About Toad Hollow

Toad Hollow, named for the toads who visit from time to time, is a 5.25 acre farm situated about 5 minutes east of Hot Springs, South Dakota. It is located at the southern end of the Black Hills, where its Ponderosa Pine forests meet the wide open prairies of the Northern Great Plains. The property is bounded to the north by limestone cliffs with the house and growing areas extending to the south. The property is a mixture of cultivated growing areas and natural landscapes. There are gardens, orchards, buildings including a 1920’s farmhouse, forests, wildflower prairies, and rock outcrops. There is abundant wildlife including but not limited to deer, turkeys, songbirds, toads, and snakes.

The area receives an average of 17 inches of precipitation per year, making for a semi-arid climate. It can be pleasant much of the year but it can also be brutal. It can regularly get to over 100 degrees farhenheit in the summer and be subzero in the winter. There are an average of 230 days of sunshine each year and 30 inches of snow.

Hot Springs is a town of 3,500 people best known for its “healing waters” and sandstone architecture. Wind Cave National Park is just north of town.

The Black Hills are a place of beauty. It is nicknamed the Island in the Plains since it is a geographically isolated mountain range surrounded by prairie. The Black Hills are sacred and central to many indigenous tribes, most prominently the Lakota who have lived here for generations.

Here is a collection of photos from the property.

The approximate property lines of Toad Hollow.

A late summer sunrise in the midst of a remnant prairie.

Looking down onto the property from the cliff.

Rainbow from the road leading up to the property.

Storm brewing above the farmhouse.

The Black Hills from above.