The Black Hills are located in the southwest corner of South Dakota. We spent some time here in 2012 and were excited for this opportunity to return for some more hiking and wildlife watching. We chose to stay at the Broken Arrow Horse Camp, which is located in Custer. Custer provides convenient access to hiking in Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Black Hills National Forest and the Black Elk Wilderness Area. In researching area trails we used A Falcon Guide: Hiking the Black Hills Country by Bert and Jane Gildart. Some hikes in this region are in full sun, so sunscreen and water are a must. Also, make sure you can identify poison ivy, which is fairly prevalent, especially in the low lying areas along streams. Check yourself for ticks after hikes.
Crazy Horse Memorial
The Crazy Horse Memorial
One of the more unique hikes we did was called a Volksmarch. It was organized by the local Volksmarch chapter and held at the Crazy Horse Memorial. Crazy Horse was a leader of the Oglala Lakota. It is held as a fundraiser for two days in the spring and one day each fall. For $3 and 3 cans of food per person you gain entry to Crazy Horse Memorial Park and get to hike right up to the face of Crazy Horse! It is a 10k (6.2 mile) walk. There are thousands who participate each year. After your hike you can tour the visitor center.
The Volksmarch takes you right up to the head of the statue
Crazy Horse up close
Equipment being used to construct the memorial
The construction continues at the memorial
Custer State Park
One of our favorite state parks for hiking, Custer State Park offers 14 trails of varying length and skill level. Stay on the lookout for wildlife, this park is home to a herd of up to 1450 bison, white-tailed and mule deer, pronghorn, elk, coyotes, burros, prairie dogs, mountain lions, bighorn sheep and mountain goats. There are large number of bird species, with turkey commonly seen. The park includes prairie, forest and riparian areas. There is a day use fee. In 2017, the fee for a 1-7 day pass was $20 per vehicle.
Prairie Trail
This 3 mile loop trail is rated moderate. The trailhead is located on the Wildlife Loop Road, 13 miles from the Visitor Center or 5 miles from the Blue Bell Entrance Station. This provides an excellent overview of the forest and prairie lands that make up Custer State Park. The trail is easy to follow. Hikers start in the river bottom and climb up to high vistas of prairie. The trail has several moderate incline sections.
View of open prairie
Cathedral Spires Trail
This moderate to strenuous 1.5 mile out and back will get you up close and personal with the area rock formations. The trailhead is located 2.5 miles east of Sylavn Lake on the Needles Highway (Hwy 87). This area is also home to limber pine- a 5 needled pine- that is usually found hundreds of miles north or west in the Bighorn Mountains. This trail has some steep rocky steps which make up the strenuous section. The trail is easy to follow.
The trail to the Cathedral Spires
Rock formations along the Cathedral Spires Trail
Cathedral Spires
Check out the Eye of the Needle along the Needles Highway
Little Devil’s Tower Trail
This strenuous trail has a trailhead located off of the Needles Highway (Hwy 87), one mile east of Sylvan Lake. It is listed as 2.5 miles round trip, we lengthened this by parking at the Sylvan Lake Parking area, which adds about 2 miles roundtrip.
The trail to Little Devils Tower
The majority of the trail ascends to Little Devils Tower, with the final section including serious rock scrambling. The trail and scrambling sections are well marked. Once at the top, 360 degree vistas reward your effort. You are directly across from the regions tallest peak, Black Elk (formerly Harney) Peak.
Rock formations along Little Devils Tower Trail
The beginning of the scrambling section
Mike above one of the scrambling sections
The route is marked with blue signs and spray paint
Another scramble section
One of the 360 degree views from the top
Another view from the top
Black Elk Peak (formerly Harney’s Peak) is directly across from the top
View from Little Devils Tower Trail
Black Hills National Forest & Black Elk Wilderness
The Black Elk Wilderness, named for the spiritual leader of the Oglala Lakota, is contained within the Black Hills National Forest. The Black Hills National Forest includes 1.2 million acres in southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming. The forest is described as an “Island in the Plains”. There are over 500 miles of hiking trails and other recreational opportunities available in the Black Hills.
Hell Canyon Trail
After a tip from our camp host, we decided to check out Hell Canyon Trail, located near Jewel National Monument. This is a moderate 5.3 mile loop trail with an optional 0.3 mile spur trail to an overlook. Elevation ranges from 5,360 to 5,800 feet. The trailhead is located approximately 13.5 miles west of Custer. The entire Hell Canyon trail was burnt during the Jasper Fire in 2000. We chose to start through the bottom of the canyon and then follow the bench below the cliffs and come down the steep switchbacks to the parking area. Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera and we did not get any shots of this hike.
On the day we hiked this trail (early June) it was tick city. We had read a review on All Trails from a couple who had hiked it and counted 22 ticks removed. We’ve never encountered that many before and Mike thought they were exaggerating. When we started flicking them off we began counting and quickly made it to 22 and they just kept coming! We ended up flicking off or removing about 79 ticks during this one hike! The majority came from the canyon bottom’s brushy area. We would find 5-7 crawling on our pants with each check. This was the only hike in the region like this. On all of our other hikes in the region we had one other tick!
Iron Mountain Loop
This easy to moderate 5.1 mile lollipop hike starts and ends in the Black Hills National Forest and enters into the Black Elk Wilderness Area. A free Wilderness Use Registration Form is required and can be obtained at the information board at the start of the trail. The area is also used by horseback riders, who help to keep the trail open. They were sawing downed trees off the trail the day we hiked it. There were several deadfall sections which we were able to cross or follow established go arounds.
