Well now that over-night camping trips are over for the season here in Kansas. I have started dreaming about next year's trail riding. The camping blog on here is slow, so I figured other people have started winding down their trips too and started planning for next years fun.

I am finally going to make it to Broken Arrow Horse Camp in SD next year. Yes - It's true!! It's been a loooong time planning, but my mare is mature enough and ready to tackle the trails... I Hope. :)

If anyone has stayed here and ridden the trails, which ones should I check out and how many hours was the round-trip ride. We have MFTs so we do move at a little faster pace. We will be staying for 7 days. How far riding is Custer Park from Broken Arrow?

Also, still trying to figure out if we should go across Nebraska instead of SD. I only want to travel 7 hours or so the first day and do the remaining 6 hours on day 2.

Hobby Horse in Mitchell, SD is the half-way point to stop for the night, but can't find a place to stay in Nebraska. Anyone have a suggestion for that? Is one route a lot better than the other?

I was thinking if we had truck/trailer issue, maybe SD would be better since there seems to be more towns along the way, but that means more traffic too - right?!? I will definately be getting US Rider before we go.

Happy Trails everyone!

I can give you my 2 cents worth. We have hauled our horses from Ohio to Custer State Park horse camp twice and while there we drove over to Broken Arrow. I will try to describe both.

Broken Arrow is located outside Custer [the city]

The camp was clean as was the stalls for the horses

The camp sites are right on top each other, side by side ,row after row

The riding is somewhat limited compared to Custer state park

As for Custer state Park,

The camp sites are clean as are the uncoverd roomy stalls

The camp sites are situated in the pines with plenty of room between you and your neighbor

The riding is awsome. There are marked trails or you can ride wherever you want.

Great shower house and restrooms

I am not trying to discredit Broken Arrow because I am sure it is a great place ,if you want to camp in a trailer park

It is about 20-30 minutes between the two by truck. I don't believe that you can ride between the two.

As for the layover, We spent two days at the Badlands horse camp just south of Wall,SD. It is primitive but sure is a great place to ride. If you go there, be sure to ride up the buttes behind the camp to the big flats. There are free roaming buffalo there too. This is not a good place to go if it is wet. There isn't anything there but  picnic tables. You could come into that camp from the south and then drive on over to Custer

Do your home work and it will be a great trip

Have a good time

Ponytammy Im just down the road from you in Pittsburg  and we have made the trip to SD about six years now. We usually go  hwy 69 to KC and then get on 29, hit  Hwy 2 and cut through Lincoln (which is a hassle because you go right through lots of trafftic) then 80 until Ogallala and go north on 26 to SD.  We think the drive through northern Nebraska is beautiful. We have gone to SD and crossed there but we don't think the drive is as pretty.

We have overnighted several different places ;HQH Stables in Big Springs Nebraska, HorseMotel & Puppyshop in Lexington. You can find more information with phone numbers at http://www.horseandmuletrails.com/Ne.htm. HQH Stables is a family homestead that is interesteing and run by a woman its a little off  80. Horse Motel and Puppyshop can be seen from 80 so is easy to find.

We have stayed at Frenchcreek in Custer State Park one year. It is a pretty setting but does not have water for horses you have to water horses from the creek. The riding is incredible. We had a buffalo walk through our camp one night. If you want to stay at Frenchcreek you need to make reservations January 1st they fill up fast.

Broken Arrow is where we always stay. It is close to Custer for gas and groceries. You can ride to Custer State Park and eat lunch at Blue Bell Lodge that is about a 7 hour ride. I would advise trailering to ironcreek and riding to Mount Rushmore. You can ride as close as the Highway and tie your horses up and walk over that is a good ride. The trails are not marked well but the owners of Broken Arrow will give you directions.

Enjoy the trip! It takes about a day and a half from Pittsburg.

Thanks all for the replies, we are excited to visit this place. Since this winter hasn't been too bad yet in the mid-west, the horses shouldn't be as out of condition like they have been the last two winter seasons.

