Iron Creek Horse Camp - Custer, South Dakota - Mount Rushmore

 

Iron  Creek Horse Camp is located on federal land and is a primitive campground.

The best way to get into the campground is to use American Center Road. A dirt road coming in from Custer.

The horses are sharing a large pen near to where we are parked. No cover, but it is shady and they are quite content.

The campsite is interesting because instead of having pads or even designated places for you to pull in your trailer, you are expected to park parallel to the road. Needless to say, it can be a tight squeeze.

I picked Campsite #1 and that was the wrong call. Better campsites would be #8 or #9 as those are closest to the manure pile and the only water source for the horses.

The water for the horses is a large water trough. 

To get water to our horses, we moved the water tank in the back of our trailer to the back of our truck, drove to the trough. We used a water pump to pump water from the trough into the tank.

We powered the pump using our Jackery.

This is our neighbor at Campsite #2 and this trailer is adorable. It looks like a tiny house. It has hydraulic lifts that raises it up for towing and then lowers on wood blocks to stabilize it.

This is actually an ice castle fishing trailer used for ice fishing, but I had never seen one and think it's pretty darn cool.

One of the main reasons I wanted to camp here is this is the best location to ride to Mount Rushmore.

We rode Centennial Trail to Blackberry Trail to Mount Rushmore Nat. Monument.

This is not a trail for beginner horses or riders.

The trail has several water crossings, lots of rocks, and several narrow sections.

Both horses wore their boots.

It is a gorgeous ride and well worth it.

It took us an hour and forty minutes to reach the equestrian area of Mount Rushmore.

There are hitching posts for the horses.

You can see the monument behind me.

It was an overcast and drizzly day, so I wore my riding poncho.

There are two large picnic tables. We had packed some sandwiches and plenty of water for the ride.

In order to visit the monument, you walk across the highway and through the parking area. I didn't feel comfortable leaving the horses unattended, so I walked over and bought us a couple of ice creams. The ice cream allegedly uses Thomas Jefferson's recipe. The ice cream is quite good and there are about six different flavors available. A portion costs $5.25. The portions are quite large. I should have ordered just one and shared it with Ari.

You can also use the restrooms at the monument. No vault toilet at the equestrian area. You also are away from the tourists, so you don't need to worry about people coming up and annoying your horses.

Riding back to the campground.

There are beautiful and plentiful wildflowers to see right now. It is really lush.

My horse can't resist stopping for the occasional snack.

We had been warned not to drive Hwy 87 which goes through Custer State Park with the LQ. I was especially warned to avoid the tunnels as tourists will get stuck in the tunnels every so often. The tunnels are 8 ft wide and about 9 ft high.

It is really a tight squeeze to get through.

We had to pull in our mirrors so they wouldn't get scratched.

Prepare to feel the squeeze!

The views from this section of the road are astounding and there are several places to pull out and just gawk at the Black Hills and the rock formations. It was well worth the detour, but Ari says he never wants to drive it again in his lifetime - too twisty and too narrow for his taste. He says, of course, I liked it because I was the passenger and got to enjoy the views.

Today was a short ride as my horse is TIRED. 

We rode the Southern part of the Centennial Trail. It was a flat easy ride.

Tomorrow we head to French Creek Horse Camp. No more bucket rides in our immediate future. We have crossed off Hell Canyon and Mount Rushmore from our list.

 

Hell Canyon Trail - Custer, SD

 I had resigned myself that I wasn't going to be able to do this bucket list ride at Hell Canyon. Then, Ari went out to feed the horses the morning we were planning to leave. He met another camper who had rented the campground's stock trailer and was planning to ride Hell Canyon. They had a couple of empty slots in the trailer and offered to give us a lift to the trailhead and let us ride with the group.

By trailering in and out to the trailhead, that took a good 14 miles off what is a 21 mile ride. That put the ride down to about 7 miles, which is totally doable.

The trailhead hadn't gotten any bigger, but there weren't too many cars in the lot and Bob, our trail leader, was able to turn the trailer around for an easy departure.

This is the start of the trail.

There are a couple of water crossings on the trail. They are pretty easy.

Ari loved the ride and said it shouldn't be called Hell Canyon Trail, but Paradise Canyon Trail. It is quite beautiful.

There are several rock formations along the lower canyon trail. 

Paul, one of the campground owners, told me this trail is not for green horses or for green riders. It is not an easy ride. 

The group wanted to avoid the upper canyon trail - which is very narrow, so instead of riding along the side of the canyon - steep and narrow trail - they opted to ride over the hill bushwhacking to the other side.

My horse gets really excited when there is no trail. He starts to lope and gets out of control. I ended up dismounting and started walking him to be safer, but the temperature was in the mid-90s and we are at high altitude. It didn't take long for me to start to feel heat exhaustion.

Ari got me back in the saddle and led my horse and his horse.

There was a brief period when Ari and I were on our own away from the rest of the group to allow my horse to settle down. Ari got back in the saddle. I was in the saddle and feeling better. We started looking for the trail, figuring we would meet up with the group at the trailer.

