I chose to visit South Dakota mostly because they have an abundance of outdoor activities where I could continue to remain socially distant and because at the time of my decision, the parks there were open. I was afraid when the coronavirus started to shut down the whole world that my trip would be over, but I’ve been incredibly fortunate that I have been able to continue exploring this country while still isolating myself from other people and keeping my risk level low. South Dakota was the perfect place for me to do that.
Badlands National Park – Trip 1
I arrived in South Dakota on Memorial Day weekend and had an extra day off from work to visit Badlands National Park on my way in. I had never been to a place quite like the Badlands, and I can’t imagine what it would have been like for the first explorers to happen upon this area. The Lakota people called it “mako sica,” the French Canadian trappers called it “les mauvaises terres pour traverser,” and we now call it the same thing: Badlands.
Custer State Park
Custer State Park is on the south end of the Black Hills and is famous for their 18 mile “Wildlife loop” where you are all but guaranteed to see a huge variety of animals. I saw deer, pronghorn antelope, wild turkeys, rabbits, the “begging burros,” and of course the famous bison. I knew the bison were abundant, and I actually remembered seeing them on my family’s trip to this same park when I was in middle school. But I was not quite prepared for just how close they get to you. I had two separate bison come so close that they actually touched my car! You can see in the photos below where they left smudges on my fenders!
Black Elk Peak
One of the most iconic things to do in the Black Hills is to climb Black Elk Peak. The trailhead is in Custer State Park, but the trail almost immediately leaves the park and enters the Black Elk Wilderness in the Black Hills National Forest. This hike is so popular that I thought it would be too crowded for me to attempt; the only way I could get to do it while avoiding a potentially unsafe crowd was to take a half day at work and do it midweek. I’m so glad I did. Black Elk Peak is the tallest mountain between the Rockies and the Pyrenees, and the view looks out over the Black Hills and the surrounding landscape. There is truly no other view like this one on earth.
Badlands – Trip 2
My first trip to the Badlands had to be modified slightly when I sliced up my hand and left Arkansas with 15 stitches. I couldn’t go backpacking on that trip (I ended up in the campground instead, where I could wash and dress my hand), so once I got my stitches out I planned to go back and do the backpacking trip I had wanted. What an incredible experience! This will go down as one of the most incredible campsites I’ve ever had, getting to pitch my tent right among the sandstone formations. The sunset was unbelievable; and rising at dawn and seeing the sun come up above those same stone formations was a special experience that very few people can say they’ve had.
Deadwood
I stayed in Deadwood, which gave me easy access to all of the Black Hills. You can see in the photos below the view from my Airbnb (and my host’s doggo Dasher!), as well as some highlights from around the area: Wild Bill and Calamity Jane’s resting places, the many waterfalls of Spearfish Canyon, the beauty of Bear Butte, and my guided horseback trail ride through the Black Hills. Other than getting stitches put into and later taken out of my hand, the horseback trip was the most I had interacted with other people since I left New Orleans. It ended up being one of my favorite things I did in South Dakota.
Alyson Gagne 