Oahe Downstream Recreation Area Oahe Downstream Recreation Area Oahe Downstream Recreation Area is a state recreation area in Stanley County, South Dakota in the United States. The recreation area is named for being immediately downstream of the Oahe Dam and Lake Oahe, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam and reservoir. The recreation area is located along the Missouri River and is popular for camping, fishing and other water-based recreation. The area is located about 7 miles upstream of Pierre - the state capitol. The recreation area was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following construction of Oahe Dam, and legislation passed
Norris Dam State Park the Norris Project in the 1930s, is located a few miles south of the dam. Norris Dam State Park is located entirely within the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley Range, which is characterized by narrow elongated ridges flanked by broad, fertile river valleys. The low rolling hills that dominate the park's terrain are underlain by sedimentary rocks— namely limestone, dolomite, shale, and sandstone— which were formed roughly 400-500 million years ago during the Paleozoic Era. Most of Norris Dam State Park is coated by an Appalachian oak-pine forest, much of which is second-growth, although significant old growth stands remain in nearby Chuck Swan