Good Earth State Park will see improvements this season

By Patrick Lalley, for Pigeon605

Hikers, runners and bird watchers will have some help navigating South Dakota’s newest state park this year.

Good Earth State Park on the outskirts of southeast Sioux Falls is getting a wave of trailhead improvements. Look for signs, updated maps and more interpretive information about the historic site.

The park opened in 2013 with a few trails, a couple of picnic tables and a vault toilet. The updates and improvements have come steadily since then.

Today, there’s a visitors center, an amphitheater and miles of developed and rustic trails. It has become a recreation haven of all sorts for metro residents. The warmer months include an array of concerts and other events.

The Game, Fish and Parks Department knew there was great potential for public lands embedded in the state’s population center. That has proven true, and then some.

“It’s crazy the use that park is getting,” said Jason Baumann, district supervisor for the GF&P. “It has exceeded our expectations.”

Signage and interpretive information will enhance the visitor experience and better tell the story of the park.

The Blood Run National Historic Monument, which includes Good Earth, is a major cultural site. It’s one of the oldest sites of long-term human habitation in the United States.

The meandering Big Sioux River carved out hills and valleys that provided shelter and resources for indigenous peoples. Archeological evidence suggests it was a major trading center from 1300 to 1750 A.D.

Long-term plans call for further expansion. The South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation bought 200 acres from Spring Creek Country Club in 2015. The lease-back agreement for the golf course ends in 2025, at which point the land will be added to the park, bringing the total acreage up to about 1,200.

The state is currently working on the master plan for the golf course land.

“It’s highly developable,” Baumann said. “We want to get the best use we can for that property.”

For trail runners, Good Earth is an oasis. The combination of crushed rock path and snaking, rugged pathways are great training. Long-distance runners can spend hours in the woods and valleys, building fitness for ultramarathons.

Runners were drawn to Good Earth early. In some ways, the popularity of the park today has made it less desirable for those who prefer a bit more solitude and opt for times of lower traffic.

“It’s good for distance runners because (the parks department) has continually worked to increase the quality and quantity of trails,” said Natalie Kaufman Stamp, an ultramarathon veteran from Sioux Falls.

Ultras are longer than a traditional marathon and usually on trails or back roads. Common distances are 50 kilometers, 50 miles, 100 kilometers and 100 miles.

“It’s fairly expansive now,” said Kaufman, who has multiple 100 milers on her list of accomplishments. “It provides both flat and hilly sections. It’s not technical, so it’s good for the novice trail runner and those looking to get a lot of miles in quickly without being slowed down by technical terrain.”

Baumann said that kind of multiuse appeal is what makes the park so valuable.

“We knew building a state park with somewhat of an extensive trail system would be really popular,” he said. “We hit that mark.”

The historic landmark also includes the Iowa side of the Big Sioux. Plans on east bank have not progressed in the same way, which is unfortunate because much of the historic habitation was on the Iowa side.

South Dakota benefited from greater interest, activism and donations from the public to develop its side of the site. Private citizens involved with conservation and the parks foundation fueled the effort.

“Iowa needs somebody in their corner to really help push their part of it,” Baumann said.

Meanwhile, South Dakota is pressing on. The views, the wildlife, the forest all provide a wonderful refuge just minutes from the city.

“We knew that would get the use,” Baumann said. “It proved that if we build it, everybody will come.”