Venue
76th Drive, Deadwood, SD 57732, United States
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Days of '76 Rodeo, Deadwood guide
Rodeo and stagecoaches in old Deadwood.
In short
Western heritage fans can visit Deadwood from Sunday 25 to Saturday 31 July 2027 for Days of '76, built around an award-winning professional rodeo and two horse-drawn parades of museum wagons and stagecoaches. The organiser confirms the night-by-night schedule, so check it before buying tickets, and book accommodation early.
Days of '76 is Deadwood's week-long tribute to the gold rush that built the town, centred on a professional rodeo whose volunteer committee has been named Rodeo Committee of the Year 19 times, and two horse-drawn parades that carry wagons and stagecoaches from the town's own museum through the streets.
The celebration began in 1924, when Deadwood decided to honour its first pioneers: the prospectors, miners and others who poured into the gulch looking for gold. More than a century later it is still run in that spirit, with history treated as a central part of the entertainment.
The rodeo itself draws serious competitors, and the evenings mix roughstock and timed events with staged scenes from the town's lawless early years. Outside the arena, Deadwood's Old West streets make the setting hard to beat, and in 2011 the rodeo joined the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Saturday, 31 July 2027
Where: Deadwood, United States
Venue: Days of '76 Event Complex
Held: Every year
Type of event: Sporting Events, Cultural Events, Parade
Currency: US dollar (USD, $)
Time zone: Mountain Time (UTC-7, UTC-6 in summer)
Language: English (Spanish widely spoken)
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Parade rules for spectators
Nothing is thrown from the parade, and that includes candy. The rule protects spectators, riders and the animals, so prepare children for a parade that is about watching. Horses and teams pass close to the kerb: keep dogs, umbrellas and anything that flaps well back, and do not step into the road to take photos. Political campaigning is not allowed in the parade, and elected officials who join it must bring their own transport.
Seating, tickets for small children and accessibility
The arena has two reserved grandstands, the 76 Grandstand and the Juso Brothers Grandstand, plus general admission. Children aged 2 and under do not need a reserved ticket if they sit on a lap, and general admission is free for children 4 and under. The VIP roughstock deck is not sold to the public.
Wheelchair reserved seating is booked directly with the organisers through the chat box on the official site, so arrange it before the day.
What happens on the day
- Sunday and Monday mornings
Specialist slack
In 2025 steer roping slack took Sunday and women's barrel racing and breakaway slack Monday, both from 9am. Slack is free to watch.
- Midweek, 08:00
Timed-event slack
Steer wrestling, tie-down and team roping runs in the arena; the twelve fastest return for the evening performance.
- Every evening, 19:00
PRCA performance
Roughstock events, barrel racing and historical reenactments, including Hickok's killing and an 1878 stagecoach holdup.
- Tuesday evening
Family Night
Since 2025, with $5 off general admission.
- Friday and Saturday, 13:30
Parades
About 3 miles of wagons, teams and costumed riders from the rodeo grounds onto Main Street. Traffic stops from about 1pm to 3pm.
Grandstand tickets, free slack events and accommodation
Seats are sold online at daysof76.com and at the gate, and the choice is between two reserved grandstands and general admission. Prices for 2027 had not been posted at the time of writing, so check the official ticket page before you budget. If you only want a taste of the competition, go in the morning. Slack, where the timed-event cowboys make their first runs, is free to watch.
A car makes the Black Hills far easier to enjoy around the rodeo, since the evening shows end late and the scenic roads are the real draw by day. Book a hire car for the Black Hills once your room is fixed.
Deadwood's gold rush history and the rodeo
Deadwood was founded in April 1876, in the first rush of the Black Hills gold strike, and its wildest years lasted barely to 1879. Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead there on 2 August 1876. He and Calamity Jane now lie in Mount Moriah Cemetery above town. The whole of Deadwood was made a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and gambling has been legal in town since 1989.
The rodeo leans into that past. Between events the arena stages Hickok's killing and an 1878 holdup of a stagecoach carrying gold, and the committee says openly that it aims to keep things as close to history as it can. The parades follow the same idea, with teams, wagons and costumed riders.
