With the exception of Black Hills Gold slider necklaces, South Dakota may seem as far away from the glitz and glamor of Hollywood as it is possible to get. Nevertheless, multiple South Dakota locations have actually been featured on the silver screen.
With its dramatic landscapes and sparse population, South Dakota locations quietly served as a number of settings, both mundane and otherworldly, for Hollywood movies. Next time you watch the following films, pay attention to the South Dakota sites serving as scenery.
National Treasure 2
The sequel to “National Treasure” sees Nicolas Cage’s character exploring a secret chamber just behind Mount Rushmore. You know that Mount Rushmore is a real place, but you might not realize that the Hall of Records actually exists as well. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum intended it to store information about the monument and what it represents. However, when Borglum died, the Hall of Records was abandoned for approximately 50 years. It is not open to the public, but the National Parks Service granted permission to use it in the film.
Dances With Wolves
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1990, “Dances With Wolves” is the story of a Civil War soldier who becomes part of the Lakota tribe after being assigned to a fort on the Western frontier. Much of the movie was shot in South Dakota, including the winter camp scene at the end, which was shot in Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills.
Starship Troopers
The Badlands of South Dakota feature oddly shaped, multicolored sandstone spires. The landscape appears unfamiliar and somewhat alien, making the area the perfect place to set a science fiction story set on an entirely different planet. “Starship Troopers” is a controversial adaptation of a Robert Heinlein novel about a group of soldiers from Earth who wage war against hostile extraterrestrials. Other movies filmed at least in part in the Badlands include “Dust of War” and “Armageddon.”
Hidalgo
Hidalgo is an underrated film about a witness to the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre who is invited to participate in the famous 3,000-mile Ocean of Fire horse race in the Arabian desert. Being a foreigner riding a horse with no pedigree, he is an underdog relying on his wits and his skill just to survive. Scenes of the movie were filmed at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary near Hot Springs.
South Dakotans are proud to show off the sites of famous filming locations to out-of-state visitors which you can watch in the movies here https://ww5.fmovie.sc/. Plan to take in some of these scenic sites on your next South Dakota vacation.