Fishing

Angostura Recreation Area and State Park, located just 10 miles south of Hot Springs, is best known for its walleye fishing and was also home to the state?s Grand National Walleye Cup in August of 2005. But in addition to the world class walleye fishing, Angostura is also home to a large number of other game fish including northern pike, small mouth bass, and crappie. It is also one of the few lakes in the state where spearfishing is allowed, during the middle of the summer. The lake also features many sandy beaches and a number of camp sites, as well as camping cabins.

Cold Brook Dam, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and located just three miles north of Hot Springs, is routinely stocked with rainbow trout where it is not unusual for a fisherman to pull out a once in a lifetime lunker. In addition to the unbelievable trout fishing, it is also a good spot to catch largemouth bass, as well as an occasional crappie or bluegill. For boaters, only electric motors on allowed on the lake, but there are plenty of spots on the shore to try your luck as well. Cold Brook also features a sandy swim beach, and campsites.

Cottonwood Springs Dam, also an Army Corps of Engineers project and located just six miles west of Hot Springs, is very similar to Cold Brook Dam. While rainbow trout is the primary fish, anglers especially like the abundance of crappies to satisfy their appetites. Largemouth bass, and bluegill are also in abundance and provide a great place for kids to fish. Camping is also available.

Hunting

Whitetail Deer and Mule Deer are the most prevalent Big Game animals of the area with both species abundantly found throughout the area in their given preferred habitat. Hot Springs is situated in the heart of two South Dakota deer hunting seasons, open to both residents and non-residents for rifle, bow, and muzzleloader seasons. The town itself is located inside the boundaries of the state?s West River Prairie rifle season, which generally runs during the middle to end of November. This season is primarily located on private land, but does feature a number of the state's public Walk-in and Game Production areas.

Just to the north, only about two miles, is the southern border of the Black Hills deer season unit, which runs the entire month of November. This unit reaches elevation of more than 7,000 feet and covers 2.3 million acres from Hot Springs to Spearfish, in the Northern Hills. The terrain varies from rolling hills and prairies to high mountains, rimrock and deep gorges, with more than 50 percent open to public hunting.

Rocky Mountain Elk are the largest of the region's Big Game animals. The elk have made huge strides in numbers during the past 10 years. Once a rare site, now elk can be found throughout the Hot Springs area from the prairies to the hills. Hunting elk in the Black Hills is open to South Dakota residents only, with bow and rifle seasons occurring during the September, October and December.

Pronghorn Antelope season takes place in September in the prairie areas of Fall River County to the south of Hot Springs. Much like the elk, the pronghorn is a unique trophy animal, not found in many parts of the state, including all of Eastern South Dakota.

Wild Turkey hunting is arguably Hot Springs' greatest outdoor draw for hunting enthusiasts. The area features both Fall and Spring seasons for both the Prairie and Black Hills units. Hot Springs was also the site for a recent ESPN Outdoors Turkey Hunt filmed in the spring of 2005. If you like turkey hunting, Hot Springs is the premier destination for turkey hunting in the Black Hills!

The Chinese Ring-Necked Pheasant is the state bird and one of the state's most famous commodities. While not generally considered to be very abundant in the Black Hills area, Hot Springs, and the nearby community of Oral, just to the south, are one of the few areas in the Black Hills that are known for their abundance of pheasants. With some public hunting areas near Angostura Reservoir and the town of Oral, this area of the Southern Hills is home to some of the best pheasant hunting around. In addition, private hunting lodges are also available which will not only find you birds, but cater to your every need.

Mountain Lions were recently added to the state's Big Game hunting season for the first time in 2005. There is both a Prairie and Black Hills unit available with unlimited licenses for South Dakota residents only. The season runs from Oct. 1 - Dec. 15, or may end sooner should the harvest limit of 25 mountain lions be reached prior to the scheduled end date.

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat seasons are also available in nearby Custer State Park and the surrounding Black Hills National Forest. While rare, Bighorn Sheep have been spotted less than a mile from the Hot Springs city limits.