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, 10mi off Interstate 90. At only 157acre, it is South Dakota's second-smallest state park.It couldn't be easier to arrange your visit to Palisades State Park and many more Garretson attractions: make an itinerary online using Inspirock's Garretson attractions planner.
The Sioux Quartzite rocks are 1.2 billion years old and up to 50ft 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.
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.
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Palisades State Park reviews
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My guy and I spent the night there. Way too much to see. A very Beautiful area. Stunning pink quartzite. Interesting story about the pipestone and Native American history. We so wanted to see the...
My guy and I spent the night there. Way too much to see. A very Beautiful area. Stunning pink quartzite. Interesting story about the pipestone and Native American history. We so wanted to see the... more »
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Awesome awesome place to hike with dogs. We stayed in a campsite overnight and then hiked out to king and queen rock and well as did the loop across the river. We had am excellent time and the weather was great. Would highly recommend going to this park as the views are amazing and the trails are easy and dog friendly.
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We utilized the Lodge for our staff retreat. Couldn't have picked a better place. The lodge worked so well and the setting couldn't be beat. The park offers such good scenery and such good day hiking - ideal for our breaks. The proximity to O So Good! is an added bonus. Will come again!
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