Homestead Overlook

Homestead Overlook sits at 2,874 feet along the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway, facing south across terrain that drops 259 feet within 600 meters of the viewpoint. Three peaks are visible to the south: Hurley Butte at 6.9 miles (2,594 ft), Kelier Butte at 8.4 miles (2,538 ft), and Bouquet Table at 11.4 miles (2,700 ft) to the south-southwest. Wall lies 12.2 miles to the north-northwest, with Philip 29.5 miles east-northeast and Kadoka 33.2 miles east. The overlook's name references the Homesteading Acts, US laws promoting westward expansion by granting public land to citizens; the first, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, allowed settlers to claim 160 acres by living on and improving it for five years and filing for a deed within seven. This land, offered as free to settlers, was largely taken from Native Americans who previously inhabited the Great Plains, through legislation such as the Dawes Act. Conata Basin Overlook precedes this stop on the byway, and Burns Basin Overlook follows it.