Pactola Lake is the largest reservoir in the Black Hills of South Dakota and is created by the Pactola Dam. At the bottom of Pactola Lake is the submerged town of Pactola, an old mining camp and site of several military bivouacs during the original settlement of the Black Hills in the mid-1870s.
The lake is located on Rapid Creek in Pennington County, South Dakota. The lake provides the water supply for the Rapid City Metro Area. It is owned and operated by the US Bureau of Reclamation, with the various recreational facilities operated by the US Forest Service, and is one of the recreational areas of Black Hills National Forest. Boating and fishing are very popular, with a walk-in fly fishing area located on Rapid Creek below the dam.
The small town of Silver City is located at the upstream end of the lake; downstream on Rimrock Highway and Rapid Creek are the communities of Johnson Siding, Hisega, Upper Hisega, Placerville, and Big Bend.
The Visitor Center was closed when the two RV Gypsies were here. Many things just do not open until after Memorial Day. |
AFTER you have seen all of the above sites in South Dakota,
