This is just an extension on my two previous posts on the Black Hills about Custer State Park and things to do and see there. The Black Hills are located west of Rapid City, South Dakota and extend into Wyoming. We were lucky enough to spend 5 months there this past summer and enjoy hiking the area which is teeming with wildlife, pine forest and granite spires. Below are some of the amazing hikes we did throughout our summer there.

Custer State Park

I’ve already posted about all the wonderful hikes we did in Custer State Park, but to summarize these were our favorites: Black Elk Peak, Little Devils Tower, Cathedral Spires, Lover’s Leap, Sunday Gulch and Poet’s Table. Black Elk Peak is the highest elevation in South Dakota so if you’re looking for a serious incline with the best view, this is a must. But do check out all the other hikes as this park offers world-class hiking in our opinion.

The Flume Trail

The Flume Trail is a historic trail that takes you back in time to the mining boom of the 1880s. The Rockerville Flume bed that carried water 20 miles, from Spring Creek west of present day Sheridan Lake, east to the placer diggings near Rockerville. The flume operated until 1885, and enabled miners to take over $20 million in gold. The trail follows the actual flume bed for much of its length.

The actual trail runs about 12 miles, however we didn’t hike the full length. We mostly enjoyed hiking Loop A that starts at Sheridan lake. Depending on where you start, the distance can run 3-4.5 miles. I would say the trail is moderate with some incline, but in general a nice gentle hike with lake views, stream crossings and gorgeous wildflowers in the summer months. We also liked this hike in the summer because of the shade.

St. Elmo’s Peak

St. Elmo’s Peak is a 1.8 mile out and back trail with a crazy steep incline. You climb almost 1,200 feet in the first mile, but the view is very rewarding. The first time Randy and I did this trail, we thought it would be a “quick up and back” trail workout. Boy were we wrong! It took us almost 45 minutes to reach the top and our legs were sore for days. We got better each time we did it and we considered this a great “workout hike”, also known as “leg day.” You definitely want to wear pants as there is a lot of poison ivy and growth in the summer months.

A few times we hiked this trail, the Tatanka Hotshots forest fire crew were there. We believe they use this trail for training and they hike these inclines with 50 lb packs, carrying chainsaws and axes!

Sanctuary Trail and Centennial Trail Loop

The Sanctuary trail is located in Wind Cave National Park and is about a 12 mile loop. It’s considered moderately challenging. We did this trail on Randy’s birthday in June and it stands out as one of our favorites because of the raw beauty and isolation you have on the trail. Even on a Saturday in June, we never saw another person on this trail, meaning we had it all to ourselves. It starts out with walking through several prairie dog fields. They would bark as we approached warning the others of our arrival. We enjoyed watching them as we hiked. Parts of this trail felt like walking back in time as there were no signs of civilization, we were completely alone in quiet with nature. A very cool experience since these days it’s hard to find hikes where you don’t have other people, sounds of traffic, planes overhead, etc. The best part of the hike was spotting wildlife. We briefly saw a male pronghorn and then we came upon a huge herd of bison! We safely navigated by the herd and continued on the trail only to find a large bull standing on the trail in front of us. We had to detour to the side behind a tree and waited for him to pass. Such an amazing experience!

Centennial Trail

The South Dakota Centennial Trail is a 125-mile long hiking and backpacking trail through the Black Hills National Forest. The trail starts at Wind Cave National Park and ends at Bear Butte with 21 trailheads set up for access. This trail connects with lots of hikes throughout the Black Hills. As mentioned above, we hiked part of it in Wind Cave National Park. We also hiked it connecting to the Blackberry Trail which leads right to Mount Rushmore. It also connects to the Flume Trail mentioned above. One of the trailheads, Samelias, was about a couple miles from Black Elk Resort where we stayed all summer. We hiked from the Samelias trailhead as well as right out our back door at the resort. Randy and I would climb up a huge hill behind the resort property and hike several trails there, one of them being the Centennial Trail.

George S. Mickelson Trail

The George S. Mickelson Trail is a 109 mile rail trail that runs from Edgemont to Deadwood. The trail crosses more than 100 railroad bridges and goes through four tunnels. The trail is frequented by walkers, runners, bikers and horses. Since it’s mostly flat with gentle slopes, some may not consider it a hike but it is definitely worth mentioning. We frequented this trail with Sophie using the Hill City or Mystic trailhead. We would usually do long walks or short runs with her in her stroller. Besides being very scenic, we loved spotting wildlife on this trail. There may have been maybe one or two times we didn’t see deer on this trail. We also would have to stop to let a group of wild turkeys cross the path. We also saw an otter once run down the path and scramble into the bushes. This trail is mostly used by bike riders but lots of folks walk it as well. There are a couple of bike rental shops in Hill City that offer a shuttle service so riders can start further up on the trail and ride one way.

That’s it! There may have been a few other small trails we hiked, but this list plus those in Custer State Park were our favorite and most frequented hikes.