Today seems like “do everything interesting in Garretson, South Dakota” day but it wasn’t really by plan. As it often happens, I was freestyle cruising Google Maps and came across a couple parks not far away from camp. So I headed just a couple miles down the road and first stopped at Split Rock Park. It’s a small town park but it does have a nice campground and seems to stay pretty quiet.
The draw at this park is an old stone spillway on the Split Rock Creek. It looks like a waterfall – and frankly I thought it was based on the tiny photos I could see on my phone – but it is in fact man-made. Apparently the park was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration under FDR’s Second New Deal.
Here’s a slightly tighter shot of the falls of the spillway where you can see the bricks/stones with a touch more detail. Only the top “cap” is a clear 90-degree sculpted piece of concrete giving it away that it’s a spillway. I’m not usually a fan of man-made “falls” like this but I’ll make an exception in this case as it’s quite nice.
Stepping back a bit gives a wider view of the general area. Below the spillway you can get right down to the waters below and hop along the rocks close to shore. Not sure what the fishing is like here but I saw a couple guys throwing lures briefly. Water levels are low but I’d imagine the rocks below the drop would turn into a good set of rapids after some rain.
And finally here’s one lazy panorama I grabbed with the iPhone. Downstream of the spillway and atop the Sioux quartzite cliffs is a single private residence (I think) which frankly is an amazing location. Over on the other far right side is a bath house that is part of the park. I didn’t take any close-up photos but it appears they were restoring the brick exterior and refurbishing the building. Even though water quality on this creek isn’t the best at times, I can imagine in summer that you might find some people swimming and kayaking above the dam. Nice little park, kind of a hidden gem!
