fort pierre national grassland

Visited on a Fall afternoon during Pheasant season. They were so thick on the ground you could practically run up and catch one. The swarms of mosquitoes were equally thick. A few deer were moving in and out of the corn on the private land that was our destination. Grouse, dove, and hawks were also visible. We saw one antelope on the way back to Pierre. It was very peaceful and quiet--no hum of electricity, no planes overhead, no engines running. Essentially no noise not made by humans talking or animals moving. Saw only a handful of farmsteads and only a few cars. I would love to visit again on a dark night to enjoy the stars or Northern Lights.

If you want to take full advantage then slow down. The speed limit may say 70-75 but to thoroughly enjoy the vista, you need to drop the speed. Even though my wife and I were passing through, to see the largeness of the grasslands. You could feel the serenity of the surroundings. Only a car now and then, no houses, no billboards, no nothing but acres and acres of grasslands. A great place to charge your personal batteries.

Beautiful fall, lots of tall grass, nice sunsets, plenty of birds to hunt in the area. You must enjoy the solitude of the prairie. No lights to mess with viewing the night sky, so clear, you never knew there were that many stars. Here you can get a feeling of what our forefathers saw 150 years ago, opportunity to grow and be free.

My wife and I had a Prairie Chicken encounter on 5/7/13 at the Fort Pierre National Grasslands. We went out to the grasslands with my brother and his wife. We were in a blind from about 5:25a.m. to 7:30a.m. and observed mainly male Prairie Chickens. We had a great time. The weather was mild and the birds cooperated to give us quite a show. Attached is a link I posted on YouTube. Watch for the drumming feet and puffing throats. <http://youtu.be/ZWihepPioao>This opportunity to watch the Prairie Chickens comes only in April and May. Special blinds are placed on the grasslands by a lek to make the observation possible. The grassland's personnel were great at setting us to reserve a blind. They gave very good and complete directions to the blinds along with tips to make the experience more enjoyable. We would not have had this experience without their help. This is a great example of federal lands being used to benefit the public.

I took a drive once but it is a major case of trying to get some tourism where there ought not be. There isn't anything there. I suppose you can find an old decrepit house to photograph but other than that, you are plain out of luck.

We camped on the grasslands for a night and it was wonderfully peaceful and the scenery was beautiful. We occasionally heard the far off moos of some cows but other than that, it was a nice one night stop for us.

If you like getting out in the middle of nowhere just to hear yourself think- then this is for you. We have horses and like to be out in open spaces. Reminds you of the old west days and western movies.

Grouse hunting and stock dam fishing on the prairie. Also antelope and pheasant hunting. Varmint hunting in the spring. Prairie dogs.