Chapel In the Hills

It is hard to believe that the 12th century church is still standing strong and beautiful on the hills. This is a wonderful architectural marvel in Rapid City. The entire edifice is made of wooden blocks and columns. Definitely recommend this church to everyone visiting Rapid city

A nice place to relax. The place is so serene. But it’s closed to the public at this time . They will resume on May .

Absolutely beautiful! It's easy to find, parking is a breeze and it is free to get in, but they do accept donations. Everyone there was very friendly and informative. It was a very hot day today so we didn't stay long but we'll definitely be back.

Gorgeous Norwegian chapel with an audio tour at the chapel itself about its architecture and the history of the original. Friendly volunteers, small gift shop with fair prices, and a one-room museum. We enjoyed the prayer walk and its sculptures.

Note: The trail might not be stroller friendly or wheelchair accessible. We carried our baby and so we didn’t have to think about wheels.

Incredible history! This is a great walk through for anyone, but extra special for those of Norwegian heritage. Intricate carving and impressive timberwork. They provided a scavenger hunt at the gift shop for the kids, which greatly increased their interest in the details! Small gift shop with some interesting things, including Norwegian candy.

In a word, stunning. The grounds on which the church sits are beautifully maintained. The gentleman who met us at the entrance offered a very interesting history lesson on the origins and construction of the church. The wood carvings in and on the building are a marvel. This is well worth a visit.

Very unique place to visit. The grounds were beautiful and fun to explore. The chapel is well worth the visit, as well as the museum and gift shop. The volunteers were very friendly and knowledgeable. Enjoyed our time there.

Unique church on top of the hill. Full of history and unique architecture. Don't forget to walk the Prayer Trail if you have time, I found 2 fawns hiding in the bushes behind the church. The only complain is there's a swimming pool in the house division next to the Church. We can hear the children screaming, crying and hollaring while playing in the pool. It's a bit annoying especially when we try to absorb the tranquility and peaceful vibe.

A beautiful hidden gem! Off the beaten path but so worth it. They have a small scavenger hunt for the kids to keep them engaged. There's an audio narration you can listen to in the chapel itself and the prayer walk is so peaceful! The gift shop is full of Norwegian treasures. Highly recommended!

Absolutely stunning! If you love Nordic Viking architecture and history then you gotta check this place out. Very informative staff and friendly. Beautiful views with a peaceful prayer trail that goes up into the hills behind the Chapel. The Chapel itself is absolutely awesome. There is a small little museum and gift shop on site as well. Defintley make time to visit the Chapel in the Hills.

Truly a unique spot! The chapel is an exact replica of a chapel located in Norway called Borgund Stavkirke. The grounds are beautiful.

On site there is a miniature museum stuffed with Scandinavian antiques. Photo albums provide documentation of each artifact and it's use. It makes for a real life seek and find game!

There are public restrooms, a bell tower, a prayer walk, and a gift shop on the grounds as well. I did not get close to the bell tower or the prayer walk as there was an outdoor wedding held when I visited.

The shop attendant was very friendly and knowledgeable. She described the unique building housing the gift shop called the stabbur. In Norway, animals would be housed below creating heat that would warm the second story living space the sod and grass roof would provide insulation and goats would reside on the roof, keeping it mowed and protecting them from predators. The prayer walk is supposed to have statuary along the path.

Stopped here on a whim because I wanted to see it and my daughter didn't think the kids would enjoy it. We were all very impressed with the history. Even the prayer path was nice to wonder up...make sure to use bug spray first.
This chapel is an exact reproduction of the original in Norway, built back in 1150.
This one was finished in 1969.

This chapel was breathtaking in person. The woodwork and scenery of this place is beautiful. There was also a prayer walk with statues, a little museum, bathrooms, and a little shop. You also don't need to be religious or come to a service or anything to visit. It's open for free to all.

It takes a bit to get here but the Chapel and gift shop are awesome buildings. This is an exact remake of one from Norway and the designs are way intricate and beautiful.

The surrounding park was an excellent place to have lunch. The bathrooms were clean and the people were nice. The gift shop building had an awesome green roof. I've included all my pics of the place.

What a beautiful chapel! It's definitely worth the stop and was one of the highlights of my visit to Rapid City and surrounding area. The small museum has lots of interesting items coupled with albums that describe their origin, use, etc. The gift shop has lots of great Scandinavian items, and the volunteers were friendly, knowledgeable, and absolutely delightful. I'd highly recommend spending an hour for a visit!

Gorgeous. Enjoyed speaking to the Volunteer who explained her traditional attire and Norwegian history. We enjoyed sitting in the chapel and hearing the recording of the symbolic attributes of the church.
The cabin had great artifacts with information cards. The prayer walk bad statues and plaques containing Christian platitudes.Overall the experience was wonderful.

The museum has books describing the items displayed, the chapel is amazing and the gift shop worker is extremely knowledgeable. Great choice to stop for on your travels.

Mesmerizingly Beautiful 😍, serenity and peace at the same place located somewhere between the foothills.

I'm Christian but not to involved in my religion, but this place took my breath away and for the first time I teared up while looking at something so beautiful and meaningful, this place is astounding. Even if your not religious I highly recommend coming to see this beautiful wooden architecture.

Today was a really nice day to take a drive to the chapel in the hills, glad I did weather was good. It's always refreshing to go see it once in awhile and marvel and all the work that was put into it, it is a very peaceful place for someone to reflect I would highly recommend if you need a quiet moment because it'll be the place.