Isaac Parsons

There are 2 walls named the 1880 Wall, one is the East Wall and the other is the West Wall. To get there you will need to follow Old Hill City Road, either from Hill City or from Keystone. If coming from Keystone it is about 3.8 miles heading west. There is a pullout right off the road and next to the railroad tracks on the south side of the road.  The draw of this area is that it has good sout...

Just like in the summer version of Hippie Hole, it is a fairly easy drive, but there can be lots of snow and drifts on the narrow road, so 4WD is a must.  The road down is scenic and there are numerous places to stop and take in the sights and even hike around if so desired. Allow yourself enough time to soak it in! You will know where to park when you get down there because there will be a fla...

The campground is located 7.5 miles south of Lead on Highway 85, then turn left on road 196, there will be a sign for Hanna CG, from there it is just over 2 miles to the campground. The campground has 13 total sites, the main area of the CG is closed during the fall winter and spring, but there are a few sights that are walk in sites and open year around.  The sites are nicely spaced, and most ...

The hike is a very simple hike, you can make it longer or shorter as you would like. There is one spot were the trail gets a little steep and is rutted, you go from the rivers edge, to up on top of the cliffs and bluffs area.  Fall is a great time to go and visit Palisades State Park, with the Fall foliage and the trees changing!  To enter Palisades State Park you will need a pass, either a day...

The Bighorns have a whole lot to offer in any season. Most people probably do not think of the Bighorns as a ski destination, partly because there are only 2 ski areas in the whole range, and one, Antelope Butte was closed from 2004 until it reopened in 2018. To the west across the highway is a zone for earning your turns! However, the area is well known to the snow mobile community. Sheridan, ...

Castle Creek is a challenging place to get to, the road in the off seasons can be even more difficult. In the spring/early summer when the road is wet it can become rutted. There is one road to get to the campground from the East from Mystic it is about 8 rough narrow miles, but you could arrive at the campground from the North West as well. Both roads can be rough, so take your time and it sho...

Black Fox is 9 miles west of Rochford has nine campsites along the Rhoads Fork Creek where it meets up with the South Fork of Rapid Creek. Campsites are nicely arranged for the most part with a fire pit and picnic table at each site. From the campground there are many things to do, many people enjoy finding ATV trails through the National Forest, or fly fishing on the Rhoads fork or hiking up t...

Park on the South end of 6th Street at Harbach Park in Custer, just 2 blocks off Main Street. The entrance to the trail is marked by an archway and a "Custer Skywalk" sign. The path is a dirt/small gravel trail that has stairs built into the hillside. To get to the first observation point it is about a three tenths of a mile, there is a shelter lookout spot. good spot to take a break and take s...

The creek has two main sections, there is Upper French Creek and Lower French creek, the upper/lower refer to the section of creek above or below Stockade Lake. The better fishing is below Stockade Lake. There you can find numerous sections of the creek that are on public land and easily accessible. Trout can be found all over the creek, especially in the bends where it pools up and gets deeper...

For our loop traveling around the Grand Teton, we started at the Lupine Meadows TH going counterclockwise and that was where we finished as well. We heard that other people start other trailheads, like Death Canyon TH or Taggart Lake TH. Our goal was to finish the loop in just 2 days and 1 night, from what we had heard and read the loop was going to be about 30-31 miles long. After we had hiked...

The trail is accessible from 2 different spots, both give you the opportunity for a scenic drive to get there. The approach from the Northeast side is on Iron Mountain road a beautiful scenic Black Hills highway, and you will be very near Lakota Lake.  The Southwest trail head is a more rugged drive on a gravel two track called Camp Remington road that goes through the Peter Norbeck Wildlife Pr...

Biking the George S. Mickelson Trail is a very popular activity for many people in the Black Hills, locals, visitors, and tourists all enjoy the Mickelson Trail.  Not only can you bike, but you can run, walk, or even ride horses, and you most definitely do not have to do the entire length of the trail. There are numerous trailheads (15) along the trail to start or stop your ride, and make it ho...

