Soak & Stay in Hot Springs, SD
Mineral Springs + Luxury Cabin Rentals Near Evans Plunge & Moccasin Springs
Highland Meadows Resort is the only luxury lodging in Hot Springs, SD located directly adjacent to Evans Plunge Mineral Springs and within one mile of Moccasin Springs Natural Mineral Spa. Guests can walk to one spring and drive two minutes to the other — making it the ideal base camp for a mineral springs getaway in the southern Black Hills.
Book a private cabin, glamping tipi or RV, or campsite and spend your days soaking in waters that have drawn visitors to Hot Springs since the 1890s.
Where to Soak:
Mineral Springs in Hot Springs, SD
Moccasin Springs
WATER TEMPERATURE: 80–105°
BEST TIME TO VISIT: YEAR ROUND
This one is for adults. Moccasin Springs is an 18-and-older experience — no exceptions — and that's precisely the point. This is where you come when you want the noise to stop.
The springs here have been drawing people to this canyon for centuries. What exists today are outdoor mineral pools that range from 80° to 105°F, set against the red sandstone bluffs that define this corner of the Black Hills.
Pick a pool and ease in. The warmest will work the tension out of muscles you forgot were tight. The cooler pools let you linger longer. Between soaks, there's a spa offering massage and bodywork, yoga classes, and onsite dining at the Dragonfly Restaurant — so there's no reason to leave until you're ready.
It's less than a mile from Highland Meadows Resort. Close enough that you could soak in the morning, come back for lunch at your fire pit, and return for a sunset session. Reservations are recommended — this place books up, especially on weekends.
Where to Stay:
Highland Meadows Resort — Luxury Lodging
Luxury Cabins on Private Mesa
TYPE: LUXURY CABINS
OPEN: YEAR ROUND
Four private cabins sit atop the mesa at Highland Meadows, each with its own personality and its own piece of the Black Hills sky. King beds, full kitchens, private gas fire pits, BBQ grills, Adirondacks, and hammocks — everything you need to slow down and actually be here.
Meadow Cabin is the one for wildlife watchers. Positioned for the best views of the open meadow, deer, rabbits, and wild turkeys make daily appearances whether you invite them or not.
Sunrise Cabin is the most remote of the four — perched near the edge of the mesa with views of Hot Springs below. A couples retreat in the truest sense. Quiet, private, and exactly as far from the noise as you want to be.
Columbine Cabin sits surrounded by Ponderosa pines with open sky above. Ethan Allen furnishings, an Uptown Urban mattress, and the kind of sleep that only happens when there's nothing around to interrupt it.
Ponderosa Cabin is the largest — sleeping up to four — making it the right call for two couples or a girls' weekend. Star-gazing from your own fire pit here is less of an activity and more of an inevitability.
Every cabin has a private bathroom stocked with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. High-speed dedicated internet if you need it. Coffee selection that takes the guessing out of the morning.
Evans Plunge
WATER TEMPERATURE: 87°
BEST TIME TO VISIT: YEAR ROUND
This one has been here since 1890. That's not a marketing line — it's a fact that puts things in perspective. Generations of Black Hills families have walked through this door, handed over a towel, and spent the afternoon exactly the way you're about to.
Evans Plunge is built directly over the natural mineral springs that gave Hot Springs its name. The water flows at 5,000 gallons per minute, constant and fresh, cycling through the entire pool every 90 minutes. The temperature holds at 87°F whether it's July or January. No chlorine. Just mineral water, moving the way it has for more than 130 years.
Come for the water slides and stay for the soak. Hit the steam room after. Use the dry sauna. Swim a few laps in a pool that doesn't smell like a pool. The springs feed hot tubs too, if you'd rather just sit and let the jets do the work. There's a fitness center if you feel like earning it first.
It's the oldest tourist attraction in the Black Hills, and somehow it still doesn't feel like a tourist attraction. It feels like a town pool — one that happens to be fed by a 135-year-old natural spring.
Highland Meadows guests receive 10% off — just show your booking confirmation at the front desk. Evans Plunge is right next door to the resort.
Authentic Glamping Tipis
TYPE: TIPI TENT
OPEN: MAY-OCTOBER
Two authentic tipis, king beds, high-quality bedding, and a private bathroom with a code that's yours for the stay. This is not roughing it — it's the opposite of roughing it, wrapped in canvas.
