Great Places Series - Lake Herman State Park

This large state park is one of our states’s oldest, I took the Luce trail and really enjoyed it, though it looked like all three of the trail systems would’ve been really beautiful. It was a brisk Saturday morning in January and mostly what I was hearing while walking was my footsteps crunching through the frozen Snow. When I arrived just before sunrise, I saw some ice fishermen and a deer and later as I was leaving it was obvious that the park was a popular place for people to take their weekend walks. I was lucky with my timing as I got to the trailhead that I was looking for just as the sunrise was very colorful with lavender, pink, yellow and blue. I can’t wait to go back to Herman Park again in other seasons and experience it over and over again.

Sunrise at the Luce trailhead.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Lake Herman State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Pelican Lake State Park

I loved the trail system at Pelican Lake and enjoyed my morning visit in mid November. I found the path snowed over on the way to a look out of the lake and I had fun trecking over the drifts to get to the overlook. A few birds and the sounds of my footsteps in the snow were the only things to interrupt the silent solitude of this hike.  

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Pelican Lake State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Sandy Shore Recreation Area

I visited Sandy Shore on the morning of January 18th. I walked along the snow covered beach with only  occasional glimpses of the frozen lake below the windswept snow. The far shore and faint golden glow on the horizon giving the only color that wasn’t a shade of icy blue.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Sandy Shore Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Lake Cochrane Recreation Area

I visited Lake Cochrane in January and arrived at the park at just about sunrise. My goal with some of the parks I visited in winter were to catch great sunrises to see the way the sunlight played with the snow. I traipsed around on the frozen crust of windswept snow making sure to catch the sunrise in just the right way. I wasn’t the only one out though, the earliest fishermen were headed out to their shacks to try their luck.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Lake Cochrane Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Spirit Mound

I consider it a treat to wake up early with the goal of getting to a park or nature area to hike by myself at sunrise, so the morning I spent at Spirit Mound was perfect. It wasn’t terribly cold for a January morning and being a Sunday at dawn the landscape all around us was pretty still so the soft sunrise and quiet prairie were all mine (my dog was there too I guess but he was quiet as well). The entire time there I thought about the stories of the place that had been told to the Lewis and Clark expedition about the little people that lived there and the fact that this is a location where you can stand in the same place that the expedition would have been. Sense a lot of their camps were on the river and that has changed so over the years due to damming.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Spirit Mound Historic Prairie or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Sunrise at Spirit Mound. 

Great Places Series - Springfield State Recreation Area

Sunrise on a fridged -5 F morning. 

I visited Springfield State Recreation area on a trip I took to Kansas to visit family. I was up early hoping to catch a great start of day at the park. One thing I learned shortly after moving to South Dakota from Kansas was the value of good winter gear and I was happy to have my really good coat and mittens for this spot. I took a couple breaks from exploring and photographing the beautiful landscape to warm up in my car because the morning of December 30th at 8:30 it was below zero. I love the color palette of winter and putting up with the cold for these photos references was worth it.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Springfield State Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Quick watercolor sketches of a few of the views from Springfield Recreation Area

Great Places Series - Little Moreau State Recreation Area

I love the colors here. The pale turquoise sky and frozen creek,  rust color grasses, and dark earthy green of the cedars.

Little Moreau is another of the parks I likely would not have found myself if not for this project and now I am trying to figure out when I could go see it again in another season. That has been a goal of mine to try to see some of the parks I’m familiar with in a season I haven’t visited it in yet. For example I’ve visited Beaver Creek in the Summer multiple times and for this series I went in the Spring before it really turned green. I also went to Palisades in the early spring while there was still snow on the ground, until now I had seen it in Summer and Fall. It is fun to see these parks in different seasons, relearning your favorite landmarks in their different states of being.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Little Moreau State Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Llewellyn Johns Memorial and Shadehill Reservoir State Recreation Areas

The trail at Shadehill.

I really enjoyed this trip because I traveled to parts of the state I had never been to before and fell in love with some beautiful state parks. I didn't see anyone else at Llewellyn Johns Memorial as I walked around but when I got to Shadehill Reservoir there was a good amount of traffic of folks getting out on the water to fish.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Llewellyn Johns Memorial, Shadehill Reservoir or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Some sketches to help me plan out what landscape I want to paint for the series.

Great Places Series - West Pollock Recreation Area

It wasn’t a very long path that I took but I took my time really enjoying the quiet morning sounds and colors

I made the 40 minute drive from Mobridge up to Pollock before sun-up because I love to catch these parks at sunrise and have them mostly to myself. I wasn’t disappointed. The frosty morning, a light dusting of snow that only clung to patches of grass, geese and the pastel sky were so beautifully serene together. I am excited to paint the subtlety of those elements. 

 If you are interested in seeing the painting from West Pollock Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Geese flying were just the faintest dots in the sky.

Great Places Series - Lake Hiddenwood Recreation Area

The trail I took was mostly dirt path but I did explore away from the trail some.

