Events & Programs
Nature workshops, guided hikes, homeschool adventures, and community events across the Black Hills and Nebraska. Find your next outdoor experience and register today.
Upcoming Events
Browse all upcoming BHPFA events below. Click any event for full details and registration. Use the search bar to filter by keyword, or switch between calendar and list views.
Events
Calendar of Events
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0 events,
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1 event,
National Grasslands Visitor Center staff will be presenting interpretive programs every other Monday at Badlands National Park’s Cedar Pass Amphitheater throughout the summer.
Free
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1 event,
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Learn to read the landscape of western Nebraska. Park Ranger Christian Hedrick presents "Ethnobotany of the High Plains," an evening program on the native plants of the High Plains and [...]
Free
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0 events,
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0 events,
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2 events,
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Dig into the deep past of the grasslands, back to when this was the floor of an ancient sea and home to creatures long gone. Spend the day with a [...]
Free
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Evening Program at the Elk Mountain Campground amphitheater, presented by Wind Cave National Park rangers. Topics from the park's cultural and natural history vary nightly; the schedule of topics is [...]
Free
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2 events,
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From the forest floor up, plants keep the Black Hills alive. This program looks at how plants make their own food through photosynthesis and cellular respiration, why they matter to [...]
Free
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Evening Program at the Elk Mountain Campground amphitheater, presented by Wind Cave National Park rangers. Topics from the park's cultural and natural history vary nightly; the schedule of topics is [...]
Free
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1 event,
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Evening Program at the Elk Mountain Campground amphitheater, presented by Wind Cave National Park rangers. Topics from the park's cultural and natural history vary nightly; the schedule of topics is [...]
Free
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1 event,
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Evening Program at the Elk Mountain Campground amphitheater, presented by Wind Cave National Park rangers. Topics from the park's cultural and natural history vary nightly; the schedule of topics is [...]
Free
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1 event,
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Evening Program at the Elk Mountain Campground amphitheater, presented by Wind Cave National Park rangers. Topics from the park's cultural and natural history vary nightly; the schedule of topics is [...]
Free
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1 event,
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Evening Program at the Elk Mountain Campground amphitheater, presented by Wind Cave National Park rangers. Topics from the park's cultural and natural history vary nightly; the schedule of topics is [...]
Free
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1 event,
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Evening Program at the Elk Mountain Campground amphitheater, presented by Wind Cave National Park rangers. Topics from the park's cultural and natural history vary nightly; the schedule of topics is [...]
Free
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2 events,
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Meet the crews who fight fire on the grasslands and find out how they keep the land and nearby communities safe. The day doubles as Smokey Bear's 82nd birthday, so [...]
Free
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Evening Program at the Elk Mountain Campground amphitheater, presented by Wind Cave National Park rangers. Topics from the park's cultural and natural history vary nightly; the schedule of topics is [...]
Free
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3 events,
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Join BHPFA and Custer County Library for a special survival skills program geared for ages 10 - 18.
Free
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Smokey Bear turns 82 on August 9, and the Pactola Visitor Center is throwing him a party all weekend. Join the celebration of the Forest Service's most famous bear and [...]
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Evening Program at the Elk Mountain Campground amphitheater, presented by Wind Cave National Park rangers. Topics from the park's cultural and natural history vary nightly; the schedule of topics is [...]
Free
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1 event,
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It's Smokey Bear's actual birthday. Smokey turns 82 on August 9, and the Pactola Visitor Center party continues for a second day. Join the celebration of the Forest Service's most [...] |
2 events,
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Smokey Bear turns 82, and the Black Hills National Forest is throwing him a party in Custer. Bikers rolling in for the start of the Sturgis Rally and local families [...]
Free
National Grasslands Visitor Center staff will be presenting interpretive programs every other Monday at Badlands National Park’s Cedar Pass Amphitheater throughout the summer.
Free
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1 event,
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Guided by Tradition: Using Pawnee Oral Histories to Rethink Radiocarbon Dating on the Great Plains is a free evening lecture at the Scotts Bluff National Monument Visitor Center. Carlton Shield [...]
