The Black Hills of South Dakota welcomed us with a rainy cloak over the Memorial Day weekend. But the rain and thunderstorms did not entirely prevent us from exploring the unique, mesmerizing beauty of this place. It awed me (Stella) to the degree that the area felt religiously sacred to me. The land, once belonging to the Lakota Native American Indians, also revered the Black Hills with the same regard. These were (are) hallowed grounds to them. Another thing that added to the beauty of this area was the bushy, green pine trees completely covering all of the mountainsides, the likes of which we are unaccustomed to seeing due to the beetle kill devastation.
I had visited Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial as a young child, but at that point in my life, I was not interested in such things so I do not remember the area with any degree of fondness. This was Larry’s first time visiting, and the unique beauty also struck him. We found ourselves not wanting to leave and intensely yearning to explore so much more here.
We stayed in a beautiful, full hookup campground in Custer. The city of Custer possesses historical (and tragic) significance in the shaping of South Dakota. On this trip, we traversed through Custer State Park multiple times as well as driving north of Custer to Deadwood and Lead. Due to the weather, we were unable to do most of the activities that we had planned, but that is ok. We had a great time and look forward to returning! Please continue reading to learn about our Memorial Day Weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Day 1: We arrived at Buffalo Ridge Camp Resort at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Once the camper was set up and de-winterized (this was the first time we had used it since last winter), we set off to explore Custer. After getting dinner and browsing around in some gift shops, we headed to Custer State Park to drive on the Wildlife Loop.
We saw massive herds of buffalo in a few spots along the loop, along with deer and pronghorn. It is not uncommon for the buffalo to cross the road directly in front and alongside of the vehicles. To fully appreciate these massive animals, you need to see them close up. And by close up, I mean from the safety of your vehicle. Often they walk close enough to reach out and touch… but please do not do that or give them any reason to attack your vehicle. When we had made it a safe distance past the herd, I cracked my window and heard a pack of coyotes howling quite loudly, not far from the herd. We have heard coyotes howl before, but to hear a pack of them, and so nearby, was surreal.
Coinciding with the horrific history of what our country did to the Native American Indians, the buffalo have experienced an equally appalling devastation. If you are interested in learning more about this, check out my review of the book, titled “Green Fire: Stories From the Wild” by Earle F. Layser. The impact of this book is profound, and I feel very strongly that it should be a mandatory addition to middle or high school history class curriculum.
Shortly after we had made it back to the campground, a massive thunderstorm ensued. Everyone around us who was enjoying a campfire had a short-lived experience and went inside their RVs for the rest of the evening. Despite the rain, we had a great day and were looking forward to the next day’s adventures! Be sure to check out Larry’s time-lapse video of the storm.
Day 2: We awoke to a drizzly morning, with a bleak weather forecast for the rest of the day. The plan had been to embark on an all-day bike ride on the George S. Mickelson trail, and then kayak on Stockade Lake. That plan quickly changed to spending most of the day traversing the area in the Tahoe, i.e. scenic driving. This is something that we seldom do, as we prefer to be actively exploring areas using our kayak, stand-up paddleboards, bikes, snowshoes, and cross-country skis.
The first portion of the drive was on the Needles Highway. Larry stopped multiple times along the way to take pictures of the Black Hills and the famous Needle spires, granite pillars and towers. We then continued to the Needles Eye Tunnel, where vehicles took turns passing through. If you are interested in learning about how this amazing tunnel was engineered as well as the history of the park, check out this book that I recently finished: “Custer State Park: Images of America” by Tom Domek.
On our way back down the Needles Highway, we stopped at the State Game Lodge. The lodge, as discussed in the book above, is a historical building that was once used as a retreat for President Coolidge. There is a fantastic gift shop where we purchased a few items along with two bags of carrots to feed the Burros. With the two bags of carrots in hand, we eagerly set off for the Wildlife Loop with great anticipation of seeing the Burros since we didn’t see them the night prior! This was something that I, in particular, had been looking forward to since we began planning this trip.
What are Burros? Burros are donkeys that were used long ago for transporting people and hauling supplies. Now, they casually reside in a small area of the park and just live a life free of burden. They are referred to as the “Begging Burros” because they swarm vehicles begging for carrots! The burros are gentle creatures that the park indicates are safe to touch and interact with. For some strange reason, I had the name “Churros” in my head (yes, I know Churros are a dessert) and erroneously called them Churros throughout the entire trip. Embarrassingly, I called them Churros when talking with someone, and I received a very curious look. Larry politely interjected, telling them that I meant “Burros.”
On our drive around the loop, my eyes eagerly searched for the Burros, but we never saw any – again. With the bags of carrots sitting sadly in the backseat (yes, the carrots were sad), we headed back to the State Game Lodge to walk on the Grace Coolidge Creekside Trail. The path is almost entirely comprised of blacktop, with the exception of a few wooden bridges. It weaves between beautiful forested areas with Grace Creek trickling alongside. It is a wonderful path for both walking and biking, and we enjoyed the casual stroll immensely. We walked a total of 4.5 miles, from one end to the other.
