“Jesse James Jumped Here”
A road off 5th Street in Garretson leads you to a tree hidden canyon known as Devil’s Gulch. It is a natural chasm which features scenic rock formations of red quartzite and is the home of the famous jump of outlaw Jesse James. While standing at the foot bridge in Devil’s Gulch, imagine the outlaw Jesse James riding as fast as his horse can gallop because a posse from Northfield, Minnesota is hot on his trail. Jesse approaches the chasm, quickly summarizes the situation, and successfully coaxes his horse to jump the canyon and therefore escapes the posse. This legend happened in the Fall of 1876 where the foot bridge is now located. When you first arrive at the Gulch you will see the Visitor Center. This building houses many interesting artifacts and photographs on display as well as a map for your hiking tour. The walking tour takes about an hour unless you want to actually take the time to sit and admire the views of the flowing river, the array of wildflowers and prairie grasses that are abundant to the area. There is also a steel bridge now crossing the gulch to allow for you to get from one side to the other (without having to jump) but be prepared for virtigo….it’s a long way down!
Pretty cool place, address is wrong make sure to go to "split rock park" instead of the listed address. Have fun, do some rock climbing
A natural chasm that Jesse James jumped with his horse to evade authorities after he robbed a bank
Free admission
You location is off a bit. But the little park is wonderful.
The location is not exactly correct follow the giant blue signs when you get close.
Nice stop to make, a few trails along the top and the bottom of the gulch. Cool seeing rocks that red, great place to picnic or sit quietly and enjoy the day. Was not very busy when we stopped in.
Fun little hike around to stretch the legs and dogs to climb and jump on the rocks. Took about 10-15 minutes to see each spot kf thd gultch, it gose around in a loop back to the packing lot.
Very cool glimpse of American folklore! Beautiful and incredible to imagine Jesse James leaping over the 20 foot ravine to escape the pursuing posse! Worth the stop!
This was a really cool stop on our trip. It was out of the way for us, but worth it!
This scenic area makes for a gorgeous detour, surprising in the typical flat landscape of the dakotas. The waterfall was pretty slow in mid April, but was still a great place for pictures and to stretch our legs.
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Devil's Gulch Park
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Wheelchair Accessible
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