Free
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1 event,
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"When anything moves through the wild, the forest announces it. And once you learn the language, you will realize how much was always there, just out of sight."Tom Tonkin, BHPFA [...] |
0 events,
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2 events,
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Spend a Friday evening at the BHPFA Nature Shop in Custer learning to read the landscape like a naturalist. Join Education Specialist Tom Tonkin for Field Notes: An Introduction to [...]
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Throw a spear the way hunters did for thousands of years. Join a Nebraska National Forest ranger at the Pinnacles for a hands-on look at the atlatl, an ancient spear-throwing [...]
Free
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1 event,
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Gather around the campfire at Horsethief Lake, a small lake under the pines just down the road from Mount Rushmore, for an evening with the Songbird of the Black Hills. [...] |
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0 events,
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0 events,
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0 events,
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1 event,
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"When anything moves through the wild, the forest announces it. And once you learn the language, you will realize how much was always there, just out of sight."Tom Tonkin, BHPFA [...] |
0 events,
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2 events,
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The Black Hills Nature Shop is joining Custer's Crazy Days with a two-day sidewalk sale outside association headquarters at 833 Mt. Rushmore Road.The tables will hold close-out merchandise, ding and [...]
Free
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Love the Black Hills? Learn how to leave them better than you found them. Respect the Woods, Protect the Wild covers Leave No Trace principles, the local ecosystem, the Junior [...]
Free
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1 event,
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The Black Hills Nature Shop is joining Custer's Crazy Days with a two-day sidewalk sale outside association headquarters at 833 Mt. Rushmore Road.The tables will hold close-out merchandise, ding and [...]
Free
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0 events,
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1 event,
National Grasslands Visitor Center staff will be presenting interpretive programs every other Monday at Badlands National Park’s Cedar Pass Amphitheater throughout the summer.
Free
|
0 events,
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0 events,
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1 event,
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Colorado-based historian Kurt Skinner brings the country's 26th president to life in a one-evening performance at the Elk Mountain Campground Amphitheater in Wind Cave National Park. A retired military officer-turned [...]
Free
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1 event,
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Coyote howls, yips, and barks: they are actually saying something. And that is just the start. Pronghorn can run 55 mph with more stamina than any other animal alive. They [...] |
3 events,
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Artist and educator Marty Two Bulls Jr. comes to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument to discuss his work and the Winter Count project he helped develop with the Oglala Sioux [...]
Free
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Step into Black Hills history at Meeker Ranch, built in 1887 by former Pony Express rider Frank Cunningham Meeker and acquired by the Forest Service in 2004. Just outside Custer, [...]
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Wind Cave National Park protects two very different worlds: the open prairie above and the intricate cave below. On clear nights a third world blankets both, the brilliant night sky [...]
Free
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0 events,
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0 events,
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0 events,
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0 events,
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0 events,
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1 event,
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Spend a Friday evening at the BHPFA Nature Shop in Custer learning to read the landscape like a naturalist. Join Education Specialist Tom Tonkin for Field Notes: An Introduction to [...] |
2 events,
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Some guests overstay their welcome. The Unwanted Guests: When Nature Goes Rogue explores invasive species in the Black Hills: what makes a plant invasive, how to recognize one, and how [...]
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Close out the summer with a lakeside campfire sing-along at Sheridan Lake. Sally Svenson, the Songbird of the Black Hills, plays her original songs and the Black Hills stories behind [...] |
Events
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Crazy Days Sidewalk Sale | Custer HQ
BHPFA Custer Headquarters 833 Mt Rushmore Road, Custer, SD, United StatesThe Black Hills Nature Shop is joining Custer's Crazy Days with a two-day sidewalk sale outside association headquarters at 833 Mt. Rushmore Road.The tables will hold close-out merchandise, ding and [...]
Free -
Respect the Woods, Protect the Wild | Black Hills NF
Pactola Visitor Center Pactola Reservoir, US Highway 385, Rapid City, SD, United StatesLove the Black Hills? Learn how to leave them better than you found them. Respect the Woods, Protect the Wild covers Leave No Trace principles, the local ecosystem, the Junior [...]
