• Source: Palisades State Park

      • Palisades State Park is a state park of South Dakota, USA, featuring cliffs and rock formations eroded out of pink Sioux Quartzite. The park is located just south of Garretson, 10 miles (16 km) off Interstate 90. The park address is 48422 256th St. Garretson, South Dakota 57030. At only 435 acres (176 ha), it is South Dakota's second-smallest state park.


      Natural history


      The Sioux Quartzite rocks are 1.2 billion years old and up to 50 feet (15 m) high. They are exposed on either side of Split Rock Creek, which also flows through Split Rock Creek State Park in Minnesota. Within the quartzite are deposits of catlinite, a softer mineral essential to many Native American groups to make ceremonial pipes. The park lies on the Coteau des Prairies, a plateau on the northern Great Plains.


      Cultural history


      Pioneers settled in the area beginning in 1865. In the 1870s Split Rock Creek was harnessed to power a large flour and feed mill, and a town called Palisades formed around it. Silver was discovered shortly downstream in 1886, prompting a short-lived silver rush but the ore was found to be low quality. Three years later Garretson became a railroad junction and most of Palisades relocated to the north. A steel truss bridge built over Split Rock Creek in 1908 is on the National Register of Historic Places.


      Recreation


      Palisades State Park has a campground with 111 sites, 10 camper cabins, and a group tenting area. There is also a 4-bedroom, 2 bathroom lodge which can be reserved for any occasion. Five hiking trails wind through the park, totaling nearly 5 miles. Rock climbing is permitted on the quartzite formations, though the use of bolts and anchoring is prohibited.


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      Palisades State Park

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