To get to the Little Goose Trailhead make sure you have a vehicle capable of traveling over very rough terrain and big rocks and cross 3 creeks, one of which is about 50 feet wide and 2 feet deep. Four-wheel drive would be strongly recommended.  From the Little Goose Trailhead you will need to hike to Highland Lake which is about 7 miles or so.  On the way you will come across Highland Park and...

To get to Sunday Gulch Trail you will need to walk around Sylvan Lake to the Northwest End of the Lake, there is a loop all the way around the lake, so either way will take you there. You will see a sign for Sunday Gulch Trail, it is trail #6.  The trail itself can be quite steep in places but it does have hand railing for much of the steep downhill on boulders. There is a creek that flows alon...

Thompson Beach is a Minnesota DNR public access beach. Camping is an excellent option, but they ask that you limit it to one night. Camping access is by paddle-in only. There are two easy places to launch your boat from, one from the north Twin Points Protected Access. From there it is about a mile to paddle down to the beach. The second option for a put in is Gooseberry Falls State Park, from ...

Sheep Mountain Table is located in the Stronghold Unit that is in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of Badlands National Park. The area is prime for exploring. Once you get off Highway 27 for Sheep Mountain Table, you will travel about 4 miles on a well maintained gravel road, to an Overlook and turn around spot. From the overlook spot, you can continue on less traveled 2-track from the overloo...

To get the the trailhead for Rapid Creek you must turn to the east onto Pactola Basin Road or FS road 164 when on Highway 385 crossing the Pactola Reservoir. The road down to the trailhead is steep and can be rough depending on the time of the year. Once at the trailhead there is a parking area, with a map and information of the area. No fee to park, and overnight camping is not allowed. From t...

The trail starts near the East side of Stockade Lake just outside Custer, South Dakota. The trail is a 1.2 mile loop, and climbs up to 5,650 feet above sea level. The trail is easy to follow and is well worn. Also the trees have blue diamonds nailed to them for even easier route finding. Once you get to the high point of the trail there is a very scenic viewing area where the trees have been cl...

Grace Coolidge Walk-In area is a fantastic place to go for a hike and do some fly fishing! There are 6 dams built along the 3 mile trail. You can start on either from Center Lake off of Playhouse Rd. or you can start at the southern trailhead near Highway 16A, that is not too far west from the State Game Lodge.  The trail is very easy to follow, it is broad and well worn.  As you follow the tra...

There are 2 ways to get to Dakota Point, one from the north that is more common which I will talk about (or one from the south). The trail that starts on the north side of the lake is a nice easy trail to follow, it is wide and well-worn mostly in forested areas. Keep your eyes out for wildlife and wildflowers, and if you time it right there will be raspberries along the trail in late summer....

The beautiful hike is a tremendous spot to get out of town and enjoy the scenery and a great view of Rapid Creek down in the canyon below.  Parking is right off Falling Rock Rd. then the trail is a very well marked path through the trees, easy to follow, and leads you right to the edge of limestone cliffs! The cliffs offer fantastic views and solitude on the right day. Other days it can be a bu...

To get to the trail for Lookout Mountain there are 2 trailheads. One trailhead is just a few blocks from downtown on Nevada St., the other trailhead is on the East side of town. This post is using the Nevada St. Trailhead as the starting point. From this trailhead to the top of Lookout Mountain it is 1.2 miles and 860 feet of elevation gain.  Once you get to the trailhead you will see a map, th...

Starting at West Tensleep Lake Trailhead is the best place to begin the trek up to Bomber Mountain. It is a 6.5 mile hike up to Mistymoon Lake following trail #63. It is about 1,100 foot elevation gain in the 6.5 miles, and the hike is very nice going in and out of the trees so you can get some shaded areas along the way which is nice during the heat of the summer.  Mistymoon Lake is a great pl...

To get to the trailhead for Mt. Roosevelt, you will need to travel about a mile north of Deadwood, on HWY 85, then you will see signs for it near the Lodge of Deadwood, from there you will eventually hit a gravel road and it is about 2.5 miles from the highway. The trailhead has picnic tables, and a vault toilet for amenities.  The trail is very well maintained and prominent! Along the trail yo...