Buffalo Gap, in southwestern South Dakota, was the first National Grassland I ever explored and is still one of my favorites. At over half-a-million acres, it's the second largest in the country and you can readily feel like you're the only, single, solitary human being on the planet here. And yet, it's very easy to get to. I-90, which runs through the breadth of the state, has some six exits into the eastern portion, or you can swing up from the panhandle of Nebraska into the western ranger district. But either way, take care; just fifty feet off of the highway and you're on typical minimal maintenance "forest" roads. Beware of inclement weather, for if you get stuck out here, you might not see another vehicle for days!

I manage to visit the Gap at least once a year and have only begun to detect a fraction that it holds. Adding to its inherent interest is the fact that it surrounds Badlands National Park, another of my favorite destinations. And nearby is Wall, with its National Grasslands Visitor Center. Just in general, there is so much to do in this part of South Dakota, that numerous return trips are almost a sure thing. By the way, Buffalo Gap is every bit as fun in the winter as the summer. Two of my favorite New Year's holidays were spent out here (one of them being the so-called "turn of the millennium" of January 1, 2000 — doesn't anyone know how to count anymore?).

On a more somber note, the eastern unit is bordered on the south by the Pine Ridge Reservation, site of Wounded Knee. Three major incidents here, one in 1890 and again in 1973 and yet again in 1975, serve to remind us of the egregious behavior our federal government is capable of all too often.

An Overview of "The Gap"

Anyway...what's the general aspect of Buffalo Gap National Grassland? Well, for starters it's a mixed-grass prairie in general (with a bit of shortgrass areas thrown in for good measure) winding among severely eroded and chalky badlands. It's hard for me to describe with "mere words" (as Oscar Wilde put it) the overwhelming beauty of these stunted grasses speckling the sometimes ostentatious and sometimes shy land formations. And yet, in other areas you'll find vast fields, making a solid blanket of green in June or gold in December, as far as the eye can see. The one constant is a horizon more gargantuan than any city dweller could ever imagine. The blues and whites of the sky and clouds are brilliant...and can only truly be seen out here; the presence of just one more human being dilutes the color somehow.

The picture above, of the Sage Creek Wilderness Area in the heart of the eastern ranger district, suggests a bit of this. In a way, Buffalo Gap National Grassland is still one of the last frontiers available to us Americans; you can hike miles and never see a telephone pole, road or homestead. The only moving thing — apart from the ever present wind — is an occasional jet overhead or if you're lucky, a pronghorn antelope.

Cut Off from the Rest of the World

Before I began to put this section together, I asked my companion Marie what she remembered most about Buffalo Gap. Her response jogged my memory and brought to mind a bit of the excitement of visiting the Gap together back in 1997. This was our first venture as a team out West; in fact, she had never been further west than New Ulm, Minnesota — so she says! Anyway, her response was, "I remember as we left the Badlands and took to the Buffalo Gap roads feeling like we were so cut off. If the car broke down or something else went wrong, no one would find us for days."

Yup, that's really the way it was. When she mentioned it, I too recalled the feeling. Using an official grassland map, a compass and the odometer on the car to count the mile squares, we left the pavement just east of the town of Interior and proceeded into a wild, desolate area. Our goal was a reputed rock-hounding El Dorado. Mile after mile of dismal roads, if you can call them that, took us into more and more chalky dust, pygmy grasses and completely unbridled terrain. There were no houses, no telephone poles, no mail boxes, no nothing to even suggest the current century. If rain had come, creating a sloppy Brule clay and appendicitis had struck either of us...well...

A Prairie Bike Trail

I'm not a biking enthusiast, but I've seen the Prairie Bike Trail in the Gap (several miles from Wall) and it looks pretty neat. A couple loops wind through some very scenic surroundings.

As it was, this story has a happy conclusion. We found the bonanza of agates and rose quartz, truly enjoyed our first foray into a grassland together and returned eastward with most pleasing memories of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. And lest I give a false impression, let me mention that we did meet one other person along that twenty mile stretch in the middle of nowhere: a county worker blading the "road." I'm not sure he was worthy of a salary, for in fact his grading made a mess of things and my minivan came close to being stuck in the middle of the road more than once. But that's just the way things work in grasslands.

My First Visit to a Grassland

First impressions are always the strongest, aren't they! When preparing for our initial trip to Buffalo Gap in 1997, I ordered a map from the National Grasslands Visitor Center in Wall. As I've mentioned elsewhere in these pages, a wonderful woman by the name of Mary was our contact there. She sent the requested map, but then in response to my comments about our interests in birding, botany and rocks, she also threw in a bunch of neat pamphlets; see the picture to the left.

Later on, during the course of our trip there, we met Mary in person and she continued to roll out the red carpet. In particular, she shared her knowledge of local lore with us, discussed plants and grasses and even gave us a private viewing of a black footed ferret being made ready for release. (The ferret program has been a real success in Buffalo Gap and the Badlands; this creature was literally almost extinct ten years ago). Like I say, first impressions matter; the positive response I had from this generous Forest Service worker is perhaps responsible more than anything else for why the grasslands have become a passion with me. (Well...that and having read Richard Manning's seminal book, Grassland.)

As the picture shows, a variety of excellent resources are available to help you interpret the Gap. (Click the footnote link to find out who's responsible for these superior publications). There are pamphlets on the birds, animals, plants, rockhounding and more. Most of these are available for free (well...your tax dollars pay for them actually), while the beautifully produced mile-square map can be ordered for around six bucks. And one of my favorite keepsakes (not shown) is the poster/print of some plantlife in the Buffalo Gap against a backdrop of rolling hills, blue sky and puffy cumulus clouds. You can spot dozens of species in it, like little bluestem, yucca, prairie cone flowers and lead plant. It hangs in my living room and brings back great memories every day.

I have mixed feelings now. On the one hand, I hope I've whetted your appetite for the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, for it truly is a jewel in the Great Plains. On the other hand, I hope I haven't done my job too well. With its rugged and dusty badlands landscape peppered with more blue gramma than can be imagined, one of the Gap's most alluring features is a horizon unbroken by other humans. I hope you enjoy and love Buffalo Gap as much as I do, but (no offense intended) I hope we never meet out there!

• Federal
  • Forest Service Map Orders
  
  
• Municipal
  • Town of Wall
  
  
• Other Interesting Sites
  • Great Plains National Grasslands: Threatened, Endangered & Sensitive Species
  • Sage Creek Wilderness
  • Sierra Club's write-up on Buffalo Gap N.G.