was a pretty cool scenic train ride through the country side. All there isto do is sit back relax and watch the wildlife here and there. It’s an hour or so each way and my kids got bored with it rather quickly. I tried to tell them how this was a train used over 130 years ago but dad was boring too so I let them have there damn Nintendo DS’s so I at least could enjoy the peaceful ride.

We have ridden the train two times & thoroughly enjoyed it both times.
Take the 1880 Wine Train in September – it is very neat! Prairie Berry Winery serves the meal accompanied with wine for each course.
has a Gunsmoke episode with the old train featured.

We have rode the 1880 Train several times (mostly because our 2 year old loves trains). I don’t really understand the negative or low star ratings on here because the train does exactly what the map and ticket counter tell you. You get on the train at one of 2 locations (Hill City, or Keystone) and you get a scenic ride to the other. The conductors are very nice, knowledgeable, and entertaining. You can literally ask them about any building, bush, or bug you see along the rail and they will tell you a story behind it. It is a bit pricy to ride the train, but I also understand that the upkeep of the train and track must be expensive. You can get popcorn and drinks while on the train.
Overall I really enjoy the entire experience.

Mitten in den Black Hills findet man den «1880 Train», der täglich zwischen Keystone und Hill City pendelnd. Ein richtiges Unikat aus der guten, alten Zeit der USA. Es knistert, knartzt während der gesamten Fahrt in den restaurierten Wagons.
Eine Dampflok befeuert mit altem Öl. Zuerst traut man seinen Ohren nicht, doch wenige Sekunden danach kommt des Rätsels Lösung: aufgrund der hohen Waldbrandgefahr im Sommer wird damit ein Funkenflug vermieden. Ihre Fahrkarte erhalten Sie unter