Travel Q&A : Fans can find real ‘Deadwood’

Q. After watching “Deadwood,” I’d like to visit South Dakota. What is the closest big city to Deadwood? Any suggestions on stopover places?

A. Fans of the HBO drama “Deadwood” can travel from their TV dens to the real Deadwood, an old mining town in western South Dakota.

“The show is based on actual events that happened in Deadwood,” says Kecia Rembold, office manager of the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce (800-999-1876, www.deadwood.org). “The whole town of Deadwood is a historic landmark.”

The Wild West destination has only 1,700 residents, but it’s hardly a one-horse town. An assortment of 19th-century hotels (e.g., the Bullock Hotel, built by Sheriff Seth Bullock in 1895) and museums line Main Street.

Rembold suggests visiting the Adams Museum, which covers the town’s history; the Broken Boot Gold Mine, where guests pan for gold; the Days of ‘76 museum, for Western themes and buggies from the 1800s; and the Adams House, a Victorian manse owned by town founder W.E. Adams. (The town was named after the dead trees in Deadwood Gulch.)

To visit the burial sites of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, hike up to Mount Moriah Cemetery. And to see where Wild Bill was shot, swing into Saloon No. 10, a hybrid museum, bar and gambling hall that displays the chair he was sitting in when he was killed.

Rapid City, about 40 miles to the southeast, is the closest major metro area to Deadwood. In addition, such attractions as Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park and Crazy Horse Memorial are within 90 minutes.

Closer in, Spearfish offers a wildlife sanctuary, and Lead has the Homestake Gold Mine, open for tours.