One of the West's wildest Gold Rush towns, DEADWOOD , in a deep gulch high in the hills 42 miles northwest of Rapid City, has the rare accolade of being a National Historic Landmark in its entirety. Within a year of the discovery of gold here in 1876, six thousand gold-diggers had swarmed in to stake their claims; con artists, outlaws and other dubious frontier types were not far behind. Among them were James Butler, aka Wild Bill Hickok - sometime spy, scout, bullwhacker, stagecoach driver, sheriff and gambler, who spent only a few weeks in Deadwood prior to his murder by a young drifter named Jack McCall - and Martha " Calamity Jane " Canary Burke, an illiterate alcoholic whose checkered career included stints as a dishwasher, muleskinner, scout, prostitute, nurse and Wild West Show performer. She died penniless in 1903, her last wish to be buried beside Hickok in Mount Moriah Cemetery , a short but blustery hike from town.

Gambling was outlawed in Deadwood in 1889, the year South Dakota achieved statehood, but betting parlors and brothels flourished well into the twentieth century. Now the old ghosts have been revitalized, since the passing of limited-stake gambling legislation in 1989. With a residential population of only 2000, Deadwood is now booming again, the old gaming dens and flophouses transformed for the sake of tourism into flash casinos and rustic saloons. Corny but entertaining gunfights, sing-alongs and community theater are shown sporadically; check with the CVB , 735 Main St (tel 800/999-1876, ), for details.

For an overview of Deadwood past and present, start by visiting the History and Information Center , in the heart of town at 3 Siever St (May-Oct daily 8am-8pm; rest of year daily 9am-5pm; tel 605/578-2507). Main Street boasts several grand old hotels , including the Bullock at no. 633 (tel 605/578-1745 or 1-800/336-1876; $75-160), and the Franklin Hotel at no. 700 (tel 605/578-2241 or 1-800/688-1876; $75-160) which has an elegant old-world dining room. Budget motels are found a mile south of town on Hwy-85 towards Lead, including the Thunder Cove Inn (tel 800/209-7361; $50-75). The Penny Motel , 818 Main St (tel 605/578-1842, ; up to $35), offers excellent hostel accommodation at $12 for members and $15 for nonmembers as well as bike rental, shuttle service and internet access. You can also access the internet at the Carnegie Public Library, 435 Williams St. Saloon #10 , 657 Main St (tel 605/578-3346), has cold beer , sawdust floors and lots of memorabilia. Above the door is the chair in which Hickok was sitting when he was shot dead, while holding two aces, a pair of eights and the nine of diamonds - forever after christened the Dead Man's Hand. Several casinos along Main Street aim to lure in the punters with cut-price buffets , but Deadwood's finest dining is at the dinner-only Jake's , on the top floor of Kevin Costner's Midnight Star casino, 677 Main St (tel 605/578-1555).