I was wondering if anyone has could send me a PDF of the Broken Arrow Trail map. Would like to familarize myself with some of the trail destinations before going. I wish horse camps would provide a PDF copy of the trail maps they provide to the camper when reservatiosn are made instead of when the arriving to the camp. Normally we don't have a lot of time to study the map prior to riding out as we set-up camp, get the horses settled in and then the next day head out on the trail. Would like to see maps earlier so I can ask a question or two instead of wondering out loud while I am on the trial. Ha!

We've camped/rode at Broken Arrow July '09 and again this past September '11. We've been to oodles of campgrounds, but it's hard to find a cleaner one than this. New owners took over last year, and it's even better than ever. Jerry has added some new little cabins, and you won't believe the decor! Even the showerhouse is spiffy along with spic n span. There is plenty of riding but not much water along the trails. Make reservations early so you can get a site close to the horse pens. I don't know what month you're going, but I'd recommend packing along a horse blanket. I'll be glad to send you maps we were given, and I'm willing to bet Jerry will improve them. They were hand drawn and way off scale. I'd definitely take a gps. I'll scan them if you post your e-mail addie. I have 3 although they're pretty roughed up from use.

We've overnighted at Hobby Horse in Mitchell, SD 6 times for trips to WY and also to Custer. It's super easy access, large clean covered pens and very secure. Another big plus is just a mile down the road is a huge Cabela's, gas and fast food. The sites are level, picnic tables with electric and water right there.

Yes the campground is a campground and the sites are fairly close. But we have stayed there the last two years and love it for that. We have met many, many people from all walks of life there. One of our favorite things to do is just walk around meeting people. Not just horse people.

It's awful nice to have full hookups (water, sewer, electric), if you want. Or you can go as basic as your heart desires.

The horses are in safe covered stalls, with water right there, so we can rest in peace and not worry about them.

No buffalo roaming through camp rubbing on stalls or trailers or scaring the horses.

You can ride to French Creek from Broken Arrow. It's about four hours one way, but beautiful.

Broken Arrow has a trailer you can use to go to another trail head so you don't have to break camp.

Super bathroom and laundry facilities.

And last but not least, SUPER owners that want your stay to be enjoyable.

Our July/Aug stay was super pleasant weather-wise. When traveling to higher elevations, I always pack a heavy blanket for the horse. The horses needed them during this past Sept's stay. The evening winds picked up, and we even used tarps to tie up to the side of our stalls in order to block the wind that blew the cold rain onto the horses. 

The owner even loaned out horse blankets till some of our friends could go purchase their own the next day. Again, the new owners are super! 

The riding at Halsey was a breath of fresh air for us.  We love riding the hills and hollers of MO but Nebraskans always like a little prairie thrown in.  There was quite a bit of prairie riding when we first went there with the horses 10 years ago it was great, since then the 4 wheelers have taken over the prettiest area on the river which was a wonderful camping area.  There are alot of fences with gates that you have to get off and open, and there is also a long drive to the campsite on a sometimes washboard dirt road. No problems with a big trailer though.  It is primitive camping also.   Maybe you just have to be a Husker to love it, I don't know.

We moved around alot with "the job" so have ended up here in MO.  Wonderful riding here too.....but we could go to the Black Hills every year and not get tired of it.  Hope you guys have a great trip.

   Speaking of internet at Broken Arrow~gotta share a couple of pics taken on our trip that our friends sent us in their Christmas card. Me & Quiz enjoying the trail while Hubby (who doesn't ride) tries to use the laptop from our campsite. Note the margarita at his side. Hope you can read the post-it my friend put on the pic. It was my favorite Christmas card and sure made me laugh!

We have stayed at French Creek Horse camp several years and have never had a problem with buffalo!! I have never seen any pens that were damaged from horses.  At French Creek you can take your  horse to your trailer to saddle up and do not have to haul everything up to the pens like you do at Broken Arrow.  Each place has pros and cons but we really enjoy French Creek Because of all the different types of trails.

