Description
What it is
This is the Wind Cave National Park design in the Scenic Highways magnet series. It is a 2 inch by 3 inch button magnet with a full magnetic backing, weighing 1.0 oz, so it fits in a shirt pocket or a mailing envelope. The art is a vintage-style illustration, not a photographic print.
About the design
The artwork features the Beaver Creek Bridge on historic Highway 87, an arch-style bridge built in 1929 as part of the early road network that connected visitors to Wind Cave National Park and the surrounding Black Hills. The illustration sets the bridge against the hillside pines with a 1920s touring car in the foreground, the kind of car that would have crossed it when it was new. The bridge’s arch construction is notable for the region.
About the site
Wind Cave sits about 11 miles north of Hot Springs, South Dakota, on US-385. It became the seventh national park in the United States on January 9, 1903, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, and was the first national park established specifically to protect a cave. The cave holds an estimated 95% of the world’s known boxwork, the honeycomb-patterned calcite fins that cover its walls and ceilings in a density found nowhere else on earth.
About the artist
The Scenic Highways series is produced by Scenic Hwys, an art company based in Manti, Utah. The artist travels to each location to photograph the setting, then creates an original illustration drawing on the history and character of the place. That is why the Wind Cave magnet keys on the Beaver Creek Bridge rather than the cave entrance, it is a piece of the park’s road history most souvenirs skip.
Specifications
- Dimensions: 2″ x 3″
- Weight: 1.0 oz
- Construction: button magnet with full magnetic backing
- Design: Wind Cave National Park, Beaver Creek Bridge (1929)
- Part of the Scenic Highways series (also posters and stickers)
Who is this for
It suits a visitor finishing a cave tour who wants a small, accurate keepsake, and anyone building a Black Hills collection where Wind Cave coverage runs lighter than the better-known western parks. At 2″ x 3″ it sits on a car visor, a metal water bottle, or a filing cabinet without crowding anything out.
Frequently asked questions
What size is the magnet?
2 inches wide by 3 inches tall, with a full magnetic backing.
How strong is it?
A button magnet this size has enough pull for a refrigerator door, a filing cabinet, or a metal locker. It is not rated for industrial or safety-critical use.
What is the Beaver Creek Bridge?
An arch-style bridge built in 1929 on historic Highway 87, part of the early roads that brought visitors to Wind Cave and the Black Hills.
Does buying this support the park?
BHPFA is the official nonprofit partner of Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Scotts Bluff National Monument, and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, as well as the Black Hills National Forest and Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands. Proceeds from every purchase support education programs, conservation projects, and visitor services at these sites.
