Hartford Beach State Park

Big Stone Lake provides the setting for Hartford Beach State Park, a popular camping and picnic area nestled in the shade of a native wooded forest. Runoff from melting glaciers 10,000 years ago created the River Warren, a section of which is known today as Big Stone Lake. Rugged rock-strewn bluffs and scenic timbered shorelines surround Hartford Beach. When you stay at the campground, take advantage of the park amenities that include a boat ramp, beach, fish cleaning station, fishing pole checkout, playground, games and picnic shelter. A nine-hole disc golf course has also been set up at Hartford Beach State Park. Camping cabins are open year-round to enjoy the seasons and the views. The one-room cabins come with heating, air conditioning, electricity and sleeping accommodations for four people. No cooking is allowed inside, but you will find a fire grate, picnic table and porch outside. Five hiking trails at Hartford Beach State Park take visitors past historic sites and scenic overlooks, including burial mounds and a prehistoric village site. The American Indian mounds found in Hartford Beach State Park are typical of numerous such mounds in eastern South Dakota. They cover a time span from approximately 300 A.D. to possibly 1600 A.D. At the eastern end of the Robar Trail is the log cabin trading post, which operated from 1863-73.