When you enter the Black Hills driving south out of Keystone you will drive the Iron Mountain Road, Hwy 16A. This is a very scenic drive through winding hills. Besides the occasional view, the best part of the drive itself are the pigtail bridges where you do a climbing 360 degrees so that you pass over the road you just entered on.
Iron Mountain Road is wonderful to drive in a car and would be even better on a motorcycle. Don’t get too caught up in just driving though. There are some wonderful stops you should take including some with views of Mount Rushmore.
This stop was on the road. This was a pinnacle of a mountain across the valley from Mount Rushmore. What a great view!
One stop we made was to a picnic sight at Lakota Lake. The lame part is that they charges $4 per car, but it is set on a mountain lake stocked with Rainbow Trout. ‘nuf said. When we were there, another guest was fly fishing. It was just beautiful, fly line in the air, fish coming to the surface on a crystal clear mountain lake, with towering cliffs on the other side of the water.
This park had plenty of parking and picnic tables to enjoy a quick meal. A small dirt road leads you to the picnic site and parallels a mountain stream. It was also a great way for the kids to get some exercise too. They got to explore the shoreline, the edge of the woods and also play a game they made up on the spot too.
This site was definitely worth a quick trip in to see. It was one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen, but there are so many great stops and many of them are free. You will easily be able to find a lunch spot on Iron Mountain Road.