Lake Hiddenwood is a real hidden gem of a park. The valley was carved by melting glaciers and then an earthen dam was used to create the lake in 1927. I took a trail that circled the lake and was just over 2 miles. Unfortunately heavy rains this spring washed out the bridge and dam on the road to the park, which is the only way to access the area. The park will be closed indefinitely as officials assess the situation and future options. I hope they are able to come to a good solution as this park even in November had multiple people camping and enjoying its quiet beauty.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Lake Hiddenwood Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

There were such interesting patterns and bubbles frozen into the ice.

Great Places Series - State Recreation Areas near Mobridge

Revheim Bay Recreation Area

These two state recreation areas just outside of Mobridge are such treats, with lots of activities for families and of course with lots of water activities available on the river. I visited in November and was fortunate to have very mild weather. The paths and trails I took at each park were around a mile but both parks have about two miles of mapped trails. During my hikes at each place I remember specifically enjoying listening to the sounds of wind and water and trying to differentiate between the two.

Indian Creek Recreation Area

If you are interested in seeing the paintings from either Revheim Bay or Indian Creek Recreation Areas or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Mina Lake Recreation Area

I really enjoyed this park that is just outside of Aberdeen. The trail was diverse in its wooded and lakeside views available and if you take the trail as I followed it, the distance is just over a mile. I startled several deer while walking through the quiet woods. If you are interested in seeing the painting from Mina Lake Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Richmond Lake State Recreation Area

I loved the gradation of color in the late fall sky and reflected in the lake.

Richmond Lake was my first stop on a little weekend trip on November 12th. It was beautiful weather for November with ice on the edges of the lake, freezing the mossy rocks until spring.  It was a quiet day other than the chatter of geese out in the middle of the 1,000+ acre lake, and I seemingly had the Quaking Aspen Trail part of the park to myself.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Richmond Lake State Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

This nice little trail is about 3/4 of a mile. 

Pickerel Lake Recreation Area

I took the Ponderosa Trail at the West Pickeral Lake Recrestion Area. I was struck by the lovely little campground and abundance of water related activity options. I had a quiet hike and visit to the park since it was a weekday in October. Also, because it was relatively empty of campers I checked out the cabin views which were right on the water! My pup Rye also approved of the park!

The trail I took pictured above includes a loop around the camping area and the Poderosa Trail

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Pickerel Lake State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page! If you perhaps are interested in learning more about how you may be able to help me with this project please visit my Patreon Page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog!

Great Places Series - Fort Sisseton Historic State Park

The Fort Sisseton Historic State Park was a very interesting place working hard to retain and teach its part of South Dakota history. Originally a frontier army outpost called Fort Wadsworth from 1864. The site was chosen nearby resources including lake water for drinking and a thick stand of trees for timber and fuel. I think it would be really interesting to have a tour or to visit on a weekend when they have some of the buildings open. However, I truly enjoyed the quiet of the park on this October day.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Fort Sisseton Historic State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page! If you perhaps are interested in learning more about how you may be able to help me with this project please visit my Patreon Page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog!

Great Places Series - Roy Lake State Park

My visit to Roy Lake was so energizing. The clear day and sunshine really highlighted the changing leaves. I walked along the beach for a time then followed the Roy Island Trail. The trail was nice and easy and would be great for anyone to enjoy!

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Roy Lake State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page! If you perhaps are interested in learning more about how you may be able to help me with this project please visit my Patreon Page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog!

Great Places Series - Sica Hollow State Park

Because of this park’s history I wanted to visit it when the season would match the name. The meaning of Sica is “evil” or “bad” which came about because of eerie Sioux Legends. Along the Trail of Spirits there are gurgling reddish bogs, which Native Americans saw as the blood and flesh of their ancestors. 

I stayed on the Trail of Spirits Interpretive Trail for my hike though I made a point of driving through the rest of the park to enjoy the late fall color, and I know that their are miles of trail available for those who enjoy horseback riding.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Sica Hollow State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page! If you perhaps are interested in learning more about how you may be able to help me with this project please visit my Patreon Page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog!

Great Places Series - Sheps Canyon Recreation Area

I found parts of this place rugged and empowering, and I didn’t want to leave. The dawn light made this place even more magical. 

Though I didn’t explore much of this park, I took my time here and when I would find an especially great view I would find a seat on a rock and enjoy it. 

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Sheps Canyon or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page! If you perhaps are interested in learning more about how you may be able to help me with this project please visit my Patreon Page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog!

Great Places Series - Angostura Recreation Area

With miles of beaches and a great bike trail I was happy that I chose Angostura to stay overnight at on a Mid-September day. I spent nearly three hours with the first part on the Reservoir View Bike Trail enjoying many aspects of the North Western Prairie hills, then following the beach back to my cabin. This special place has something for everyone including disc golf to some of the standard attractions of boating, fishing, swimming and trails. 

My trail along the bike trail and beach at Angostura Recreation Area

I enjoyed the sunset from the beach at this beautiful park and was able to hike a little more than 8.5 miles though I wish I would have had time to hike more.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Angostura or any other park before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Sketches from my notes on Angostura Recreation Area