Hill City in Winter: The Shop That Stays Open

The candy cases in Keystone went quiet at the end of October, the way they do every year. That shop runs spring through October, and 117 Winter Street will sit dark until the hills green up again.

The Hill City shop does not close. From November to April, 205 Main Street is the one with the lights on. If you live here, you already know that. If you are planning a winter trip, it is worth knowing where the chocolate is.

The Hills are a different place in November

The first thing that changes is the roads. Needles Highway closes to vehicles with the first snow of the season and stays closed until April 1 or later, depending on how the winter goes. Iron Mountain Road shuts down periodically when the snow comes faster than it can be cleared. The Wildlife Loop stays open year-round, though you drive it carefully. Custer State Park posts all of this on its scenic drives page, and it is worth a look the morning you head out rather than the week before.

What you get in trade is a quieter set of hills. Shorter drives. Parking anywhere you like. Bison standing in the open with nothing between you and them but cold air. The 1880 Train runs its Holiday Express out of the Hill City depot on select dates from late November into early January, which puts a good number of families on Main Street on winter evenings. Check their schedule before you build a day around it.

There is a coffee bar, and only here

Hill City has the European-style coffee bar. Keystone does not have one. On a January afternoon when the wind is coming down Main Street, that is the difference between a stop and a visit.

Espresso and dark chocolate were made for each other, and the counter is about eight feet from the chocolate case. Order something hot, pick two pieces out of the case, sit down. Most days that is the whole plan.

What we make when the buses stop coming

Summer is production. Winter is the part of the year where we make what the season asks for, in the small batches we have been making by hand since 1977.

Divinity is the clearest example. It is egg white and cooked sugar, beaten until it stops running and starts holding its shape, and it is honest about the weather. Beat it on a damp day and it will not set the way it should. Cold, dry Black Hills air in December is close to ideal. It comes out white, light, a little chewy at the center, and it tastes like a grandmother’s kitchen because for most people it was one.

Peppermint cremes show up around the same time. A soft mint center, dipped in dark chocolate, cool and clean after a heavy dinner. Fudge keeps going all winter, cut off the slab, and the caramels and bear paws do not take a season off either. Inventory moves, so if you are driving in for one particular thing, call ahead and we will set it aside.

Yes, people order ice cream in January

Every year someone is surprised that the ice cream case is still running in the middle of winter. It is, and it stays busy. Malts hold up fine in a cold month, and a sundae eaten indoors with snow on the window is its own small argument. The ice cream menu is the same one you would find in July.

If you are not getting up the hill this winter

Plenty of people who love this shop live nowhere near it. The online store runs all winter and ships anywhere in the United States, and orders over $50 ship free. Pack a box for someone who used to come through every summer, and it will land as something more than candy.

Finding us

• Hill City: 205 Main Street, open year-round, including right through the winter.
• Keystone: 117 Winter Street, closed for the season, back in the spring.
• Winter hours shift with the weather and the week. Call ahead if you are driving a long way.

The hills are quieter now. That is not a drawback. Come stand at the counter, let someone else shovel their own walk, and take your time choosing.