Hidden Creek RV Park and Lodge

05/29/2026

🌌 Night Sky This Week: Through June 5th, 2026 🌠

Spring is starting to give way to summer in the night sky this week, and you can really notice the change taking place from week to week. The evenings are getting warmer, sunsets are stretching later into the night, and the familiar stars of winter are slowly slipping away as the constellations of summer begin rising in the east. It’s one of the best times of year to spend a few quiet minutes outside, enjoying that transition overhead and watching the sky slowly shift into its summer pattern.
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🌙 Evening Highlights

On Sunday, there will be a full moon. It is the second full moon in May and is called a blue moon. The saying once in a blue moon comes from this. Right above the moon is a star called Antares (the heart of the scorpion). This moon is at the furthest point from the Earth, so it is known as a minimoon.

Mercury shows up in the evening skies this week. In half an hour after sunset, look to the west just above the horizon. The little planet sets an hour and a half after sunset.

Right after sunset, Venus is stealing the show. It’s incredibly bright and usually becomes visible before any of the other stars do. Look toward the west-northwest, and you really can’t miss it.

Venus has now moved into the constellation Gemini, where Jupiter is also shining brightly nearby. Over the next few weeks, the two planets will slowly appear to move closer together in the sky, and that’s always fun to watch from night to night.

Jupiter remains high enough to enjoy for most of the evening before finally setting after midnight. Even a small pair of binoculars can make things interesting. If the sky is clear and steady, you may be able to spot Jupiter’s four largest moons lined up beside the planet like tiny little stars.
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🌅 Early Morning Sky

If you happen to be out before sunrise, there’s still quite a bit going on.

Saturn is becoming easier to spot in the southeast around 5:00 AM. It has a steady golden glow that stands out once you know where to look.

Mars is nearby, sitting lower and a little to the left of Saturn. The red planet rises half an hour before sunrise.
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✨ Constellations of the Week

This time of year is when the sky really starts showing the transition between seasons.

Near Jupiter, you’ll notice two bright stars that mark the constellation Gemini. The brighter yellow-orange one is Pollux, a red giant star about 34 light-years away. Right beside it is Castor, which appears to our eyes as a single star but is actually a multiple-star system located about 51 light-years from Earth.

At the same time, Scorpius the Scorpion is beginning to rise in the southeast, giving us one of the first big hints that summer skies are on the way. Around midnight, the constellation lies to the south.
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If you get a clear evening this week, take a few minutes to step outside and enjoy it. This is one of those stretches of the year where the sky changes noticeably from week to week, and you can really feel the seasons shifting overhead night by night.

01/28/2026

One of the quiet surprises of winter at a South Dakota campground is that the snow turns into a giant storybook. Even when the campground is still, and no animals are in sight, the ground tells you exactly who passed through during the night. A fresh snowfall is like a blank page, and by morning it’s covered with footprints, trails, and tiny clues left behind by wildlife.

Deer are often the easiest tracks to recognize. Their prints look like two long, pointed toes that form a heart shape in the snow. You’ll usually find them along tree lines, near brush, or crossing open areas between cover. Their tracks tend to move in fairly straight lines, as if they knew exactly where they were going. Sometimes you’ll also see spots where they pawed through the snow to reach grass underneath.

Rabbit tracks are fun to find because they look almost playful. When a rabbit hops, its two large back feet land in front of its two smaller front feet, making a pattern that looks like a “Y” in the snow. The trail often zig-zags as the rabbit darts from place to place, especially near brush piles, wood piles, or the edges of campsites where cover is close by.

Coyote tracks tell a different story. They resemble dog tracks but are more oval and compact. You’ll usually see claw marks, and the trail often runs in a very straight, purposeful line. Coyotes tend to conserve energy in winter, so they travel efficiently, often along paths, roads, or frozen creek beds. Sometimes their back foot lands right in the print of the front foot, creating a single, neat line of tracks.

Raccoon tracks are some of the most interesting to spot. They look like tiny human hands pressed into the snow, with five long toes clearly visible. Their trail often has a waddling pattern, moving from side to side. You’re most likely to find these near trees, water sources, or anywhere they might have been searching for food.

If you come across five-toed tracks that are smaller than a raccoon’s and seem to wander slowly, you may have found skunk tracks. Claw marks are often visible, and the trail doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry. Skunks tend to roam methodically, especially on milder winter days.

Squirrel tracks can look a lot like miniature rabbit tracks. Their back feet also land ahead of the front feet, but the prints are much smaller and are often found at the base of trees. You may see where they’ve dug into the snow searching for buried nuts or seeds that they stored in the fall.

Wild turkey tracks stand out because of their size. You’ll see three long toes pointing forward and a smaller one pointing backward. These large bird tracks often appear in groups, showing where a flock traveled together. Sometimes you can even see faint drag marks from their wings in deeper snow.

Tiny mouse or vole tracks are easy to miss unless you look closely. These little prints are often accompanied by a thin line in the snow made by their tail dragging behind them. Their trails weave in and out of grass and sheltered spots as they search for food beneath the snow.

Every once in a while, you might come across round, cat-like tracks with no claw marks. These could belong to a bobcat, which is present in parts of South Dakota. The print is round with four toes and a padded base. Unlike dogs or coyotes, cats keep their claws retracted, so the absence of claw marks is a key clue.

Walking through a snow-covered campground becomes a quiet form of wildlife watching. Even when the animals themselves remain hidden, their tracks reveal where they traveled, where they searched for food, and how they move through the landscape. Winter may seem still at first glance, but if you look down, you’ll realize the campground is very alive.

10/23/2025

09/05/2023

"Exciting times at Hidden Creek RV Park! 🌟 With more visitors coming and new construction in the works, there's a lot to look forward to. Can't wait to welcome everyone to our growing community! 🏕️👷‍♂️

https://www.hiddencreekrvparkandlodge.com/

09/15/2022

Great place to stay during hunting season!