605 Road Trip | Winter In The Black Hills

In what seemed like fate, 605 decided to hit pavement in early March to experience the team’s annual road trip during the winter season before many businesses shut their doors. Here is your guide to (finally) getting out of the house to enjoy the state of South Dakota this year and next.

Check-in Time

The team took turns behind the wheel for the more-than-five- and-a-half-hour drive, and in true South Dakota form, the weather fluctuated in each town we passed. Rapid City was over 60 degrees when we stopped to gas up, so we were shocked to see it was blizzard-like conditions when we pulled up to Terry Peak Chalets in Lead. We were excited, though, to have the Missing Link Chalet atop the hill, but struggled to get up the fresh snow with my all-wheel drive. A stranger, who we had asked for directions in his driveway minutes before, pulled up in his truck to make a path for us to get up the (very) steep drive. I. Love. This. State.

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Terry Peak Chalets has ski-in-ski-out chalets, along with other modern options with breathtaking views right next to some of the best skiing in South Dakota (Terry Peak, if you hadn’t guessed it). After taking the tour and putting down our bags, we headed right into town to “stake our claim” at Deadwood Mountain Grand.

And We Feasted

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The crew drove into Deadwood to stop by Six String: Casual, Fun Dining by Chef Aaron Richards inside Deadwood Mountain Grand to try menu items from there and Santana’s Sports Bar & Grill. Because we had no self control when it came to our appetites, almost every plate was cleaned, knowing we had dinner 40 minutes later in Spearfish.

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And back to the car we waddled, trekking it to Spearfish for our reservation at Nonna’s Kitchen, a new authentic homestyle Italian restaurant on Main Street downtown (more on page 78). We had wine, dined on plates and plates of homemade dishes with nostalgic stories behind all of them, and ended the gorge session with cannolis and new friends. 605’s Taylor Hanson loved owners Darren and Nancy Manzari so much, we almost had to drag her out (and she may or may not have made several “adopt me” jokes, which weren’t jokes).

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605 Tried

Nonna’s Kitchen treated us to...

For the Table

ANTIPASTO FOR FOUR
Assorted meats, vegetables, kalamata olives, provolone cheese, roasted red peppers, and toastini.

Soup & Salad

MILLION DOLLAR SALAD
Romaine and red leaf lettuce with green apples, craisins, sliced toasted almonds, cherry tomatoes, house artichoke, and blush wine vinaigrette.

Nonna’s Signature Dishes

CRAZY GREEN SPAGHETTI
Nonna’s special spinach pesto.

DARREN JR’S ZAZA
Lasagna noodles with meat sauce, ricotta, and mozzarella.

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
Nonna Style.

PENNE ALLA VODKA
Penne pasta with blush vodka cream sauce.

CHICKEN PARMESAN
Sautéed thin chicken cutlets, Nonna’s favorite breadcrumbs, marinara, mozzarella, and pasta.

Housemade Desserts

CANNOLI
Tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough with sweet creamy filling (ricotta and chocolate chips.)

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The evening ended with a nightcap (or two) at Flanagan’s Irish Pub with our friend Brian Gebhart of Visit Spearfish. This popular spot typically has sets by local musicians and also has a Mug Club (605’s John Snyder says it’s his “life goal” to get into said mug club). It was a quiet Tuesday, though, which was great for catching up. As we sipped on our beverages, we began to nod off from the exhaustion of the day. So, as we do, we slowly melted into the car to drive back to the cabin.

Caffeine & Creative Camping

605 woke up early to jump on the road back to Spearfish. Just off Interstate 90 at exit 14 is the understated Soul Food Bistro & Espresso Bar. When I mentioned we were going to the gas station coffee shop and café to any locals previously, we heard, “They have the best breakfast burritos.” They weren’t wrong.

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Food for the Soul

A peek at the Mantra-Inspired Menu.

Honorable

BAGEL WITH HOMEMADE CREAMCHEESE
Bagel choices: plain, wheat, asiago, blueberry, everything, pesto parmesan. Homemade cream cheese choices: sun dried tomato, dill feta, or jalapeño bacon cheddar.