Free -
Crazy Days Sidewalk Sale | Custer HQ
BHPFA Custer Headquarters 833 Mt Rushmore Road, Custer, SD, United StatesThe Black Hills Nature Shop is joining Custer's Crazy Days with a two-day sidewalk sale outside association headquarters at 833 Mt. Rushmore Road.The tables will hold close-out merchandise, ding and [...]
Free -
Badlands National Park Evening Programs | NGVC
Badlands National Park Cedar Pass Campground Amphitheater 20681 South Dakota Highway 240, Interior, SD, United StatesNational Grasslands Visitor Center staff will be presenting interpretive programs every other Monday at Badlands National Park’s Cedar Pass Amphitheater throughout the summer.
Free -
Theodore Roosevelt Impersonator Kurt Skinner | Wind Cave
Wind Cave National Park 26611 U.S. Hwy 385, Hot Springs, SD, United StatesColorado-based historian Kurt Skinner brings the country's 26th president to life in a one-evening performance at the Elk Mountain Campground Amphitheater in Wind Cave National Park. A retired military officer-turned [...]
Free -
The Secret Life of Mammals | Custer HQ
BHPFA Custer Headquarters 833 Mt Rushmore Road, Custer, SD, United StatesCoyote howls, yips, and barks: they are actually saying something. And that is just the start. Pronghorn can run 55 mph with more stamina than any other animal alive. They [...]
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Winter Counts with Marty Two Bulls Jr. | Agate Fossil Beds NM
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument 301 River Road, Harrison, NE, United StatesArtist and educator Marty Two Bulls Jr. comes to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument to discuss his work and the Winter Count project he helped develop with the Oglala Sioux [...]
Free -
Moon Walk: Meeker Ranch History
Meeker Cabin and Historic Area Off Willow Creek Road (Hwy 16A), Custer, SD, United StatesStep into Black Hills history at Meeker Ranch, built in 1887 by former Pony Express rider Frank Cunningham Meeker and acquired by the Forest Service in 2004. Just outside Custer, [...]
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Night Sky Program with Telescope Viewing | Wind Cave National Park
Wind Cave National Park 26611 U.S. Hwy 385, Hot Springs, SD, United StatesWind Cave National Park protects two very different worlds: the open prairie above and the intricate cave below. On clear nights a third world blankets both, the brilliant night sky [...]
Free -
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Field Notes | Custer HQ
BHPFA Custer Headquarters 833 Mt Rushmore Road, Custer, SD, United StatesSpend a Friday evening at the BHPFA Nature Shop in Custer learning to read the landscape like a naturalist. Join Education Specialist Tom Tonkin for Field Notes: An Introduction to [...]
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The Unwanted Guests: When Nature Goes Rogue | Black Hills NF
Pactola Visitor Center Pactola Reservoir, US Highway 385, Rapid City, SD, United StatesSome guests overstay their welcome. The Unwanted Guests: When Nature Goes Rogue explores invasive species in the Black Hills: what makes a plant invasive, how to recognize one, and how [...]
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Songbird of the Black Hills: Sheridan Lake
Sheridan Lake South Campground Rapid City, SD, United StatesClose out the summer with a lakeside campfire sing-along at Sheridan Lake. Sally Svenson, the Songbird of the Black Hills, plays her original songs and the Black Hills stories behind [...]
Explore BHPFA Programs
Not sure which program is right for you? Here’s a guide to what we offer across the Black Hills and Nebraska.
Nature Connection Workshops
Full-day hands-on workshops in animal tracking, wildlife communication, and nature journaling at Wind Cave National Park. Ages 8+.
auto_storiesHomeschool Nature Adventures
Monthly outdoor education for homeschool families at The Trailhouse in Custer. Guided hikes, storytelling, nature observation. Ages 5–12.
volunteer_activismFree Guided Programs
No-cost outdoor experiences including ranger-led hikes, nature walks, and seasonal events across Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Black Hills National Forest.
exploreSheJumps Partnerships
Women’s outdoor education in partnership with SheJumps. Multi-session workshops including Map & Compass navigation at Wind Cave National Park.
Stay in the Loop
Don’t miss a program. Subscribe to our calendar feed or reach out to schedule a private group experience.
