8/9/2023 0 Comments Minuteman missile silo tour![]() ![]() They were trained to deploy minuteman missiles at a moment’s notice. Walk through the 8 ton blast doors to the control room where the officers stationed underground carried out 24-hour shifts and had living quarters. Next, you’ll take an elevator to the launch control center about 31 feet underground. You’ll see the living, dining, and recreational quarters for the eight people stationed there at the launch center. Your guide will give you the history and tour of the building above the launch facility (31 feet underground). The launch control facility tour takes about an hour and is guided only. Its four miles northwest of the visitor’s center. Once you’ve gotten your tickets, you’ll be given directions on how to get to the launch facility. Launch Control Center (Exit 127 turn North) There are clean restrooms and water fountains to quench your thirst. There’s also a bookstore that gives visitors the chance to learn a little more history. When we were there they hadn’t paved the parking lot yet. ![]() The Minuteman Missile Visitor’s Center is newly opened spring of 2015. After a certain amount of activities, they earn their badge and are sworn in as Jr Rangers. For example, our youngest had to draw a picture of a missile in order to pass it off but our oldest had to descramble an “intercepted Cold War message from the USSR”. Depending on the age of the kid, there are various activities in a booklet that each child has to do. It’s educational and takes about 30 minutes. You can do most of the program there at the center. Since we had tickets for the second tour, we just hung around the visitor’s center and helped the kids work on their Jr Ranger badges. In June of 2015 when we visited, they often sell out of tickets before lunch. ![]() Once opened, we were able to get in on the second tour of the day. There are lots of stagnant marshes in the area so make sure you wear mosquito spray while waiting in line for the visitor’s center to open. We rolled in around 7:45 and there was already a line. I spoke to a ranger and they recommend I be in line to get my tickets by 7:30 or 7:45 at the latest. When we visit national parks I’ve noticed that some Rangers will be hesitant to recommend a schedule or a place to eat so, when these guys recommended this itinerary I made sure to listen. Plus this was highly recommended by two National Parks Rangers. We recommend visiting in that order because it was the best use of our time. We recommend visiting the sites in the following order if you’re headed east:ġ) Visitor’s center (Exit 131 turn North)Ģ) Launch Control Center (Exit 127 turn North) Check the National Parks Service website or the visitor’s center for more information on directions. Each location is very close and can be seen from the interstate. Since the missile, the visitor’s center and the launch control facility are at three different interstate exits, the order you visit the sites can vary slightly. Depending on the direction of your travel, it’s on the way to Mt Rushmore. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is just outside the Badlands and about 15 minutes from the famous Wall Drug Store in Wall, South Dakota. Launch control centers were built to manage a cluster of 10 missiles each. As a precaution, they spread out 1,000 missiles across the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Missouri. Moving on to discuss our experience at the National Historic Site.ĭuring the Cold War, the United States built nuclear missiles in case the Soviet Union launched an assault against us as a nation. We were able to discuss the importance of being nice to everyone and how our choices in life shouldn’t take away someone else’s ability to choose their own path. We can’t wait until we live in a world where these terrible tools are no longer needed. Nuclear weapons aren’t just something from a cool movie or form ink in a textbook. The good thing about a place like this, it helps our kids to visualize history and to know that this stuff is real. ending WWII quickly) and the bad (lots of bad) that comes from wars and nuclear arms races. We were grateful for the opportunity to use this visit as a chance to discuss this as a family and talk about the good (i.e. This park never paints a pretty picture and gives visitors plenty of opportunities to come to their own conclusions about the US’ involvement with nuclear weapons. Political Disclaimer – Not to get too political on a family travel site, but the nuclear arms race is a sad thing. We all REALLY enjoyed it and the kids were eager to share their experience with everyone! I honestly didn’t think neither the kids nor I would be interested in a missile, but I was surprisingly wrong. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is a piece of history not to be skipped or missed. ![]()
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