Spirit Mound

Spirit Mound is a sacred site for several Plains Indian tribes, and some tribal members make pilgrimages there, say prayers on top, and leave offerings. On clear days, the summit offers views as far away as the Big Sioux River to the southeast, the James River to the west, and the Nebraska Bluffs to the south. The summit is reached by a 0.8-mile trail with neither water nor shade between the trailhead and the top. William Clark described the mound in his journal as a "regular parallelagram...300 yards in length...[by] 60 or 70 yards...leaveing a leavel Plain on the top of 12 feet in width & 90 in length." The trail crosses Spirit Mound Creek and rises from 1200 feet in elevation to the Spirit Mound Summit at 1300 feet.

South Dakota · United States