About Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
During the Cold War, a vast arsenal of nuclear missiles were placed in the Great Plains. Hidden in plain sight, for thirty years 1,000 missiles were kept on constant alert; hundreds remain today. The Minuteman Missile remains an iconic weapon in the American nuclear arsenal. It holds the power to destroy civilization, but is meant as a nuclear deterrent to maintain peace and prevent war.
Plan a Visit
Core visitor information on this page is sourced from the National Park Service. NPD proximity sections use NPS reference coordinates and straight-line distance. Local source bundle updated Sep 27, 2026. View the official NPS page.
Weather & Conditions
Rapid weather changes are common in the western South Dakota area where Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is located. Variations from season to season and from year to year are great. Characteristics of the climate are hot dry summers and bitterly cold winters. Wind is a constant on the Great…
NPS Reference Location
Park state / territory membership: South Dakota. This map uses the National Park Service reference coordinate. It may represent an administrative or reference point rather than a park entrance, trailhead, visitor center, or the nearest access point. Use the official NPS directions below when planning travel.
Operating Hours
Visitors are invited to go inside the fenced compound and look down into the silo at a Minuteman missile in its historic state, protected by a glass viewing enclosure. A narrated ranger guided tour of Delta-09 is available year-round using your cell phone. Inclement weather may close this site on occasion.
Activities
Current Alerts
Vehicle Navigation Systems and GPS units may provide inaccurate information—sending drivers the wrong way on one-way roads, leading them to dead ends in remote areas, or sending them on roads which are impassable. Use the Interstate exits for wayfinding.
Getting There
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is located at three sites along a fifteen mile stretch of Interstate 90 in western South Dakota. The Visitor Center is located immediately north of I-90, exit 131. The two historic sites which make up the park are four miles (Launch Control Facility Delta-01) and 15 miles (Launch Facility Delta-09) from the Visitor Center. No public transportation systems serve the park.
View Official DirectionsContact & Address
The NPS-listed address may be an administrative office, visitor center, mailing/contact location, or other park facility rather than a park entrance.
Topics & Themes
Things To Do
Tour the Front-line of the Cold War at Delta-01
Learn what it was like to have the awesome responsibility of thermonuclear war at your fingertips. The thirty-minute guided tour…
The Minuteman Missile Mobile Tour
A Mobile Phone guided tour of Delta-09 and Delta-01 is available for visitors to learn the history of Minuteman Missile…
Spot a (Former) Nuclear Missile Silo
The South Dakota landscape hides former missile silo sites in plain sight - many of them can be found in-between…
Get Your National Park Passport Stamped at Minuteman Missile
The Passport program was started by Eastern National in 1986 and was established to help visitors discover the beauty and…
Visit the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility
For every 10 Minuteman nuclear missiles (know as a Flight) there would be a Launch Control Facility that housed Air…