Buffalo Tipi sits near the cabins and the shared fire pit area, making it the social choice — easy access to the communal gathering space, yard games, and the kind of night around a fire that turns strangers into friends. Families love it here.
Eagle Tipi is for the ones who came to disappear a little. Perched at the edge of the mesa overlooking Evans Plunge, it's the most secluded spot on the property. There's a private sitting area behind the tipi shaded by Ponderosa pines, and the tradeoff for the extra walk to the bathroom is a view that makes it worth it every time.
Both tipis sleep four — king bed plus queen futon — and come with a mini-fridge, Keurig, fan, picnic table, and hammock in the warm months. Access to the shared BBQ grill, gas fire pit, horseshoe pit, corn hole, and giant Jenga.
One thing worth knowing: tipis are canvas tents. They're warm and cozy at night and can get hot during peak summer days — a box fan is included, and most guests find the tradeoff more than worth it for waking up in a tipi in the Black Hills.
Cascade Springs & Falls
WATER TEMPERATURE: 67°
BEST TIME TO VISIT: SUMMER
Some swimming holes you read about. This one you remember. Cascade Falls is the kind of place that used to exist everywhere — before concrete pools and water parks took over — and it still exists here, eight miles south of Hot Springs, tucked into the southern Black Hills like a secret locals have been keeping for over a century.
The water flows year-round at a steady 67°F, crystal-clear and mineral-rich, fed by artesian springs upstream. Follow the trail down the steep stairway and the sound hits you before the view does: rushing water over layered rock, pooling into something that doesn't look real.
Take your pick. Wade into the shallow upper pools and just sit — let the current push around you while the sun cuts through the pines. Work your way to the ledge above the deep pool and jump. Swim out to the base of the falls and stand under the cascade, letting the water pound the tension right out of your shoulders. Float. Do nothing. That works too.
It's not a resort. There are no lounge chairs, no lifeguard stand, no ticket booth. Just warm water, smooth rock, and the kind of afternoon that doesn't happen by accident — it happens because you drove eight miles south on Highway 71 and found the stairs.
Free and open to the public. Picnic facilities and restrooms on-site. About 15 minutes from Highland Meadows Resort.
Fully Equipped Stationary RV
TYPE: STATIONARY RV
OPEN: APRIL-OCTOBER
This isn't a campsite with an RV parked on it. It's a fully renovated fifth wheel that trades the road for a permanent spot on the mesa — and never looks back.
Inside: a queen bed, a sleeper sofa for two more, a full kitchen, smart TV, electric fireplace, and the kind of finish work that makes you forget you're in an RV. Outside: a private deck, Black Hills views, and deer wandering through at dusk like they own the place.
It sleeps four comfortably and books like a cabin — because for every practical purpose, it is one. The difference is the story you get to tell when you're back home.
Fall River & The Freedom Trail
WATER TEMPERATURE: 80–105°
BEST TIME TO VISIT: YEAR ROUND
Most rivers make you work for it — a drive out of town, a hike to the water's edge, a hunt for the good spots. Fall River does something different. It runs right down the middle of Hot Springs, and it's been doing so long enough that the whole town grew up around it.
The Freedom Trail follows the river for 2.3 miles through the heart of downtown — a paved path that winds past murals, parks, bridges, and the kind of quiet corners a place only gets after a hundred years of people actually living there. Walk it, bike it, or just stop where the bank opens up and wade in.
The water runs warm year-round, fed by mineral springs converging from Hot Brook and Cold Brook. At Brookside Park, kids splash in the shallows while adults find a flat rock and do absolutely nothing productive. Dip your feet in. Let the mineral water do what mineral water has always done here.
It's not a destination so much as a reason to slow down and actually be somewhere. Hot Springs is the kind of town you drive through on the way to Mount Rushmore and end up staying three nights longer than planned.
Free and open year-round. Parking along River Street. About five minutes from Highland Meadows Resort.
Tent RV Camping on Private Mesa
TYPE: CAMPGROUND
OPEN: APRIL-OCTOBER
Nine sites on a private mesa, each with its own fire pit and picnic table. Three pull-through RV sites with 50-amp power and water hookups. Six tent sites with 20-amp power. Flush toilets, potable water, and firewood available on-site.
