Planning for outdoor excursions in the Black Hills just got a whole lot easier thanks to the recent launch of a shiny new website from South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks.

The new site has an improved look and simplified navigation that makes information easy to find. Everything from hunting regulations to fishing length limits, geocaching tips to snowshoe routes – it’s all there.

One of the helpful new features that caught my eye was the point-of-view campsite photos. From a list of South Dakota state parks, you can filter down to a specific region, park or campground and then hover over a campsite number with your cursor and see an actual photo of the location before booking it.

The campsite feature was available on the old SD GF&P website, but the new layout makes it much more user-friendly.

“Our website has been the number one tool we use to communicate with the public,” said GF&P Secretary Jeff Vonk. “With large amounts of information to share, it’s important to make things easy for the public to find. The new website is a very positive improvement for the department and for our users.”

With six South Dakota state park and recreation areas here in the Black Hills region, the new website is a great resource from our friends at the Game, Fish & Parks department.

Along with the improved look and feel of the website, it also has a new web address. To check out all of the new features (including my favorite campsite selector) go to http://gfp.sd.gov.

And if – by some off chance – you can’t find what you are looking for on the new site, just use the contact section and the good folks at the GF&P offices will be happy to help you out.

If you enjoy the outdoor recreation opportunities in the Black Hills, I bet you’ll appreciate the new website as much as I do.

Until next time – Happy camping!