We headed out Saturday morning and made Minuteman Missile National Historic Site our first South Dakota National Park Service stop. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site interprets the history and role played by the American military during the Cold War. Not too long ago, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site served as one of the missile silos on Ellsworth Air Force Base. Visiting Minuteman interested me because my dad spent the first decade or so of his career in the Air Force as a missileer (how many times can I say Minuteman?). I grew up listening to his stories about the missile days. In the small world of the military, my godmother was actually stationed at Ellsworth AFB.
Address and Location
You’ll find Minuteman Missile National Historic Site at 24545 Cottonwood Road in Philip, South Dakota. The Visitors Center sits right off exit 131 on I-90. You can see the Visitors Center from the interstate exit. I would recommend not using GPS directions. Our GPS wanted us to drive about 10 miles off the interstate to the actual town of Philip.
Cost
Exploring the Visitors Center is free. You will need to pay for tickets if you plan to tour the actual missile sites. Tour tickets cost $12 for adults over 17 and $8 for kids 16 and under.
What to do
Start at the Visitors Center. They have a good exhibit about the history of the Minuteman Missiles. Pretty much all of the stuff on display came from actual missile sites at Ellsworth Air Force Base. I was a bit disappointed because I didn’t see anyone I recognized in the different photos and displays. We spoke to one of the volunteers, and he also served in the missile world.
In addition to the Visitors Center, you can tour the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility. This is an actual decommissioned missile silo. If you want to tour the facility, book your tickets ahead of time. By the time we decided to go on this trip, the tour tickets were sold out.
