Planning Your Visit to the
Chapel in the Hills
(Please refer to the Directions page if you need directions on how to reach the Chapel.)
"Welcome to the Chapel in the Hills!
We're happy to have you as our guests.
And we hope that your visit will be both enjoyable and rewarding..."
This is the greeting most visitors receive when they arrive at the Chapel in the Hills. It is said with sincerity as we wish you God's blessings on your visits here. The chapel is a beautiful setting in which to slow down, relax, and contemplate God's love for us. Thousands of visitors on vacation in the Black Hills, and local Rapid City residents alike, find the chapel a great place to recharge both their physical and spiritual lives.
Visitors are welcome to roam the chapel grounds at leisure. However, if you have not been here before, a good place to begin your visit is at the grass-roofed "Stabbur" visitor center
and gift shop. Here, volunteers will orient you to the grounds and help you with any general questions you may have. The chapel is located a short walk up the hillside. (There is a wheelchair available for those who may need assistance up the incline, and there is an alternate route up to the chapel that does not include any steps.) Click here for pictures of the stabbur gift shop.
Inside the chapel a recording plays, explaining the building's architecture, its history, symbolism, and connection to the Christian Church. Stay as long as you like as you take in the wonder of your surroundings. Don't forget to wander behind the chapel to the bell tower area for a different perspective of the building's architecture. Yes, photography is allowed anywhere on the grounds and in the buildings.
Currently under development is a Meditation Walk which will wind its way back in to the hillside behind the chapel. Complete with benches and statuary, this will provide one more quiet place for reflection, prayer, and meditation. Please inquire at the gift shop as to the status of its construction.
A visit to the gift shop after your visit to the chapel is a must. It is located in the stabbur, which is an authentic Norwegian store house, complete with grass roof! It was built in Norway and assembled on site. Literature about the chapel and its ministry is available at the gift shop, along with an extensive assortment of items of a Scandinavian theme. 
Here, too, visitors are able to register their comments and suggestions and provide their support for the ongoing mission of the Chapel.
As time permits, you are encouraged to visit the log cabin museum, located behind the gift shop. The log cabin was built by a Norwegian prospector who came to the Black Hills during the gold rush of the late 1800's. Moved from its original location in the Hills and restored by local volunteers, it houses articles brought over from Norway or If made by Scandinavians in this country during the 1800's. Click here for more views of the log cabin museum.