Palisades State Park

This is the homeland of the Dakota peoples of the Oceti Sakowin, the Great Sioux Nation, whose presence in the Split Rock Creek valley and across this quartzite country reaches back long before any town or park. The distinctive pink stone and the creek that cut among it were landmarks in a lived-in landscape, not an empty one.

The town of Garretson also carries a well-known frontier legend tied to the rock, the story of Devil's Gulch, a narrow chasm in the quartzite that folklore links to the outlaw Jesse James supposedly leaping his horse across the gap to escape a posse. Whether or not the tale is true, it shows how these dramatic cliffs have long fired the imagination of the people who lived among them.

The cliffs are Sioux quartzite, among the oldest and hardest rock in North America, formed more than a billion and a half years ago from sand that was buried, pressed, and heated until the grains fused into solid quartzite. Iron in the original sand gives the rock its rose, salmon, and tan coloring, glowing warmest in low sun.

Because the quartzite is so hard, Split Rock Creek could not easily cut down through it. Instead the water worked along cracks and weaknesses in the stone, leaving behind the sheer walls, narrow clefts, and standing spires that make up the palisades. The rock's toughness is also why it makes such prized climbing, holding solid where softer stone would crumble.

For most visitors the pleasure is simply walking the park, following short trails and footbridges that trace the rim, cross the creek, and drop down toward the water so you see the cliffs from above, below, and across. The overlooks give dizzying views straight down the quartzite faces to the creek.

The park is also a magnet for rock climbers, who prize the hard, reliable quartzite and its established routes on the cliff faces. Climbing here calls for proper gear, skill, and care, and the unfenced cliff edges above demand respect from everyone, but for those prepared it is one of the best rock-climbing spots for a long way in any direction.

Summer is the busy season, warm and green, when climbers work the walls and families walk the trails and picnic by the creek. It is the easiest time to visit, though the popular park near Sioux Falls fills up on fine weekends, so early hours are quietest.

Fall cools the air and turns the creekside trees, a lovely and less crowded time on the rim. Winter strips the park bare and can ice the rock and trails, a stark and quiet season best approached with care. Spring greens the valley, swells the creek, and returns the climbers and walkers as the weather warms.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.