Reptile Gardens

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Reptile Gardens For hours and rates, check our website or give us a call. www.reptilegardens.com
(8868)

Founded in 1937, and still under ownership of the same family, the Black Hills’ Reptile Gardens has steadily grown to one of the leading tourist attractions in the Midwest. Since its beginning, Reptile Gardens has been a source of entertainment and family fun as well as an unforgettable learning experience for millions of visitors by providing them the rare opportunity to observe these exotic animals up close.

That moment when you realize the week is almost over! 🎉
10/22/2026

That moment when you realize the week is almost over! 🎉

It’s ! 🐊 🐍 🐢 🦎Join Reptile Gardens today and every day in celebrating this incredible group of weird, wild, and wondrou...
10/21/2026

It’s ! 🐊 🐍 🐢 🦎

Join Reptile Gardens today and every day in celebrating this incredible group of weird, wild, and wondrous animals! From the smallest gecko to the largest crocodile, we love our scaly friends. 💚

10/20/2026

The Gila Monster. One of the few clinically venomous lizard species in the world, and the only clinically venomous lizard native to the United States, these reclusive reptiles inhabit the deserts of the American Southwest. 🦎🏜

Despite their intimidating name, Gila Monsters are slow-moving and primarily feed on eggs, nestlings, and small mammals such as rodents. While their venom helps subdue prey, researchers have discovered that many components within the venom specifically target pain receptors! This leads many biologists to theorize that Gila Monsters largely rely upon their venom for defense. Their bold and distinctive coloration acts as a warning to potential predators to keep their distance!

Want to see these fascinating reptiles up close? You can find our “monsters” on the Mezzanine Level of the Sky Dome!

Spooky Season Spotlight: Pumpkins 🎃It’s not Halloween without pumpkins! But why? How did the pumpkin become one of the m...
10/19/2026

Spooky Season Spotlight: Pumpkins 🎃

It’s not Halloween without pumpkins! But why? How did the pumpkin become one of the most iconic symbols of this spooky holiday? 👻

Turns out, it didn’t start with pumpkins. Traditionally, people in Scotland and Ireland carved faces into turnips and other root vegetables to ward off wandering spirits, especially Stingy Jack. Legend has it that Jack tricked the Devil during his lifetime, but because he wasn’t a particularly good person, he was denied entry to Heaven when he died. Thanks to his tricks though, he wasn’t welcome in Hell either, and was forced to wander Earth with only a burning ember in a hollowed-out turnip to light his way.

When the Irish and Scottish immigrants brought these traditions to America, they discovered that pumpkins were larger and easier to carve than turnips. And just like that, the pumpkin jack-o’-lantern became an iconic Halloween symbol! 🎃

While we’re used to seeing classic orange pumpkins this time of year, did you know they come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, textures, and colors? Keep your eyes open for some wild-looking pumpkins as you explore Reptile Gardens this Spooky Season!

Bird is the Word! 🦅Especially during our daily Bird Shows at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00! From hawks to owls to falcons, join ...
10/18/2026

Bird is the Word! 🦅

Especially during our daily Bird Shows at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00!

From hawks to owls to falcons, join us as we explore the amazing world of raptors, and the mind-blowing adaptations that make them one of the most fascinating group of birds in the world! 🦉 🌎

10/17/2026

Tortuga Falls Fall Tranquility 🍂

Fall at Reptile Gardens just hits different. 🍂 🧡We hope that you're enjoying this beautiful fall weather as much as we a...
10/17/2026

Fall at Reptile Gardens just hits different. 🍂 🧡

We hope that you're enjoying this beautiful fall weather as much as we are! 🍁🎃

Spooky Season Spotlight: Owls 🦉Did you know that Reptile Gardens is home to banshees, ghosts, and hobgoblins?! Well, may...
10/16/2026

Spooky Season Spotlight: Owls 🦉

Did you know that Reptile Gardens is home to banshees, ghosts, and hobgoblins?!

Well, maybe not the kind you see in the movies, but we do have an owl species that has helped inspire stories of such spooky creatures!

With its ghostly white face and chest and blood-chilling scream, it’s no wonder the Barn Owl has inspired such eerie nicknames fit for Halloween. Add in its nocturnal lifestyle and habit of hunting rodents over open fields, and it’s easy to imagine how someone might mistake a pale shape drifting through the darkness for a ghost! 👻

Despite their paranormal nicknames, the only creatures that need to fear Barn Owls are the rodents they prey upon. So, unless you’re dressing up as a mouse for Halloween, you have nothing to fear from Reptile Gardens’ very own ghosts! 🐁 🦉

Little too chilly outside? It’s always warm in the Sky Dome! 🦎🌺
10/15/2026

Little too chilly outside? It’s always warm in the Sky Dome! 🦎🌺

10/14/2026

Feeding time for our Blue Poison Dart Frogs!

Address

8955 South Highway 16
Rapid City, SD
57702

Telephone

+16053425873

Website

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