What we didn't know was that the group was worried about us and looking for us.

What the group didn't know or realize was that we ride Tennessee Walkers and they were mostly on quarter horses, so while we may have started a quarter mile behind them, we were now a couple of miles ahead of them.

We ended up riding back to meet them, so they wouldn't be concerned.

On our way back to the trailhead, we saw this flock of wild mountain goats crossing the highway.

We were a group of seven riders and everyone was super nice.

Bob, the trail leader, was riding a four year old mare he is trying to train. The mare did pretty well. She spooked a couple of times at a big rock (the same rock coming and going) and she had problems staying on the goat trail - the upper canyon trail. She slipped a few times and lost her footing and Bob nearly fell off. Bob ended up dismounting and walking her to be safe.

Another rider was on a big draft cross and she dismounted and walked the narrow goat trail as well in order to stay safe.

We rode about three hours total. I was still feeling ill when we got back to the campground, so we opted to stay an extra night at the campground to allow me time to recover from the heat exhaustion. My heart rate was still elevated and I was feeling faint and nauseous for a good four hours after we got back.

One of the other riders told me she also felt some heat exhaustion even though she had stayed on her horse with no problems.

This was a good group to ride with because they were very considerate of the other riders in the group and they didn't take any unnecessary risks. Nobody was trying to show off how great they were or pulling any stupid stunts.

I am so happy to be able to check this ride off my bucket list and feel really blessed that the group allowed us to join them on the ride.

Hell Canyon Horse Camp - Custer, South Dakota

 

Our next stop was Hell Canyon Horse Camp - located 8 miles west of Custer.

Our horses have one of their favorite types of accommodation - a decent sized corral with shade.

This camp features wifi - which is actually pretty decent. There is a camp store where they sell tack as well as items from local artisans.  They also have public toilets and showers in the office. There are small cabins to rent as well.

The owners are from Louisiana and they are a hoot.

There are open corrals as well as stalls inside the barn - so you have choices as to where you keep your horses.

Sites feature full hook-up and most sites have a picnic table.

You aren't supposed to hook up by your trailer. The camp provides these very cool carts with wheels to help you move your tack into one of the tack rooms in the barn.

Here is our tack stowed in the barn.

The previous camp owner is a farrier and he came out to trim our horses. Their feet are holding up really well.

A couple of other campers offered to take us out on the trails and show us some of the local mines, so off we went. They were riding two mules - both mollies (meaning females). My horse had a hissy fit most of the ride because he did not care for the mules one bit.

We ended up parting ways before the end of the ride because my horse was throwing a temper tantrum over it.

Ari wanted to tour Jewel Cave, which is close by. After our experience at Wind Cave, we got to Jewel Cave before they opened the ticket kiosk. There was already a line for tickets, but we managed to get tickets for the second tour.

They were running a modified tour because the elevators are undergoing repairs. 

The tour only included one large room of the cave, so we were a bit disappointed.

We had been hoping to ride Hell Canyon Trail, but it is a 21 mile round trip from the campground. The owners will drop you off, but that only takes about 7 miles off the ride. I am just not up for that long a ride, plus we were told the trail is very narrow and not that safe.

I went into Hill City which is about 20 minutes away from the campground to go grocery shopping.

The market is called Krull's and they have the best cinnamon rolls I have bought so far.

There is a lot of public art and I really liked this status of a horse in the downtown area - the horse is made up of different scrap metal parts. 

Here is the rear flank of the statue

This is the front flank of the statue

And there is this little foal chasing after the larger horse.

The farrier had thought my horse was sore, so we brought out Kat Davies to give both horses a massage. She said they both were actually in really good shape.

We managed two more rides during our stay - timing them on days when it wasn't too hot.

It was fairly easy riding, although I was nervous riding my horse after his hissy fit on the first ride. He didn't act up once the mules were gone, though.

Next stop - Iron Creek Horse Camp.

Bridle Ridge Horse Camp - Custer, South Dakota

 We continue our circle around Custer, South Dakota and move on to Bridle Ridge Horse Camp. As we were leaving Broken Arrow, I said good-bye to one of the owners. As I was walking away, I overheard him saying to one of the other guests - "those folks were excellent guests. they are welcome back anytime."

That's always nice to hear.

On our way out of Broken Arrow, a couple of campers pointed out one of our tires was deflated. Luckily, we had purchased an air compressor from Harbor Freight. We were able to use it to re-inflate the tire. It looked like it was holding air and since it was only about 30 minutes between campgrounds, we risked it and drove to Bridle Ridge.

To get to Bridle Ridge, you have to drive down about six miles of dirt road. It is well maintained, so other than the dust, it is not too bad. It seems some of the property owners water down sections of the road to keep the dust down and out of their houses.

This campground is fairly new, but it is in tip top shape, very clean and well maintained. 

About half the sites are pull-through and half are back in.

