A must see for Horse and Animal Lovers! 

The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is a private, not-profit organization founded in 1988 by Dayton O. Doyle to help preserve rare Mustang horses.  The Sanctuary is located 14 miles south of Hot Springs, South Dakota near the state lines for Wyoming and Nebraska.13,000 acres have been purchased and used as a haven for hundreds of wild horses to run free rather than being confined in feed lots.  See a variety of wild Mustangs such as American Mustangs, Spanish Mustangs, Choctaw Indian Ponies, and Curly Mustangs.  You can visit the sanctuary free of charge or take a bus tour to see the beauty of the range and the see the horses roaming and running free.

For more information about the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary visit their website http://www.WildMustangs.com

Below is a video on the brief history on the Mickelson Trail.

Every year in Sept the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks in collaboration with the South Dakota Wildlife Foundation organizes a 3 day ride of the entire trail. Information for the 2015 ride can be found here. on the GFP website. I have also included below the video a link to a map of the trail and a link to information about the ride.

Watch now:

Hope to see you in September!
Remember to book your stay with Lakeside Condo for the ride.

trail-trek-info
trek-route

This past weekend (5/15 thru 5/18) we spent some time at the Unit. After some work we decided to take a drive. Our first drive was down Victory Lake Road. We never found Victory Lake, not sure if it exists or not; but we sure had an adventure with our Hyundai Sonata. I would not recommend this road in a car! Our car seems to think it is an ATV.

After finding pavement we stop off at the Pactola visitor center on HWY 385.

On the trip back to the cabin we checked out the “Miner Brewery in Hill City“.   A must for all beer drinkers!

Once back on the road, we detour off Deerfield Road and drove a few miles down Mystic Lake Road. There is a great place along the road where the Mickelson Trail crossed the creek and the road. With the recent rains in the Black Hills the creeks were running rapid and the hill sides had some interesting moss growing.

Take a drive through Spearfish Canyon. Whether it be spring, summer, fall or winter this is a must drive when you visit the Black Hills. Take time to hike the trail from Savoy up to Roughlock Falls.  It is right around a 2 mile hike. For those wishing to skip the walk there is parking near the falls. Make sure to visit all three of the waterfalls in the canyon,Bridal Veil, Spearfish Falls and Roughlock Falls.