I’ve been meaning to checkout the bike trails at Farm Island in Pierre for awhile now. As luck would have it, I had some meetings for work in Pierre – so I brought my bicycle along.
I got out of my meeting about 3pm and it happened to be nearly 100 degrees. I decided some exercise still sounded good after sitting through meetings most of the day. I bought plenty of water and head east out of Pierre on SD Highway 34.
Farm Island Recreation Area is a state park and only about 2.5 miles from Pierre. It looks like the city bike path goes all the way out to the State Park. I have a state park window sticker, but if you don’t you’ll have to pay a day use fee to enter the park.
There are several miles of trails on the island. Most of the trails are gravel roads and easy riding. Some of the other trails are not gravel, they are more sandy. The sandy trails are more work to petal, but also more fun to ride. There are trees along the trails, even though it was a really hot day, I was shaded during most of my ride. Take a look at the map provided by SD game fish and parks. There are some ruins of an old boy scout camp and golf course on the island.
In addition to the trails, the park has camping and fishing. It is a popular camping area and Hipple lake is also a popular recreation destination. The park also offers Canoe and Kayak rentals. I know I would like to visit again with my standup paddle board.
Be sure to visit the Farm Island Recreation Area website for all the details. I could see myself visiting here again.
