Historic Deadwood (South)

Meals Included: Wine and Wing Reception

Welcome aboard your motorcoach as your tour begins in St. Albert. Travel south through Red Deer (coffee), Calgary, and Lethbridge (lunch) for pickups. Then you will get a chance to stop at the Duty-Free before entering the USA at Sweetgrass. South of the border, you will follow Interstate 15 as you make your way to Great Falls, MT, where you will stop for your overnight destination and be treated to a wine and wing welcome reception.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Welcome Reception

Today you will take Interstate 87 southeast and stop for coffee along the way before making your way to Billings where you will stop for a lunch break. After lunch, you will carry on until you reach your destination of Deadwood, where you will spend the next 4 evenings in the Mineral Palace Casino Hotel.

HISTORY OF THE MINERAL PALACE

The beginnings of the present-day Mineral Palace extend to Deadwood’s early days. In 1876 a shrewd and cunning entrepreneur named Al Swearengen arrived in rowdy Deadwood and the following year he established The Gem Theatre on the site now occupied by the Mineral Palace. It seems that the term “theatre” was loosely used because The Gem was actually a house of prostitution. Always packed with fortune-hunters, The Gem survived fires, floods, and wild patrons to become one of Deadwood’s most venerable and longest-operating entertainment establishments. Legend has it that in its prime the Gem was an immensely profitable venture, taking in at least $5,000 on most nights, and $10,000 on some. Unfortunately, Al Swearengen died penniless. He departed Deadwood soon after an 1899 fire and was killed not long after that while trying to hop a train in Denver’s rail yard.

In 1990, not long after gambling was legalized in Deadwood, the community’s Ford dealership was transformed into a complex of three casinos named Cousin Jacks, The Livery and Carrie Nation’s. Together, the three were collectively known as “Three of a Kind.”

Construction on the grand and gracious Mineral Palace began in 1992, and a formal opening was held in March 1993. The 75-unit hotel combined with The Gem Steakhouse and Saloon and the three casinos was called Mineral Palace Hotel and Gaming. The facility also offers a liquor store, gift shop and free on-site parking.

Meals Included: None

This morning you’re encouraged to sign up and partake in the free slot and blackjack tournaments in the afternoon.

Do some shopping at the many stores like DEADWOOD’S WILD BILLS TRADING POST where you will find a Wild Bill exhibit, antique guns, antique gambling items, souvenirs, gifts, general antiques, items of historic interest, or stop in at Mustang Sally’s which is a sports bar and grill, with the best burgers in town

Take in the live entertainment at Mainstreet Shows & Shoot Outs. Take in the Trial of Jack McCall  at the Masonic Building Mainstreet.

Or take the Original Deadwood Tour, which is a narrated tour of Deadwood, Tatanka and Mt. Moriah Cemetery. The most informative, entertaining, hour-long tour of Deadwood and Mt. Moriah Cemetery you’ll find! Departing TBA ($)

Meals Included: None

This morning after breakfast, you can enjoy an entertaining optional add-on ($TBA) day trip to Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. During your visit, you will have time to take pictures and have lunch before boarding your coach back to Deadwood. And if this doesn’t suit your tastes, feel free to stay back and enjoy more of the amenities that Deadwood has to offer.

Crazy Horse Memorial

Crazy Horse Memorial started in 1948 to honour the Native American culture in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, chose the legendary Oglala Sioux leader, Chief Crazy Horse. After unexpectedly dying 34 years into the project, Ziolkowski’s wife, Ruth, and their family (in conjunction with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation) continues the project. Currently, the Crazy Horse Memorial is the world’s largest mountain carving in progress.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

The story of Mount Rushmore National Memorial begins in 1923 when South Dakota historian Doane Robinson envisioned creating an attraction so big it would bring people from all over the world to the Black Hills. He dreamed of sculptures of Wild West heroes carved into the granite needles of the Black Hills.

Day 5 – Thursday – May 15, 2025 – Optional tour to Devils Tower WY, or free day in Deadwood

Meals Included: None

Today you can choose to enjoy Deadwood at your leisure or join us this morning as we visit Lead for a trolley tour of town and the Homestake Mine and Devils Tower in Wyoming as an optional add-on tour ($TBA)  Devils Tower is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River, standing 867 feet from summit to base.

The afternoon is free to do as you choose.

Day 6 – Friday – May 16, 2025 – Deadwood, SD to Great Falls, MT

Meals Included: Wine and Cheese Reception 

After loads of history, sightseeing, and some big gambling wins, it’s time to start your trek back home. You will retrace your steps today, back to Great Falls, for the final evening of this tour checking back in at the Holiday Inn and once again enjoying a welcome wine and cheese reception

Meals Included: Breakfast

It’s time to head back to Canada.  Make a stop at the Duty-Free store with the spare change you won at the casino before crossing the border. Retracing our route, we return to your home cities with fond memories of your historic Deadwood tour!