Winter Hike Stockade Lake Custer State Park, SD

Stockade Lake
Stockade Lake is located  near the western entrance to the park on Hwy 16. Take a right following the Stockade lake signs and the lake is on your right. During winter you will experience less crowds in Custer State Park but there will still be people camping and hiking on the weekends. 

 There is a playground and picnic tables next to the lake.

The lake is still frozen and a probably  thick enough for ice fishing.

 

The Stockade Lake Trail has parking next to this sign. The trail is a short 1.5 mile loop that climbs up and then back down.  

 Traveling up was fun and not too tough. You encounter many wonderful rocks along the trail including large pieces of clear quartz, grey feldspars, muscovite mica and quartzite.

 There are many view points at the top of climbs. This is a view of the Needles area and Harney Peak in the distance.

 

The trail eventually reached the top and then you come back down through some aspen trees. The rocks change on the way down.

 Near the end of the trial outcrops of granite make fun climbing boulders.

 Here you leave the trail and follow the road back to the trail head.