A Little History
Lake Mitchell isn’t a natural lake. The City of Mitchell created it in 1928 on Firesteel Creek as a reservoir for drinking water and recreation. People lived along these shores long before that, though. On a point overlooking the lake sits the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, a roughly 1,000-year-old earth-lodge village first documented by archaeologists in 1922 and now a National Historic Landmark. Today, visitors can watch archaeologists at work inside its Thomsen Center Archeodome.
Our Visit
We pulled into Lake Mitchell Campground in Mitchell, South Dakota, in the middle of the afternoon. The sky barely had a cloud in it. The temperature was perfect, and the breeze was amazing. Little did I know what was coming…
A Pit Stop on the Way to Yellowstone
Lake Mitchell was meant to be a simple overnight pit stop on the way to Yellowstone. After setting up camp, Lola and I walked the grounds. A lot.
She was in heaven. There were new smells everywhere and plenty of grass to roll in. Better yet, fellow campers were happy to stop and say hello or sneak in a quick “good girl” pet on our walks.
Back at camp, we heated up some leftover chicken wings. Of course, Lola got her share too.
I managed to grab several more photos and videos before we called it a night. I’d also hoped to finally start uploading content from this campsite, since I had some rare free time. However, Mother Nature had other plans.
Late Sunsets and Clear Skies
The farther north you travel in summer, the longer the days get, and that threw me off a bit. It was 10:45 at night, and there was still some sunlight on the horizon. Even so, the stars were already out because there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. 🌌
Tornado Warning at Lake Mitchell Campground
Fast forward about an hour. Suddenly, my phone was blowing up with tornado alerts, and my rooftop tent was flapping wildly in the wind.
Lola and I took cover in the campground’s brick bathrooms for about 15 minutes until the storm passed. She stayed glued to my side the whole time, my brave little co-pilot.
Scary, scary night! 🌪️
Side note: I’m convinced this same storm is the one that knocked out the power at my house several hours later and took down this entire site!
I did manage to grab some video footage before the tornado warning. Here’s a few. The first is of the Pond Trail, the other is an aerial view of the campgrounds and pond. These as well as all future videos are in HD quality, just make sure to select a better quality within the videos gear button!
If you’re passing through, the City of Mitchell’s campground page has rates and reservations. Just keep an eye on the weather!
Anyway, the next morning we packed everything up and headed for our next stop: Mount Rushmore →
Enjoying the adventures?
Buy my human a coffee for the long drives, or buy me a biscuit. 25% of your purchase goes to local rescues & shelters. — Lola 🐾
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