Eight million visitors made use of South Dakota state parks in 2020. Outdoor enthusiasts are lucky to have a variety of parks available, particularly during time of finding ourselves confined indoors.
I’m a frequent visitor to Union Grove State Park, as it’s just a handful of miles from my home. More recently, I’ve worked stops at Newton Hills into my drives home from Sioux Falls. I’m so glad that I’ve taken time to explore a park so close to my well-travelled path.
My family and I have camped at Newton Hills, but I’ve only hiked it occasionally. As my young children age, they’ll be wonderful hiking partners. They’ve already enjoyed our family kayak excursions on Lake Lakota, which is just south and east from Newton Hills Park’s main entrance.
While I love sharing my interests with my family, I also enjoy an opportunity to stroll park trails by myself or with friends when possible. The beauty of this park system is that the trails are essentially always open, although I feel that they’re trickier to navigate once the sun sets below the rolling hills.
Horses, mountain bikes, and hikers are allowed on Newton Hills Park’s horse camp trials. The woodland trail is open to pedestrians only. Between the two sets of trails, one could cover approximately six miles. Loops can be tacked on, making it easy to double-back and repeat if a one wanted a longer hike.
Because Newton Hills is a contained entity, it can be difficult to get truly lost. Eventually, one will come across a marker, road, or parking lot. If you’re like me, you may finally recognize that the bridge that you just passed for the second time is, in fact, the way back to the car. I would recommend taking a photo of the trail map for reference. I’ve found cell phone signal to be spotty on the trail. This also makes it difficult to share social media messages, but enjoying the fresh air and beautiful scenery rather than looking at a screen is not necessarily a bad thing. And because maps are available on Newton Hills’ website, printing them out prior to the hike would be simple.
I am not a skier, but Newton Hills is a popular destination for cross country enthusiasts. The trails aren’t groomed for the activity, so I believe that getting to the park early for fresh snow would be rewarded.
Recently I’ve had the opportunity to hike the park with snow on the ground. Plenty of others had been before me, so it was easy to traverse the trail. Slick spots were present on slopes. I find that a layer of snow offers more opportunities to practice one’s skills in identifying animal tracks.
On days when the trail is just a bit too full of muck, trekking along the paved road through the park offers access to nature as well. Deer have free reign throughout the park, so it’s very possible to come across one or two as one sticks to a hard surface. Approximately five miles will be logged into the fitness watch if you blaze a path that way.
Science suggests that hiking and being in nature does a tremendous amount for one’s mental health. The National Parks Service cites this study by Stanford: https://news.stanford.edu/2015/06/30/hiking-mental-health-063015/ Each of your senses is used, so hiking is a very mindful activity.
Being in nature boosts my spirits. Visiting a park that is unfamiliar is quite the adventure. I don’t know every turn of Newton Hills, so my curiosity is fully piqued. In addition, each park in our state constantly changes with the seasons. How wonderful it is to revisit a park, but see it in a new way each time. It takes little more than adjusting your route and perhaps starting from a new point or following a trail in reverse.
If you aren’t close to Newton Hills, don’t worry. There are 55 other state parks in South Dakota for you to try. But you may want to put this gem on your bucket list.
