Misty Morning at Sylvan lake

Custer State Park is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, west of Rapid City. This large public park is located just south of the Mount Rushmore National Monument.

Sylvan Lake is found northwest of the main park as part of an extension to the park. This small but scenic, man-made lake is “drop dead gorgeous.” It was created in 1881 when Theodore Reder built a dam (the Sylvan Lake Water Dam) across Sunday Gulch Creek. The lake area offers picnic places, rock climbing, small rental boats, swimming, fishing and hiking trails. It is also popular as a starting point for excursions to Black Elk Peak and The Needles, some spectacular, towering rock formations very popular with rock climbers. The lake was featured in Disney's 2007 film National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The film made the lake appear to be located directly behind Mount Rushmore when in reality it is actually five miles southwest of Mount Rushmore.

A nicely maintained trail encircles the lake and is well worth the stroll, especially to visit some of the hidden coves like the one pictured here. At the north end of the lake, the natural, granite, needle-rock formations help contain the lake waters. We visited here in May of 2021and were so impressed with the scenic location, we returned the next day hoping to obtain some more photos, but a weather system had moved in leaving much of the higher Black Hills terrain shrouded in clouds and mist. Remembering the old adage about making lemonade out of lemons, we decided to take the path around the lake and were rewarded with some beautiful misty scenes.