Palisades State Park
Pink quartzite, a nearly empty campground, and a surprising little corner of eastern South Dakota
Snake Creek Recreation Area
Three quiet nights along what I thought was the Missouri River
Badlands National Park
Three nights at Cedar Pass exploring the geology, fossils, prairie, and complicated history behind the Badlands
Black Hills National Forest
A quiet camp near Sheridan Lake gave us five days inside a landscape of granite spires, cave country, old flume tunnels, and high-country trails
Custer State Park
Granite spires, narrow tunnels, bison, burros, and golden-hour prairie made this one easy to underestimate and hard to forget
Wind Cave National Park
Boxwork, bison, and a breathing cave made this one of the more surprising national parks I’ve visited
Fort Robinson State Park
A quick stop turned into a deeper look at military history, Native conflict, and the strange buttes rising above Nebraska’s plains
State Forest State Park
A remote mountain stay with huge campsites, rugged mountain terrain, alpine lakes, and enough space to disappear for a few days.
Buena Vista, Colorado
A two-week base for the Collegiate Loop, the Sawatch Range, and a summit day on Mount Elbert
Medicine Bow National Forest
A quiet base at Ryan Park opened into days of alpine hiking, trail running, wildlife, and glacial terrain in Wyoming’s rugged Snowy Range