The Days of '76 Museum, on Seventy Six Drive, now holds many of those wagons. It began as little more than storage for vehicles and costumes gathered by the celebration over the decades. Today more than 50 wagons, carriages and buggies fill a 7,000-square-foot hall, with nearly 100 long arms and 20 handguns in a separate firearms exhibit. Give it an hour before an evening performance.
Getting there
Flying in
Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), nine miles south-east of Rapid City, has year-round flights from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth. Deadwood is about 42 miles north-west.
By road
Follow I-90 to Sturgis, then US 14A for the last 12 miles. From Wyoming, leave I-90 at exit 17 for the final 8 miles.
Without a car
Airport Express, Discovery Tours and Dakota Taxi run transfers; Prairie Hills Transit charges $15 one way.
In town
The trolley loops through Deadwood for $1 a ride, until 3am on Friday and Saturday. There is a free lot on Sherman Street; the arena lot fills fast.
Where to stay during the festival
Stay in Deadwood if you can: the town is compact, the parades pass close to the hotels, and an evening at the arena does not end with a long drive.
The rodeo grounds have a campground for tents and trailers with a reservation. When town is full, the neighbouring Black Hills towns are close enough to commute.
Weather and what to pack
Late July in the Black Hills is warm by day and cool at night. Rapid City, the nearest major station, averages a July high of 86.4°F (30.2°C) and a low of 58.5°F (14.7°C), with about 58 mm of rain over ten days (1991-2020 normals). Deadwood, higher up in a wooded gulch, runs a little cooler.
Summer afternoons can bring sudden thunderstorms.
Worth packing
- A warm layer for the evening grandstand
- A hat and sunscreen for parade afternoons
- A rain jacket for thunderstorms
- Cash for the trolley
Car hire in Deadwood
Airport transfer to Days of '76 Rodeo, Deadwood
Met at arrivals and driven door to door to Days of '76 Event Complex.
Restaurants and food in United States
Places to eat in United States before or after the celebrations.
Joe's Stone Crab
11 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139, United States
Cuisine:SeafoodAmerican
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Bar
Alinea
1723 North Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
Cuisine:ModernistAmerican
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
Franklin Barbecue
900 East 11th Street, Austin, TX 78702, United States
Cuisine:Texas barbecueAmerican
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Commander's Palace
1403 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130, United States
Cuisine:CreoleNew Orleans
- Dine-in
Katz's Delicatessen
205 East Houston Street, New York, NY 10002, United States
Cuisine:Jewish deliAmerican
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Counter seating
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General
The 2026 rodeo was the 104th annual event, so the 2027 edition adds one more year to a long annual run that has kept the same rodeo and parade format.
The PRCA performances feature bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding. Steer roping is decided in the slack earlier in the week.
Besides its committee titles, it has been named Badlands Circuit Rodeo of the Year 16 times and was a top five nominee for PRCA Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year in 2025.
Entries and teamsters register with the parade committee ahead of time; in 2026 the deadline was 17 July. Costumes are checked in and out at the campground cabin, and participants report to the arena an hour before the start.
Adults pay $6 and children aged 7 to 13 pay $3. Children 6 and under get in free, which makes it an easy hour for families before an evening show.
No. The rodeo is held in late July, while the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, 12 miles away, takes place in August. They run close together, so the Black Hills stay busy through the whole period.
Both lie in Mount Moriah Cemetery on the hillside above Deadwood, which makes an easy morning visit before an evening at the rodeo.
Prices & payment
Reserved seats in the 76 Grandstand were $55 and in the Juso Brothers Grandstand $45. General admission was $35, or $15 for children aged 5 to 12. Prices for 2027 are set by the organiser.
Booking
Yes. Tickets are sold online through daysof76.com and at the gate, though reserved grandstand seats are safer booked in advance for weekend nights.
Getting there
From the rodeo grounds along US Highway 14A onto lower Main Street, up Main Street, east on Pine Street and north onto US Highway 85.
Families & accessibility
Since 2025 a Tuesday evening performance has replaced the old Saturday matinee, billed as Family Night.