Joy

BREAKFAST BURRITO
Eggs, sausage or bacon, red potatoes, onions and green verde. Spice it up with salsa, sour cream, and jalapeños.

Love

BISCUITS & GRAVY
Homemade biscuits and gravy.

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We then headed to the Spearfish Campgrounds to Beneath the Pines. I contacted owners and creative visionaries Craig and Katie Hobson after months of Instagram fan-girling over the company. It’s glamping in the Black Hills, but they come to you. Also, they have chandeliers in certain setups and provide thoughtful details like colored pinecones to throw into the bonfire for entertainment (more on page 56). After pushing Taylor in the hammock, we realized we needed to get going to the next location.

Fat Tire Biking (And Failing)

Barely coming out of our breakfast burrito food coma, we got to Latchstring Restaurant in the Spearfish Canyon. This year-round eatery has had “exceptional dining since 1909,” which includes homemade items like Gold Rush Hot Cakes, French Dip, and Buffalo Stew.

Eat All Day At Latchstring

Open May Through October 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and November through April 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Breakfast

LITTLE SPEARFISH
Fresh Rainbow Trout fillet seasoned with dill salt and two eggs any style with a choice of potato and toast.

Lunch

CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK
Hand-breaded, house-tenderized sirloin steak, pan-fried, and smothered with homemade white gravy and garlic mashed potatoes.

Dinner

RIBEYE
12- to 14- ounce aged, hand-cut ribeye topped with garlic butter.

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We enjoyed a brew and some comfort food before walking over to Spearfish Canyon Lodge to say hi, and then headed over to the Spearfish Canyon Rental Center for fat bike rentals.This place has it all—you can rent snowmobiles, snowshoes, Polaris Slingshots, UTVs, and fishing equipment. To be honest, we were running tight on time, so the kind gentleman who helped us gave us (humorous) grief when we only biked for 30 minutes. And by “biked” I mean pedaled and fell multiple times in the slushy snow. That afternoon was sunny and over 70 degrees.

It’s now our goal to try it again on a normal snowy day.

Relax Already

With hurt egos (and no actual injuries), we drove right outside of Deadwood (though technically it says Sturgis when you look up the address) to Akela Spa. The award-winning destination spa was developed by world renowned experts, and we got to experience the Akela Garden. This is a year-round outdoor relaxation area surrounded by nothing but clear skies and natural grasses.

GARDEN ENHANCEMENTS

Treat yourself even more (Ask for rates)

COLLAGEL MASK TREATMENT (CHOOSE 3 FOR $50): 

Face
Neck
Décolleté
Eye Treatment
Guac Star Avocado Facial Mask
Chocolate Sundae Facial Mask

We started with the dry sauna, which is located inside of a tipi. Getting
our sweat on, we cooled off back outside with a tap beer from Crow Peak Brewing, and then brought the libations with us into the hot tub. Sadly there wasn’t a fire pit going, but we did get to sit in the infrared sauna and the steam room.

A Night Of Snitches And A Saloon

With access to the spa locker rooms, our trio showered and got ready for dinner at Snitches in Deadwood. The chef- inspired gastronomic experience was located in Tin Lizzie on Main Street. Chef Tucker Walton takes you on a culinary journey using local and seasonal ingredients (more on page 64). Trust me, you’ll want to enjoy every minute of your courses and cocktails.

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Ending it with a cup of their custom Oak Roasters coffee blend, we marched on to a 605 favorite, Saloon No. 10. We met up with some friends and bonded over whiskey and live music (and our love for the unique taxidermy in the famous and historic bar).

A Road Well Traveled

After clocking in who knows how many miles, the trip came to an end. Wherever the South Dakota roads take you, share with #605roadtrip.

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RECREATE 605’S ROAD TRIP 

CHECK OUT ALL OR SOME OF THE LOCATIONS WE STOPPED BY AT YOURSELF. (IN ORDER OF STORY ITINERARY.)