Black Hills National Cemetery

Spread across more than 100 acres near Sturgis, Black Hills National Cemetery is South Dakota's largest and only national cemetery still open to new burials. Established in 1948 on land once tied to Fort Meade, it holds over 29,000 interments and adds more than 650 burials each year. Twin Avenues of Flags lead visitors toward the committal shelter, where services are held against a backdrop of the dark Black Hills ridgeline and Bear Butte rising to the east. Among those laid to rest here are Brigadier General Richard E. Ellsworth, namesake of Ellsworth Air Force Base; Sergeant Charles Windolph, a Medal of Honor recipient from the Battle of the Little Bighorn; and two WWII Lakota Code Talkers, John Bear King and Clarence Eugene Wolf Guts. Memorials honoring Korean War and Vietnam War veterans, plus the Bivouac of the Dead monument, add further depth to a visit. Open year-round from sunrise to sunset with no admission fee, this active cemetery is a moving stop for veterans' families and history-minded travelers passing through Sturgis toward Mount Rushmore.