We finished our walk just moments before the downpour began. With our minds filled with the beauty of what we had seen that day, and my heavy heart from not seeing the Burros, we headed back to the campground for the rest of the evening where we ate dinner and played multiple rounds of Othello.
Day 3: The plan for the day had been to spend the day kayaking the entire distance around Pactola Lake, 14 miles. Easy to do with good weather! But alas, our plans changed again due to the weather. Instead, we took off for Deadwood, which is the starting point of the George S. Mickelson trail system. This is a 109-mile trail, part of the “Rails to Trails” development. The sections of the trail all provide different types of landscape.
When starting in Deadwood, the trail is a steady climb. While it is only a 4% grade or less, it is still an uphill climb without respite, and I found myself wishing that I had an e-bike at that point in time. The trek up seemed to take forever, while the ride back to the truck was accomplished within the blink of an eye. We had only biked 7.31 miles, but to my stubby legs, it had felt like much more than that. During our Idaho Panhandle ~ Canada Adventure last summer, we biked 42 miles one day and then 50 miles two days later. However, that trail system is almost entirely flat, which makes a monumental difference.
Shortly after we made it back to the truck, the rain began. Again, we lucked out with perfect timing. With the bikes loaded, we drove through Lead and took pictures of the huge mineral mine carved through the center of the town. With nothing else to do because of the weather, we drove back to Custer and embarked on the Wildlife Loop once again, with hopes of seeing the Burros.
What luck! When we came upon the area where they reside, all of them were out in full force, clogging the road and begging for carrots. I was elated! I hopped out of the truck and eagerly hand-fed them the prized carrots. Once they were all eaten, I walked back to the truck only to find they all had followed me. Because the truck windows were down, they stuck their heads inside looking for more carrots. I was their best friend until they realized that my carrot supply was gone, then they moved on.
Continuing on the loop, we stopped at the Bison Center, which is a fantastic resource for learning about the buffalo herds inside the park. The building is beautiful, with wonderful educational displays. When finished, we continued on the road and came upon a herd alongside the road, where Larry took more pictures. There were two notable bulls, whose size was staggering. They crossed directly in front of the truck and walked so close alongside that if I had opened the door, it would have touched them.
Feeling fulfilled that I was finally able to feed the Burros, we headed into town for delicious dinner and then retired to the campground for a fun-filled evening of Othello, with the rain and thunder looming above us. We hoped for nice weather the next day, but we did not want to get our hopes up too much.
Day 4: The plan for the day had been to complete the 7-mile hike along the Black Elk Peak loop and then kayak the full distance around Lake Sheridan, 7.5 miles. But the weather did not look like it would hold out long enough for us to do both of these activities. Instead, we kayaked around Stockade Lake, which was only 3.3 miles. Despite the short paddle, we enjoyed it immensely!
The small lake is cradled within beautiful, forested areas, with willowy swamp sections filled with dozens upon dozens of small turtles! And, there were several Herons that flew out in front of our kayak, along with Osprey diving for fish. This is also a very popular lake for fishing, so we were unable to kayak directly along the shoreline for some of the paddle. I would love to have spent the entire day kayaking around the lake multiple times, reveling in the beautiful scenery and abounding wildlife.
With the kayak loaded back onto the Tahoe, we headed to the Bluebell Lodge for lunch, which was fantastic! There are multiple lodges within Custer State Park that offer full menus, but Bluebell Lodge offers the most appealing lunch/dinner menu of them all – in my opinion. After lunch, we parked the truck at the Coolidge General Store and set off for a walk on the same path that we had on Day 2. This time, however, we continued walking on the path until we reached the Visitor Center, which is across the main road. On this day, we walked a total of 5.8 miles on the path.
The Visitor Center is really nice and worth the stop. There are fabulous displays along with a theater offering 15-minute shows about the history of the park. After exploring the center, we walked back to the Tahoe, set out our camping chairs, and just relaxed for a while before heading to dinner for another delicious meal in Custer.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Larry and I did not even come close to doing everything that we had planned, but we had a memorable time, nonetheless! There is so much to see and do in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and we eagerly look forward to returning, hopefully during a time with dryer weather. Everywhere we ate in and outside of the parks offered great food!
If you are wondering why we did not go to Mt Rushmore, it is because I had already visited as a kid, and Larry had no interest in seeing it. We were thinking of going to the Crazy Horse Memorial, but it just never worked out for us to visit. If you are thinking about a trip to South Dakota and like engaging in active outdoor recreational activities, we recommend planning for at least five full days, if not longer.
WHERE IS BASECAMP @ GRAND LAKE HEADED NEXT?
- June 24 – July 2: Stanley and Sun Valley, ID
- July 20 – 24: Flaming Gorge, UT
- August 5 – 13: South Lake Tahoe, CA
- Sept/Oct: Curacao?
SOME OF THE GEAR USED:
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