Deadfall on the Iron Mountain Loop Trail
The trailhead is located at the Iron Mountain Picnic Area on Iron Mountain Road, US 16A, travel north for 12.9 miles from the split with 36 near the East Entrance of Custer State Park. Tip: After the first tunnel (Scovel Johnson Tunnel) on the way to this hike, pull off to the right to get some good shots of Mount Rushmore, which you will see straight ahead across the valley.
View of Mount Rushmore from Iron Mountain Road
Mount Rushmore
This hike took us through forest and rocky areas. This trail starts as #89B. At about 0.5 miles, take the left onto trail #16, Iron Mountain Trail. Follow #16 for 1.2 miles heading downhill, until it ends at Forest Service Road #345. Take a right onto FS #345 and proceed for about 1 mile along Iron Creek (crossing 6 bridges) until you can take the next trail to the right, Grizzly Bear Creek Trail #7. You will head back uphill through rock formations until you reach a junction with #89, Centennial Trail heading to the right. Follow #89 until the junction for #89B, another right, and follow it back to the trailhead.
The trail goes through some old growth sections
Following Iron Creek along Forest Service Road #345
Heading back up Grizzly Bear Creek Trail
Wind Cave National Park
In addition to several great cave tours which can be booked at the Visitor Center, Wind Cave National Park offers 30 miles of excellent above ground hiking which is under-utilized. If planning to hike at Wind Cave, watch out for wildlife including bison and the prairie rattlesnake. Also, the summers can get quite warm. For prairie sections you will be in full sun, so bring plenty of water and sunscreen.
Wind Cave tour
Boxwork seen at Wind Cave
Another view from a cave tour
Lookout Point – Centennial Loop
This is a moderate 4 mile loop which starts from the Lookout Point/Centennial Trailhead off of South Dakota Highway #87 about 2.5 miles north of the Visitor Center. At the trailhead, the board is labelled “Norbeck Dam”. While looking at the Norbeck Dam sign, Lookout Point heads off to the right and Centennial heads off to the left. We chose to complete this loop by starting with Lookout Point. The trail drops down and has several small creek crossings before climbing again through open prairie.
Lookout Point Trail drops down into a riparian zone
Open prairie lands
The weather varied from blue skies to gray with rain showers during our hike
The trail will travel through a good sized prairie dog town. Along the way, you will hear and see Western Meadowlarks and Bluebirds. The trail is rather easy to follow by looking for the wooden markers spaced usually within sight distance of each other. After the prairie dog town, you will travel along the back of a ridge before descending down to Highland Creek & Centennial Trails. At these two junctions, keep to the left. Continue along a creek with numerous bridge crossings before finding your final junction with a right and slight uphill to get back to the trailhead.
The trail drops down along the back side of a ridge
Beaver Creek along the Centennial Trail
The Centennial Trail travels through a narrow canyon riparian zone
Centennial – Highland Creek- Sanctuary-Centennial Loop
We decided to backpack this loop and planned to hike it in the order listed. The combined total mileage is about 14 miles. Most of the trail is moderate. We did not encounter any other hikers during our entire 14 mile hike! There are two very steep sections, the hike up Sanctuary trail from Highland Creek Trail and the hike back down Centennial Trail between Curley Canyon and Limestone Canyon. We planned to camp overnight off of the Sanctuary trail, but some bison liked our camping spot, which Mike wrote about in Bison Face Off. Since we hiked the final leg in the dark, we do not have any pictures for the last leg of our hike.
This hike offers beautiful vistas, rolling prairie lands, prairie dog towns, and forests. We spooked a small herd of elk along the Sanctuary Trail and saw numerous deer and bison. Make sure you give male bison a wide berth. This can make finding your next trail marker a little tricky!
East Bison Flats Trail
We hiked this trail in June 2012. It is a 7.4 mile out and back route. This hike travels primarily through prairie land. We saw prairie dogs and bison on this route. it is considered moderately strenuous. We had to detour several times off trail due to male bison who liked the easy walking on the hiking trail.
Prairie along the East Bison Flats Trail
East Bison Flats Trail
One of the namesake bison viewed along East Bison Flats
East Bison Flats Trail
Jewel Cave National Monument
Jewel Cave National Monument offers several cave tours which are scheduled through the Visitor Center. The cave tours are a great option on hot summer afternoons. Jewel Cave National Monument also has several above ground trails.
Popcorn formation in Jewel Cave
More cave features
Canyons Trail
This trail 3.5 mile loop trail can be rough and uneven due to the washouts that occur during heavy rains. There are moderate to steep inclines.The trail begins at the covered patio outside the visitor center lobby and winds its’ way down into Lithograph Canyon. Turning right at a fence the visitor enters Hell Canyon and strolls along a combination of unpaved road and meadows to a sign that leads to the historic area. From there it is 9/10 mile back to the visitor center.
Canyons Trail leaves from the Visitor Center
Mike travels the Canyons Trail
This trail provides an opportunity to become more familiar with the surface resources and geologic features at the monument including Lithograph Canyon, Hell Canyon, the limestone cliffs, ponderosa pine forest, deer, wildflowers, and birds.
Canyons Tail
The trail travels past a cave opening
