Stokes Thomas Lake City Park, Watertown, SD

Date of Stay:  Monday August 1 – Monday August 8, 2016 (7 nights)

Rate:  $21/night

Website:  Stokes Thomas Lake City Park
   90 South Lake Drive
   Watertown, SD 57201
   605-882-6264

Description:  Located on Lake Kampeska near Watertown off I-29 in eastern SD.  We stayed on site 1 which is a long pull thru with a distant view of the sizeable lake.  There are about 70 non-reservable sites all with W/E (50A), a couple of playgrounds, one dumpstation, a boat launch and an impressive Veterans Memorial.  The roads are paved while the sites are dirt/gravel.

Trash and Recycle:  A few large trash bins spread throughout the cg with bins for drink cans for Disabled American Veterans.

Activities:  Watertown is a nice sized place (22,000 pop.) so we caught up on some shopping at Walgreens, Walmart, Menards and Runnings.  We ate out quite often too.  There is a bike path around the park that goes into town but it was exposed next to the road and hilly in the other direction.  We did ride around in the park though.  While checking out the Veterans Memorial, I met Laurel Foss who had the vision and drive to create the nicest memorial in a small town that I’ve ever seen.  He is a Korean War Army Veteran and it made my day to chat with him.  One day we went to the Terry Redlin Art Center near I-29 in Watertown.  It is a definite “must see” when in the area and free also.  It displays over 150 of his original oil paintings.  A native of Watertown, Redlin (1937 - 2016) was voted America’s Most Popular Artist 9 years in a row for his “Americana” style of painting.  We’ve had several of his works as puzzles.  There’s more to do in town such as Bramble Park Zoo and Mellete House (last governor of Dakota Territory and first governor of South Dakota) but we enjoyed just hanging out in the park and watching the Olympics.

 

On site 1

 

Our view of Lake Kampeska                       Beautiful sunset on the lake

 

Map of the park                                         Self check-in

 

Gravel beach

 

Boat launch                                             Entry to the cg

 

View from the road                                  View from the parking lot

   

       Thank You for Protecting Our Flag                                                           Freedom Isn’t Free

 

                                      Memorial Wall                           All Gave Some     Some Gave All

 

AH-1F Bell Cobra Helicopter

 

Terry Redlin Art Center                               Original chair and easel

 

Love the way his art is displayed

 

The Colors of Spring 1997                             Evening Solitude 1989