A view of the Big Sioux River at the (appropriately named) Big Sioux Recreation Area from a rocky beach off the Valley of the Giants and Hill hiking trails outside Brandon, South Dakota. That tree across the river once acted as a bridge that you could (and I did often) use to climb across the river down onto the sandbar, then you could walk over to where the beach is now. Sadly, the river has flooded since then and washed the tree so it extends into the water. The sandbar has eroded away since. This photo was taken at that point. The next time I came back, I saw that now the tree is gone. I don't know what happened to it. Walking by the scenic river in the valley here is great on a nice warm day with a cool breeze. It's teeming with life such as snapping turtles, fish and green and golden foliage. I took this picture because I like to capture the natural world as it is at the moment, because with humanity, there's no guarantee that it will stay there. Ever seen Deliverance?
A view of the Big Sioux River at the (appropriately named) Big Sioux Recreation Area from a rocky beach off the Valley of the Giants and Hill hiking trails outside Brandon, South Dakota. That tree across the river once acted as a bridge that you could (and I did often) use to climb across the river down onto the sandbar, then you could walk over to where the beach is now. Sadly, the river has flooded since then and washed the tree so it extends into the water. The sandbar has eroded away since. This photo was taken at that point. The next time I came back, I saw that now the tree is gone. I don't know what happened to it. Walking by the scenic river in the valley here is great on a nice warm day with a cool breeze. It's teeming with life such as snapping turtles, fish and green and golden foliage. I took this picture because I like to capture the natural world as it is at the moment, because with humanity, there's no guarantee that it will stay there. Ever seen Deliverance? Votesmall · CC BY-SA 4.0

Big Sioux Recreation Area

State Recreation Area · South Dakota · South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks

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Activities & features: Ada · Archery · Biking · Cabin · Camping · Courts · Disc Golf · Dog Park · Dump Station · Fishing · Geocaching · Hiking · Historic Feature · Horseback Riding · Hunting · Interpretive Signage · Lodging · Paddling · Picnic Area · Playground · Rv Camping · Shower · Trail · Wildlife Viewing · Winter Recreation

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Sources: Wikimedia Commons / editorial, USGS PAD-US, State agency · updated 2026-08-23