Bighorn Pines Retreat

Bighorn Pines Retreat sits on 5.18 acres of ponderosa pine just 10 miles southwest of downtown Rapid City in the Sheridan Lake Road area of the Black Hills. The 2005 ranch-style home offers 4,063 finished square feet on two levels, five bedrooms, four baths, a walkout lower level remodeled in 2025 with a full second kitchen, and a wraparound deck overlooking the pines. A 2023 shop with a lean-to bay completes this private Black Hills homesite.

Land

Bighorn Pines Retreat covers 5.18 acres on a pine-studded hillside in the eastern Black Hills. Elevation ranges from about 4,055 feet at the southeast corner to about 4,196 feet along the western boundary, a total relief of roughly 140 feet, and the home sits near 4,125 feet. Slopes average about 26 percent across the parcel. A stacked rock ledge lines the gravel drive as it climbs to the house, and the ground falls away beyond the home toward wooded draws and forested ridges that roll on to the horizon.
Open ponderosa pine and native grass cover most of the acreage. Close to the house, a lawn, a paver patio with a stone fire pit, and the deck give easy outdoor living space. The soil across the parcel is the Sawdust-Vanocker, dry-Rockerville complex on 10 to 40 percent slopes, typical of the rocky forest soils of the Black Hills, and the property lies in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood zone X, the minimal flood hazard designation.

Improvements

Bighorn Pines Retreat centers on a 2005 ranch-style home built over a walkout lower level, with 4,063 finished square feet, five bedrooms and four baths. A vaulted great room opens through tall gable windows and French doors to the wraparound deck, and hardwood floors run through the dining area and the kitchen, where a large island and double wall ovens anchor the room. The primary suite has its own corner fireplace, a door to the deck, and a bath with a jetted tub under a bay of windows.
Remodeled in 2025, the lower level adds a family room with a freestanding stove and a walkout to the covered patio, a full second kitchen with Shaker-style wood cabinets and stainless appliances, and bedrooms with new carpet, a natural fit for extended family or guests. A sixth bedroom on this level is not to code (NTC) because it has no egress window.
Improvements:

Home: 2005 ranch style over a walkout lower level, 4,063 finished square feet (main level 2,442; lower level 1,621, remodeled in 2025)
Great room: 32’0″ x 22’10” under a vaulted ceiling, with a 15’10” x 13’1″ dining area
Kitchen: 13’3″ x 13’1″ with island cooktop, double wall ovens and an 8’9″ x 8’9″ walk-in pantry
Primary suite: bedroom 17’2″ x 29’1″ with tray ceiling, corner fireplace and deck door; bath 12’0″ x 17’3″ with jetted tub and separate shower; walk-in closet 10’0″ x 9’0″
Main-level bedrooms: 19’0″ x 12’6″ and 21’11” x 12’6″; full bath with double sinks; laundry closet
Lower level: family room 28’5″ x 22’1″ with freestanding stove; second kitchen 11’1″ x 10’11”; two bedrooms; sixth bedroom not to code (NTC); two baths; laundry room with shower stall
Garage: two-stall drive-under, 25’7″ x 23’10”
Outdoor living: 650-square-foot wraparound deck, 152-square-foot covered patio at the walkout, and a paver patio with a stone fire pit
Covered parking: 19’5″ x 14’2″ at the front entry, with concrete steps to the door
Shop: 24-by-50 metal shop built in 2023 on a slab with a thickened edge, large overhead door, 200-amp electrical panel and an attached 12-by-50 lean-to bay
Systems: roof and heat pump about five years old, electric furnace, propane, newer water heater, water softener, whole-house filter and two reverse osmosis systems

Recreation

Bighorn Pines Retreat puts the heart of the Black Hills within easy reach. Evenings here center on the fire pit and the deck, with the pines all around, and Sheridan Lake Road continues west into the Black Hills National Forest. Sheridan Lake, a 375-acre reservoir, is about 13 miles away, with a marina, swimming beaches and campgrounds on its north and south shores. Pactola Reservoir, the largest and deepest reservoir in the Black Hills, is about 19 miles away for fishing and boating.
Hill City, 19 miles away, sits on the George S. Mickelson Trail, a converted rail line of roughly 109 miles between Edgemont and Deadwood that draws cyclists, hikers and horseback riders. Keystone, about 20 miles away, is the gateway to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 31 miles from home, and Custer State Park, a 71,000-acre wildlife park known for its free-roaming bison herd, is about 33 miles away. From hiking and horseback riding to fishing, boating and scenic drives, the full range of Black Hills recreation is an easy day from home.

Agriculture

Bighorn Pines Retreat is a residential acreage built around the home and shop. The 2023 shop and its lean-to give covered space for a tractor, equipment and trailers to keep up the grounds, and the open grass around the home is ready for gardens and play.

Water/Mineral Rights & Natural Resources

A private domestic well completed in January 2005 serves the home. It is cased in 5.5-inch steel to 820 feet and pressure-grouted with cement, reaches a total depth of 1,000 feet with a static water level of 350 feet, and tested at 7 gallons per minute after 2 hours, according to the state well completion report. Water treatment includes a softener, a whole-house filter and two reverse osmosis systems. Wastewater goes to a septic tank and drainfield; the 1,500-gallon tank was pumped in February 2026 at a normal level. Ponderosa pine timber covers much of the acreage.

General Operations

Bighorn Pines Retreat is reached by gravel road on Bighorn Road, with good access, and the driveway enters from the southeast. Electric service is provided by Black Hills Electric Cooperative, propane is on site, and the property lies in the Big Horn Road District, the Whispering Pines Fire District and the Rapid City School District.

Region & Climate

The Sheridan Lake Road area rises from Rapid City into the eastern Black Hills, a landscape of ponderosa pine, rocky ridges and quiet valleys within about 20 minutes of downtown. At Rapid City Regional Airport, more than 900 feet lower than the property, the climate normals for 1991 through 2020 are 17.44 inches of precipitation and 48.5 inches of snowfall a year, and Rapid City’s average first fall freeze comes around October 4. South Dakota has no state personal income tax, a draw for families, retirees and anyone relocating from a higher-tax state.

History

Long before the gold rush, the Lakota knew these hills as Paha Sapa and held them sacred. Rapid City was founded in February 1876, two years after the Black Hills Expedition led by George Armstrong Custer announced the discovery of gold, and it was first known as Hay Camp. Nearby Sheridan Lake covers the site of Sheridan, the first county seat, behind a dam built in 1939. Bighorn Pines Retreat was built in 2005 on land that was once the SE1/4 of Government Lot 4 of Section 31, Township 1 North, Range 7 East, now platted as Murray Subdivision No. 2.

Location

Bighorn Pines Retreat is about 10 miles southwest of downtown Rapid City, reached from Sheridan Lake Road by way of Clarkson Road, Pioneer Circle and Bighorn Road. From the home, by road: downtown Rapid City 10.1 miles (21 minutes); Monument Health Rapid City Hospital 9.8 miles (17 minutes); Sheridan Lake Marina 12.7 miles (21 minutes); Rapid City Regional Airport 18.9 miles (29 minutes); Pactola Reservoir 18.9 miles (28 minutes); Hill City 19.2 miles (28 minutes); Keystone 20.4 miles (28 minutes); Mount Rushmore National Memorial 31.5 miles (47 minutes); Custer State Park Visitor Center 32.5 miles (46 minutes). Full shopping, dining and medical services are in Rapid City, and Rapid City Regional Airport offers commercial air service.