Chainsaw art with the Dahl Brothers

Keystone, South Dakota – Chainsaw Art with the DAHL Brothers

Today we stopped in Keystone, South Dakota, to check out the incredible DAHL Brothers Chainsaw Sculptures. These two brothers, are true artists. They use dead wood from the Black Hills area to create all of their sculptures, making their work not only beautiful but sustainable too.

One of the brothers first discovered chainsaw carving while visiting Alaska. He saw someone carving and was immediately hooked. He ended up staying there to do an apprenticeship, learning the craft hands-on. Once he got the hang of it, he convinced his brother to join him—and the rest is history. Together, they’ve created a wonderland of wooden art.

Their creations are incredible. One of the biggest showstoppers is Billy the Bigfoot, a massive sculpture that looks like it’s made from tree bark shingles. It’s hard to believe, but we read that it only took them eight days to build it. It’s huge and so detailed.

Watching one of the brothers in action—carving a feather while we were there—was amazing. Despite the rain, it was such a fun and inspiring stop. We loved seeing the Three Bears hanging from a rope in a tree, and they even had Minions! Their collection covers everything, and they can carve just about anything.

They even give away free wood scraps, which is a great bonus for anyone looking for a souvenir or something to use in their own projects, or for firewood, And yes—they do special orders, too!

This was definitely one of those off-the-beaten-path highlights of the trip. A short stop, but such a memorable one.