Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of day, the pine-cloaked hillsides and wildflower meadows of the park's Hell Canyon offer
a welcome contrast to the cave's chilly depths.
12.
Crazy Horse Memorial
A massive sculpture-in-progress, the Crazy Horse Memorial honors the highly esteemed
LakotawarriorwhohelpeddefeatCusterandtheU.S.7thCavalryattheBattleoftheLittle
Bighorn. The idea for this Herculean undertaking originated in 1939, when Lakota Chief
HenryStandingBearwrotealettertosculptorKorczakZiolkowski(thenassistingBorglum
at Mt. Rushmore) and asked him to design a similar monument to Indian culture. “My fel-
low chiefs and I,” he explained, “would like the white man to know the red man has great
heroes, too.” Duly persuaded, Ziolkowski set to work until his death in 1982. Today his
work honoring the great chief is overseen by his wife and seven of his children, using the
detailed guidelines he left behind.
Ziolkowski'splansweregrand,tosaytheleast.UnlikeMt.Rushmore,whichrepresents
thepresidents'facesinrelief,theCrazyHorseMemorialisslatedtobeathree-dimensional
sculpture-in-the-round that depicts the bare-chested warrior charging out of the mountain-
sideatophisgallopinghorse.Whencompleted,itwilldominatethelandscapeonanunpre-
cedented scale, standing 56 stories tall and more than two football fields in length. A scale
model at the visitor's complex shows how the monument will appear when finished.
13.
Hill City
So authentically Western is this old gold-rush town that the cars parked along its Historic
MainStreetseemtrulyoutofplace.Moreinkeepingwiththetown'scharacteristheBlack
Hills Central Railroad, offering two-hour excursions to Keystone and back aboard a vin-
tage 1880s steam train. Just a few miles north on Rte. 385, Sheridan Lake Recreation Area
makes an ideal camping spot, with good swimming from its sandy shores and there's su-
perb hiking to be found on the Flume Trail. Hill City is a trailhead for the 109-mile George
S. Mickleson biking and hiking trail, with four hardrock tunnels and over 100 converted
railroad bridges.
14.
Pactola Reservoir Recreation Area
Embraced by a heavy growth of oaks, birches, and ponderosa pines, Pactola Reservoir is a
local favorite for water sports, camping, and hiking. The reservoir is a haven for fishing; it
is stocked with 200,000 rainbow-trout fingerlings each year. A state-of-the-art visitor cen-
ter located on Rte. 385 is open daily from Memorial Day until Labor Day.
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