THING TO DO

The Minuteman Missile Mobile Tour

A park ranger stands in front of a glass enclosure at a missile silo

A Mobile Phone guided tour of Delta-09 and Delta-01 is available for visitors to learn the history of Minuteman Missile on the Great Plains and how it was operated for thirty years. Air Force veterans who served at both sites narrate these tours
Details
Each audio tour is about twenty minutes in duration. Delta-01 and Delta-09 are about ten miles apart. 
All pets must be on leashes no longer that six feet in length. 
There is no direct fee for use of the mobile phone tour.
Delta-01 and Delta-09 are open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. mountain time, daily. In the winter, weather consitions can close the site on occasion. 
Accessibility Information

Service animals allowed. 

Delta-09:

Accessibility is limited by the gravel driveway and gravel or dirt surfaces from the parking area through the fence gate and to the silo itself. At the silo, a concrete apron is immediately in front of the viewing enclosure.

Delta-01:

The route from the parking lot to the main gate is paved and accessible, though crossing the dirt county round may be difficult.
Image of a mobile phone screen showing a park tour

A guided tour for your mobile device will enhance your visit to Delta-09 missile silo and the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility.

At Delta-09 learn the history of Minuteman Missile silos on the Great Plains and how the silo was operated for thirty years. At Delta-01 learn about the features of the Launch Control Facility as you walk to the main gate.

Air Force veterans who served at each location narrate these interpretative tours. Use of the mobile app and tour is free, the only charge is for the minutes used by your cell phone provider.

Dial 605-301-3006 to get started on the tour. If you are reading this on a smart phone or tablet, use the Mobile Web App link to access the mobile tour.

Even though the stops are numbered, visitors can choose any stop in any order to accommodate their visit. Stops one through ten explore the Delta-09 silo and stops eleven to twenty take visitors to the front gate of Delta-01. The mobile web app features content for all twenty stops points of interest, including images, tour text, and links to expanded content, including the 3-D virtual tours of the silo and underground control center.

Man gestures to a group standing outside a fenced compound
Air Force veteran Bret Whitmore leads a tour at Delta-09

NPS Photo

At Delta-09, the audio tour is narrated by Bret Whitmore, a veteran of the 45th missile security squadron. Bret and his colleagues guarded launch facilities that were under repair, and escorted missiles and warheads to and from launch facilities. The Delta-09 tour explores how the launcher worked and briefly explains the above-ground features inside the fenced compound.
A uniformed man wears a heavy coat and talks on the radio inside a vehicle.
Bill West at the wheel of a Security Police vehicle, circa 1973.

NPS/MIMI 2885

Air Force Security Police veteran Bill West served as Flight Security Controller at Delta-01 in the early 1970s, and narrates the audio tour that goes from the parking lot to the main entry gate of the compound. This tour discusses the things to be seen inside the fence, as well as what's inside and underground at the control center.
Tags: cold war minuteman missile cell phone tour self-guided tour missile silo control center air force military security police great plains south dakota midwest

Last updated: October 21, 2020