Moccasin Springs located 50 Minutes South of Mount Rushmore in the Southern Black Hills
Hot Springs, South Dakota
The natural mineral springs, have been bubbling up out of the ground for over 140 years filtered through a natural red rock formation, flowing into a moccasin shaped pool – same as it did in 1881 and before. The “Original Indian Springs that made this town famous" has been called The Black Hills Spa, Minnekahta Springs and now Moccasin Springs. Unlike many natural springs, the water here has a pleasant scent and a silky texture and high in magnesium and calcium.
Today, the Moccasin Springs Natural Mineral Spa has been re-built around the original structures, preserving as much history as possible. Many Spa and Massage Therapy Services have been added;Yoga Studio, 3 in 1 Sauna, offering NIR/MID/FIR (near/mid/far infrared light therapy), Salt Room. We now have 6 outdoor pools, ranging in temperatures from 88-105.
The Black Hills Spa was the first bathhouse in Hot Springs, owned and managed by Dr. Jennings, who then joined the Dakota Hot Springs Company who built the grand 1890 Minnekahta Bathhouse and Hot Springs Hot Hotel. Mrs Nicholsen built the Open Air Plunge at the Minnekahta bathhouse in 1913, now referred to as the 1913 pool. The businesses and pools officially closing in 1963. The story is that the Hot Springs Hotel interior burned and the springs compromised its structure. Later we learned the "cave" had springs running into the backside of the building, directly compromising its structure. The Minnekahta Bathhouse had been closed due to rusty pipes and maintenance issues and finally, the Open Air Plunge, large outdoor pool built in 1913 closed.
The property was purchased by Kara Hagen in September of 2014 and has taken on many phases of clean up and change. The name of the site was changed back to the original name, Moccasin Springs. All of the historical ruins on site have been taken in consideration, much care was taken to maintain the ruins and build around the original site, keeping as much history as possible.
Moccasin Springs consists of a Pool House and 1913 Pool House (warming house with gas fireplace), Handicap Accessible Bathrooms-Showers, (with natural mineral spring water). The 1913 large pool is 88-90 degrees, the Moccasin Pool is 87-93 degrees, the Sunken Cool Pool is 80-85 degrees. The 3 Hot Pools range in temperatures from 98-105.
