Day: May 3, 2026

South Dakota (heading west)

Palisades State Park:

It took us about 4 hours to drive from Whitewater State Park to Pallisades State Park, in South Dakota. What I remember most about the drive, was that it seemed we were heading into the middle of nowhwere through miles and miles of farm country. It didn’t seem possible that we were heading to a place with rushing water, gulches, cliffs and rock formations, though we were.  We were very happy with our campsite, in the older section of the park. It felt pretty privat, since no one was camping very close to us.

We spent two nights there. The first day we hiked all the trails near the campground, exploring the rock formations, historic bridge and Split Rock Creek. The second day we  hiked and walked at nearby Devil’s Gulch and Split Rock Park. We had a great time there, though we wwere starting to experience smoke from nearby wildfires. One noteable experience for Dave, was that the park ghad the newest, nicest dump station he had ever used.

Spearfish, SD:

We spent two nights at Spearfish City Campground. It was a good place to do laundry and we wanted to explore the area. We had only passed through, with a quick stop in town on our previous trip to South Dakota in 2020. It is in downtown Spearfish and is part of Spearfish City Park. Spearfish Recreation Path and Spearfish creek run through the park. We wanted to spend more time there, so we booked a campsite for four nights on the way home.

Devil’s Tower National Monument:

I have wanted to go to Devil’s Tower ever since I saw “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, as a kid. We didn’t make it that far west during our 2020 trip to the Badlands. The campground there does not take reservations, so we planned to arrive early and get the best site. It was only an hour from Spearfish, so we were able to choose from the most scenic sites.

After we set up camp, a severe storm started moving in. The camp host pointed out that there is a  restroom that someone could take shelter in, but she is not allowed to recommend it, in case it doesn’t survive a storm. We chose to stay in our rig through the hail and driving rain. A full-time RV couple camping near us had hail damage and water intrusion, but we had no issues.

That evening, while we were relaxing in our campsite, two carloads of foreign tourists drove into the campground and parked in our site and our neighbors’. They then proceeded to walk into our campsite to take pictures of the tower. Dave yelled, “It’s not cool to walk into someone’s campsite! Go hike on the trail over there.” They looked confused and left when the camp host arrived and told them they had to leave. Obviously, not everyone in the world is familiar with campgrounds and campground etiquette.

We hiked around Devil’s Tower the following day and visited the gift shop before heading to Wyoming.

Wyoming (heading west)

Our next destination, The Bighorn National Forest in Buffalo, Wyoming, was about 2 1/2 hours west from Devil’s Tower. This campground was one that Dave spent a lot of time researching, as it is a very popular spot for locals, regardless of the fact that it is dry camping (no power or water in campsites). We made reservations far in advance and were very happy with our campsite.  It was the first campground of the trip that had bear safety tips posted.

We were there for three nights, doing several hikes and spending an afternoon in town. We really liked the town and the area is pretty scenic. The trails were different from what we are accustomed to. We have hiked all across the country and not really had to look out for ATVs  or horse droppings. We would learn on this trip, that hiking is not very popular in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

We met a couple from Arizona there, who discovered the campground 20 years ago. They camp there every year and nowhere else. They said that once you go there, you never leave. While it was a peaceful, beautiful place, we were even more happy with our next destination in Montana.