We started our stay at a back in site. On our last night, we were moved to a pull-through site. All the sites are full hook-up. All the sites have picnic tables and fire rings.

There is no wifi and I had no cell service, but Ari had cell service on Verizon, so we used his phone as a hot spot during our stay.

Unlike Broken Arrow, there is no laundry, no showers, no playground, and no camp store.

My understanding is that the Bridle Ridge owner continues to add amenities, so these may be available in the future.

The horses were initially put in the barn and later moved to outside pipe corrals. The stalls are 10 ft x 10 ft, so on the small side. 

The owner requires you to provide bedding for the horses. You can either bring your own or purchase a bag for $10 from her.

She has very cute little chalkboard signs next to each stall where you write the horse's name, the owner's name, and the campsite number for the owner. 

You are not allowed to tack up at your trailer, so you need to bring your tack into the barn and use the saddle rack and pallet to store your tack and feed.

There are hitching posts next to the barn as well as mounting blocks to help you get ready to ride.

Signs are posted on each stall with the barn rules.

There is a decent sized round pen to use for turn out or to exercise your horse.

The trails were nice, but nothing special. Not a lot of shade, not well marked.

Apparently, the Bridle Ridge owner has not worked with the forest service properly with regards to trails.

According to the owner where we currently are staying, in order to be allowed to mark trails and take guests on guided rides, you have to take a two hour seminar with the forest service. They will then assign you a trail you can mark and use for guided trail rides. Every two years you can apply for an additional trail. 

Ari drove to Rapid City the day after we switched campgrounds. That was the closest town with a tire repair place. It turned out that the tire was fine - the wheel had cracked, so we had to replace the wheel. So, we now have one odd wheel on our truck that looks different. We are descending into Hillbilly territory.

Mount Rushmore is less than 30 minutes from Bridle Ridge, so Ari insisted we stop and take a look at the monument. We didn't visit the museum or any of the shops around the monument because we wanted to save some stuff to do when our sons are visiting with us in a couple of weeks.

It was well into the 90s, so we decided to take a day off from riding and visit nearby Keystone. Keystone is a great place to visit and spend an afternoon. There are lots of little shops and places to eat. Ari and I shared an Indian taco from a little cafe. It was quite good and enough for 2-3 people.

There is a saloon on the boardwalk where they provide a free Western comedy show. It is actually quite good and the drinks served are decent and not too overpriced.

The Bridle Ridge owner had us move our horses into the pipe corrals located at the back of the campground. The corrals were filthy and the wheelbarrow was full. So, Ari had to dump the wheelbarrow and clean the corrals before we could put the horses in.

This is how the corrals looked when we left.

I complained to the owner that the corrals were filthy and she had promised me when she told us we had to move that the corrals would be clean for us. I told her since we had to clean them, she owed us the $20 she would have charged the previous occupants for cleaning the corrals. I assumed she would charge those folks for the cleaning.

We also cleaned the stalls in the barn when we took our horses out. When we clean, we remove any manure and any soiled bedding, but we leave the clean bedding and loose dirt.

So, she texted us this picture of a wheelbarrow filled with loose dirt and clean bedding, complaining of the condition of the barn stalls. She explained that she expects people to clean "down to the dirt". More than one person pointed out that this basically means the next person needs to put down bedding. But several equestrians noted that they appreciate the extra time and attention she puts in to ensure nobody's horse gets sick.

On our last night, we were asked to move to a pull-through campsite. This was annoying, but it was explained I had changed the dates for our reservation, so she needed us to move to make it work for other campers coming in. I thought about just pulling out and going to our next stop a day early, but we had a guy coming to make repairs on our trailer and she was not going to refund us for the night's stay.

We complained to the trailer repair guy that it bugged us when the wind blew our LQ door entrance, so he suggested we use a bungie cord to keep it from moving. Problem solved and for two engineers we feel pretty dumb.

Someone had said to us that the water pressure at the camp was pretty poor. We didn't experience that at the back-in site the first three nights we were there, but when we showered at the pull-though campsite, there was a marked difference in water pressure. Ari posited that the reason was that the pull-through site was located uphill from the previous site and the water pressure dropped as it went uphill.

Someone suggested that we could solve that by just turning on the water pump and once again I felt a bit dumb.

When we went into Keystone, we stopped at this place to purchase some Holy Terror fudge. There are several shops that use the Holy Terror name because there is a local mine called the Holy Terror.

The story of how the mine got it's name is pretty cute.

The guy who filed the claim on the mine was named William Franklin and his wife was named Jenny. William spent most of his time hanging out in the saloons in Keystone and Jenny would drag him home and he would laugh as she was dragging him home and say "Ain't she a Holy Terror, boys?"

Well, he discovered the mine and he went to file the claim and his friends advised him to name the mine after his wife, which was a common thing to do.

He was late coming back from filing the claim and Jenny got mad at him and was hollering at him about coming home so late. He told her he had named the mine after her, so she shouldn't be so mad.

Later she found out that he named the mine the Holy Terror Mine.