Devil’s Gulch is one of Garretson’s most beautiful natural wonders. Quartzite cliffs tower above Split Rock Creek on both sides of the gulch, and the scenery here draws people from all over to hike the trails at Devil’s Gulch Park. There’s also a fascinating legend surrounding this area.

In September of 1876, Jesse James and his gang were on the run, after robbing a bank in Northfield, Minnesota, and the law was catching up to them. As the gang got to Devil’s Gulch, a posse was right behind them. Jesse faced a choice – jump the 18-foot-wide gulch, or take his chances with the law. Legend says that he gritted his teeth and urged his (stolen) horse to jump the gulch. The successful jump allowed him to evade the law and flee to Missouri.

Is it possible to make this jump on a horse? It might seem impossible when you see it in person, but according to Wikipedia, the world’s record for the longest jump on a horse is 28 feet – a full ten feet more than Devil’s Gulch. Still, Jesse James was riding a stolen horse, and one that presumably didn’t have a history of making long jumps across deep and scary gulches. Take a look at Devil’s Gulch and see what you think…

Devil’s Gulch is in Garretson - a little town near the Minnesota border, about 23 miles northeast of Sioux Falls.

Google For an interactive map and directions, click here.

Devil’s Gulch…Beauty, Mystery and Legend. Sounds about right.

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This is definitely a beautiful place. The gulch is about 18 feet from one side to the other. When you see it in person, you can really appreciate what a jump of that magnitude would really be like…on a horse.

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Walk halfway across the bridge and look down…the river is said to be bottomless in places. Locals once dropped a 600-foot line and still didn’t hit bottom.

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Read all about the legend, and leave a donation in the little lockbox, if you’d like.

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What do you think? Have you ever stood in the spot where Jesse James supposedly jumped his horse across? Do you think it’s possible?

Google

For an interactive map and directions, click here.

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For more of South Dakota’s urban legends, take a look at this article.

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