Here’s a new thing: Every Monday we’ll post a photo of the week from somewhere on the Great Plains Trail. This week is a shot from Custer National Forest in western South Dakota.
This parcel of National Forest is in the Slim Buttes region, which was the site of an influential battle between the Sioux and the U. S. Army in 1876. Like a lot of places in the Great Plains, it’s bursting with fascinating history. I don’t claim to be an expert on this particular piece of it, but here is the wiki page for the Battle of Slim Buttes. That should serve as a starter in case anyone is interested in researching it further.
7 Responses
That is definitely one of my favorite photos from along the Great Plains Trail.
It’s a pretty cool area.
I have always wanted to go to the Slim Buttes. I love classic western landscapes and the ponderosas, green grass and badlands-ish formations are an awesome combination!
Very much worth checking out!
Is there one particular trail that you would recommend there? A section of the GPT? A butte with a view?
The area is small enough you can’t go wrong. Not too many trails there just little to never used forest service roads that are more like two track trails. Really fun with a mtn bike so you can cover more ground.
This is pretty random, but next year my wife and I are taking our kids on a roadtrip to see my wife’s sister in Wisconsin. We would really like to camp for a night somewhere on the plains that is wild, with great wind-swept expanses. I wish there was a campground at Tallgrass Prairie. Same goes for Agate Fossil Beds. Might you have any suggestions where we might find such a place? Thanks!