Cosmos Mystery Area Tours and Tickets

There are plenty of ways to experience Cosmos Mystery Area. Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, these are the best tours available right now:

• Cosmos Mystery Area Admission

• Mount Rushmore Theodore Roosevelt and Badlands Self-Guided Tour

• Mount Rushmore Self-Guided Audio Tour Guide

Tickets for Cosmos Mystery Area cost US$15 for adults and US$8 for children ages 5–11. Kids 4 and under get in free. You can book online, or same-day tickets are available on-site. You might also want to budget for additional activities or souvenirs from the gift shop.

Cosmos Mystery Area is known as “the strangest location in the Black Hills,” where you can change heights on level platforms, stand on walls, and experience gravitational anomalies. “Discovered” in 1952 by two college students, it's a place where the laws of physics seem suspended, balls roll uphill, and water flows in mysterious ways.

At Cosmos Mystery Area, expect a 40–60-minute tour showcasing rooms where science, mystery, and a bit of comedy collide through hands-on environments and experiments. You'll get perplexed by optical illusions, feel like you’re standing on walls, see water defy gravity and roll in different directions, and witness people appear to change height.

No, Cosmos Mystery Area isn’t accessible. You’ll have to walk up a mulched path with stairs to get there (and down to get back), and inside, the facility isn’t recommended for people with mobility or balance issues. That being said, there are accessible bathrooms, and the gift shop is accessible.

Whether Cosmos Mystery Area is worth it depends on what you find fun. If you’re already in the area and you want to mix it up between stops like Mount Rushmore, it’s a great family-friendly activity that will get the gang talking. And since tours take an hour or less, a visit fits most schedules.