The campground shares the same address as the cabins and tipis — which means the same mesa, the same views, the same deer grazing at the edge of camp in the morning, and the same sky full of stars at night. It also means you're steps from Evans Plunge, ten minutes from Wind Cave National Park, and fifteen minutes from Cascade Falls.
A shared common area has corn hole, Connect 4, horseshoes, and a community fire pit — the kind of space where a solo trip turns into a group night without anyone planning it that way.
Chautauqua Park
BEST TIME TO VISIT: YEAR ROUND
Most visitors to Hot Springs never find this one. It doesn't have a sign on the highway or a line out the door. It's tucked into Hot Brook Canyon just northwest of Evans Plunge, and if you didn't know to turn off on Hot Brook Canyon Road, you'd drive right past it.
That's part of what makes it worth finding.
A warm, mineral-fed stream winds through the canyon floor, and the park is built around it in the most unhurried way imaginable. Stop on the stone bridge and dangle your feet over the edge — the water moves quietly below, framed by red sandstone cliffs on both sides. Let the kids wade in the dammed-off splash areas while you simply relax and listen to the river. The water is warm enough to be comfortable, cool enough to want to stay in it.
It's that kind of place. No agenda. No admission. Just canyon walls, birdsong, warm water, and however long you feel like staying.
Picnic shelters, grills, and restrooms on-site. Free and open year-round. It's a gorgeous one-mile walk from Highland Meadows Resort.
Are there hot springs in Hot Springs, SD?
Yes, there are indeed hot springs in Hot Springs, South Dakota. The city is aptly named for its natural thermal springs, which have been a draw for visitors for many years.
These hot springs emerge from the ground at temperatures ranging from about 87 to 103 degrees Fahrenheit (30 to 39 degrees Celsius). The mineral springs are rich in various elements and compounds, including calcium, magnesium, and sulfate. The springs have been used for their purported therapeutic properties. Today, while some of the original spring sites have been capped or diverted, visitors can still experience the warm mineral waters at various locations in the city, including a public bathhouse and private spa.
Can you swim in the Hot Springs in Hot Springs, SD?
Yes — and you have several options, ranging from a full-scale aquatic facility to a free roadside swimming hole.
Evans Plunge Mineral Springs is the most developed option. Built directly over a natural mineral spring in 1890, it features a large indoor pool held at a constant 87°F, water slides, hot tubs, a steam room, and a dry sauna. The spring water flows at 5,000 gallons per minute, so the pool turns over continuously without chlorine. It's open year-round and is the most family-friendly swimming experience in town. Highland Meadows Resort guests receive 10% off — just show your booking confirmation at the front desk.
Moccasin Springs Natural Mineral Spa offers a soaking experience across multiple outdoor pools ranging from 88°F to 105°F. It's less about swimming laps and more about slowing down — think spa pools, not water park. Adults only (18+), and reservations are recommended.
Cascade Falls is the free, no-frills option about eight miles south of town on Highway 71. A natural swimming hole fed by mineral springs at a constant 67°F, with a ledge for jumping, shallow pools for wading, and a deep pool below the falls for swimming. Open in summer, no admission, no lifeguard.
Fall River runs through the heart of downtown and along the Freedom Trail. Fed by the same thermal springs, it's warm enough year-round to dip your feet or splash around at Brookside Park and Centennial Park. More wading than swimming, but a local favorite on a hot afternoon.
Chautauqua Park, tucked into Hot Brook Canyon just northwest of Evans Plunge, has a warm mineral-fed stream running through it with dammed splash areas and a stone bridge — a quieter, unhurried "wade and splash" option that most visitors never find.
Short answer: yes, you can swim here — and however you want to do it, there's a version of it within a few miles of Highland Meadows Resort.
Discover more mineral springs in Hot Springs, SD.
What kind of lodging is there in Hot Springs, SD?
Hot Springs, South Dakota offers a diverse array of lodging options to suit various preferences and budgets. Visitors can choose from traditional motels, boutique hotels, Airbnbs, campgrounds, and full resorts — just to name a few. This wide range of options caters to everyone from budget-conscious travelers to those seeking luxury experiences.
Accommodations at each will vary from basic amenities to luxury stays and unique glamping experiences like you'll only find at Highland Meadows Resort.