Amenities keep coming to Rocky Point Recreation Area
They’re open for their second year at the Rocky Point Recreation Area, South Dakota’s newest state park.
The park is at Rocky Point of the Belle Fourche Reservoir at Orman Dam about eight miles east of Belle Fourche on U.S. Highway 212.
The reservoir is one of the first federal Bureau of Recreation (BOR) irrigation dam projects carved out of a fertile valley with horse and steam power soon after the turn into the 20th century. At the time, it was the world’s largest earth fill dam. Orman still marks the biggest body of water in the state west of the Missouri River.
It always was a local recreation spot. State officials began stocking it with anglers’ favorites years ago and finally added a boat ramp.
Black Hills visitors began to discover the lake and its 6,731 acres of federal land surrounding it. Camping was free, but there were no amenities.
That’s why former S.D. Game, Fish & Parks commissioner Ken Barker pressed for a state park.
This year, it opens with a 60-unit campground and an overall sparkling-new $1.2 million recreation area.
State parks director Doug Hofer said local anglers and families may be the major beneficiaries, but the fishing, the beaches and the camping amenities on the big lake will make it a popular alternative for many Black Hills visitors.
The state and Bureau of Recreation cooperate on the project to ensure that good roads are available for campers and anglers.
There still is plenty of space around the lake for primitive camping and four-wheeling, but the BOR is being forced by growing traffic to improve some roads and close other areas.
The Black Hills’ area secret recreation and angling spot is the northern anchor of South Dakota and federal recreation parks in the Black Hills.