Events
Beth Burkhart, GPNPS Field Trip Coordinator, lists these field trips for Society members and guests.
To receive notification of further details (departure time & place, etc.) you must sign up by contacting us at 605-673-3159 or GPNPS Fieldtrips, PO Box 321, Hermosa, SD 57744 USA. Only those on the list will receive the detail mailing, so sign up if there is any slight chance you will be interested in attending.
- 2023
- Jun 03 • Field Trip to see the Waxleaf Penstemon in Northwest South Dakota
- A one-day field trip into Custer National Forest, where we hope to see the sky-blue Waxleaf Penstemon in bloom, among other spring wildflowers of the Plains. Watch this space for further information as we firm up the details.
Rendezvous at the Forest Service office in Camp Crook at 9:00 am on Saturday June 3, 2023. We will arrange our car-pools for our daylong car caravan to various stops west of Camp Crook. If we have time, there are additional sites to the east, north and south of Camp Crook.
Bring plenty of water, your lunch and snacks, sun protection, your camera and bird books. We will supply copies of the current full plant list for the Forest.
Camping is available in either Buffalo or Camp Crook. Contact us for more info on lodging, food, etc.
Sorry, no dogs are allowed on any of our field trips.
RSVP highly appreciated, but not required.
- Trip leader: Cindy Reed
- 605-745-3397 landline, or 605-890-0150 cell
- Jun 16-17 • Open House: Log Cabin Visitor Center at the Great Plains Botanic Garden
- Friday & Saturday - June 16 & 17, 9:am–4:pm
Open House at the Great Plains Botanic Garden, a short distance east of Hwy 79 five miles south of Hermosa SD. The physical address is 14229 Windbreak Road, Hermosa, SD.
Come see our Penstemon Display, the new Cactus Garden, the Grass Section being installed and stroll through more of the grounds on our Trail of Two Hills.
The bookstore/giftshop in the Log Cabin Visitor Center will be open and offering free coffee and snacks.
Bring your friends, but not your pets. Sorry, no pets are allowed at the Botanic Garden. Bring your camera, sunscreen, hat and so on.- Trip leader: Cindy Reed and GPNPS members
- 605-745-3397 landline, or 605-890-0150 cell
- 2024
- May 18 • Annual Meeting, members & non-members welcome
- A short business meeting at the Botanic Garden will be followed with a talk by Cindy Reed on the history and current development of our Botanic Garden project.
Bring your folding chair, hat, sunscreen, and camera. Sorry, no pets are allowed at the Botanic Garden.
Our meeting will be outdoors, and will be postponed in case of rain in the forecast. If so, check this page for a last-minute update.
Water, coffee, and snacks will be provided. Our bookstore will be open.
Event Outline
12:30 pm -- social
1:00 pm -- introductions and business meeting
1:30 pm -- overview of Botanic Garden project
2:00 pm -- tour the Visitor Center and grounds, open until 4:30 pm
- RSVP by May 13
- Trip leader: Cindy Reed
- 605-890-0150
- Jun 01 • Visit the grounds of the Bear Butte Creek Historic Preserve near Sturgis, SD
- This trip is limited to the first 20 people to "RSVP" before May 23rd. RSVP to GPNPS at 605/745-3397 or email to fieldtrips@gpnps.org.
Participants will see most of the plants within the Bear Butte Historic Preserve, which contains a part of the grounds of the historic Ft. Meade that is currently being archeologically documented.
After an introductory presentation by Ross Lamphere of the BBCHP Association, our member Dr. Mark Gabel, an eminent botanist of the Black Hills and member of the Bear Butte Creek Historic Preserve Association, will lead an easy hike to view the flora within this historic area.
We will meet at 10:00 a.m. at the main parking area at the Centennial Trailhead, off "Horse Soldier Road" (the BLM road to the south), and then we will use the pedestrian underpass to access the Historic Preserve. It's not the little parking areas near the fence gate - those are for the archery range. You can expect to return to your car by noon, but you are welcome to bring your lunch and linger as long as you like.
Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, hat, and camera. Sorry, no pets are allowed on any GPNPS Field Trips.
- RSVP by May 23
- Trip leader: Dr. Mark Gabel, botanist
- 605-745-3397
- Jun 07-08 • Open House: Log Cabin Visitor Center at the Great Plains Botanic Garden
- Friday & Saturday - June 7 & 8, 9:am–4:pm
Open House at the Great Plains Botanic Garden, a short distance east of Hwy 79 five miles south of Hermosa SD. The physical address is 14229 Windbreak Road, Hermosa, SD. From Hwy 79 five miles south of Hermosa, turn east on Windbreak Road, just a bit north of mile-marker 55 on Hwy 79.
Come see our Penstemon Display, the new Cactus Garden, the Grass Section being installed and stroll through more of the grounds on our Trail of Two Hills.
The bookstore/giftshop in the Log Cabin Visitor Center will be open and offering free coffee and snacks.
Bring your human friends, but not your pets. Sorry, no pets are allowed at the Botanic Garden. Bring your camera, sunscreen, hat and so on.- Trip leader: Cindy Reed and GPNPS volunteers
- 605-890-0150