Just got back from a 10 day stay in South Dakota. We spent 8 days at Broken Arrow Camp which was super nice and hosts Jerry and Sue were very accomodating. Trails exceeded our expectations and views were awe-inspiring. Chuck wagon dinner on Saturday night was delicious... all you can eat steak with all the fixing and the live music was fun. We met some great people and really enjoyed Sue (owner) taking us out one day to see some of the trail sites. This was also the cleanest camp we HAVE EVER stayed at. The campground is manicured and each camping site had fire ring and picnic table. There is plenty of riding at Broken Arrow.... enough for a weeks stay or longer on gaited horses.

Only thing I did not care for was the stall set-up. They are are pipe panels and unfamiliar horses can nose each other through the bars. Lots of squealing and dominance displays from our gelding along with several other horses in a different barn. A guy had come in for one day with not so healthy horses and unfortunately were behind mine and another folks horses. The pens are safe, but prefer soild walls between horses so no nosing or contact can occur. There is a roof over the pens to provide shade and protection from the elements which is needed from the frequent afternoon rain and hail storms.

I would return to this camp again in a heart beat. We checked out several other camps including French Creek. Trails looked great at FC, but the horse accomodations are also lined up pipe corrals located out in the hot sun. Some folks packed three horses into one pen and the urine smell was awful. I would trailer to this location, but not stay here. Buffalo were in the camp too. The RV camping areas had fences around it to keep out the buffalo and the same should be done for the horse camp.

We trailered one day to Hells Canyon. Awesome trail as you ride through a canyon valley and then climb up a large hil and then ride along the rim for two miles. Several spots the trail are only two feet wide with a shear drop off. Definately not for the faint of heart or spooky horses. I held my breath in several spots.... I am from FLAT Kansas! LOL!! But the views of the hills and the canyon below was worth the white knuckle spots in the trail. Ha!

Jerry and Sue made this trip the best horse vacation we have ever had and I recommend staying a few days or more at Broken Arrow when traveling through the Black Hills area with or without horses.

Ponytammy, Glad you had such a great time in SD. As I've posted before, we've stayed there twice but it sounds like you've done more riding in the area than me. Makes me want to go back. Plus, it's one of the "shorter" trips we've hauled to out west from IL. Hell Canyon sounds terrific, and sorry to say we never heard of it. Now, if I can just find a new trail horse. We didn't have a long trip planned for this summer as usual since our daughter is getting married, and there are so many things to do between now and then. When you have time, post pics.

We've always had a large group, so our horses were always next to "buddies". And I'd sure be super concerned about strange horses nosing up to mine. Never know if they're healthy or not. Since our last trip there was last September, we did experience a really cold rain. Even with blankets for our horses, we tarped the panels to try holding off the cold driving rain. The tarps did help.

What route did you take from La Cygne to South Dakota? We are undecided on the best way to South Dakota from your area as we are just down the road from you. We have gone I80 through Nebraska and I90 through South Dakota.

We took 435N to I-29N- to I-90 West. Took this same route both ways. We overnighted at Hobby Horse Stables in Mitchell, SD. Clean covered paddock runs and we got there early enough to hook-up to electric. The gal put each guest's horse in a different barn so the horses could rest without the bickering that sometimes occur from strange horses being stalled next to each other. She did this both times we stayed there. From La Cygne to Mitchell it took us 8 hours for restroom breaks and refueling. Then 6 hours to Custer, SD.

Some other folks in our MFT club have taken I-80 through Nebraska, but said it would be a longer drive time wise due to single lane roads through towns versus interstate. About an hour past Mitchell the terrain becomes very hilly! Some folks might say the scenary is boring.... just open prairie and rolling hills, but I think the hills are pretty. Plus the Wall Drug and Fire House Pub Bill Boards was entertaining.

We are planning our first trip to SD next summeer. Wondering the best place to stay on our way. Leaving from west central Illinois.

   I'm from east central IL. We've stayed at Mitchell, SD both times to Custer and then also the trips going and coming from out in WY. Hobby Horse Motel is right off the interstate. Pens are roomy and covered with water right there. Sites are quite level with electric hookups. Best of all is the security for the horses. Rates are reasonable. Cash only. Cabelas, fuel and fast food only a mile away.

WISH(can't spell today...too HOT here!!) lol !!