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Black Hawk, South Dakota

Looking for the best hiking in Black Hawk? We've got you covered with the top trails, trips, hiking, backpacking, camping and more around Black Hawk. The detailed guides, photos, and reviews are all submitted by the Outbound community.

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Top Hiking Spots in and near Black Hawk

  • Hermosa, South Dakota

    Explore the Spokane Ghost Town

    1 mi / 4521 ft gain
    Spokane will always be one of my favorite locations in the hills. The town was founded in 1890 and features 3 intact structures from that time. The most intact structure is the manager's house which you can find up on a hill behind the other buildings. A few years ago the old school house finally...
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  • Keystone, South Dakota

    Hike Iron Creek Trail #15

    2.4 mi / 200 ft gain
    The trail is accessible from 2 different spots, both give you the opportunity for a scenic drive to get there. The approach from the Northeast side is on Iron Mountain road a beautiful scenic Black Hills highway, and you will be very near Lakota Lake.  The Southwest trail head is a more rugged dr...
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  • Vale, South Dakota

    Hike the Sacred Steps of Bear Mountain

    4.2
    3.5 mi / 1200 ft gain
    Bear Mountain or Mathó Pahá as it's called by the Lakota peoples, is the leftover remnants of an ancient volcanic plug. The mountain weathered away, to leave the harder igneous formation, for which plains tribes have been coming to for sacred communication with their Creator for 10,000 years. Thi...
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  • Custer, South Dakota

    Cathedral Spires in the Black Hills

    4.8
    1.65 mi / 200 ft gain
    This is a moderate hike with a huge payout in the form of some of the Black Hills' most beautiful features — tall granite spires rising hundreds of feet above the surrounding terrain, reaching a maximum height of 6,860 feet. Starting from the Cathedral Spires Trailhead --where you may be treated...
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  • Keystone, South Dakota

    Hiking to Harney Peak

    4.9
    The Harney Peak Trailhead #9 is located in the northwest corner of the parking lot just beyond Sylvan Lake. From there, the hike is very straight forward – the beginning of the trail is very moderate, being slightly flat with a few ups and downs along the way.Once you cross into the Black Elk Wil...
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  • Keystone, South Dakota

    Sylvan Lake Shore Trail

    5.0
    1.1 mi / 39 ft gain
    Sylvan Lake Shore Trail is a loop trail that takes you by a lake located near Custer, South Dakota.
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  • Keystone, South Dakota

    Black Elk Peak and Little Devil's Tower Loop

    5.0
    7.85 mi / 1621 ft gain
    Black Elk Peak and Little Devil's Tower Loop is a loop trail that takes you by a lake located near Custer, South Dakota.
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  • Custer, South Dakota

    Hike to Little Devil's Tower in the Black Hills

    5.0
    The trail starts at the Little Devil's Tower Trailhead which is located roughly one mile east of Sylvan Lake on Highway 87. Take Trail #4 for around 1/2 mile until a fork in the trail. The right fork takes you to Harney Peak, while the left takes you to Little Devils Tower. Along the trail there ...
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  • Custer, South Dakota

    Hike to Poet's Table

    5.0
    1 mi
    This hike starts at the Little Devil's Towers trailhead just east of Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park. Follow the main trail from the parking lot about 300 yards then there will be an unmarked trail off to the left, it is a beaten path more than a trail. The trail that leads up to Poet's Table ve...
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  • Keystone, South Dakota

    Hike Sunday Gulch Loop

    5.0
    2.8 mi / 400 ft gain
    To get to Sunday Gulch Trail you will need to walk around Sylvan Lake to the Northwest End of the Lake, there is a loop all the way around the lake, so either way will take you there. You will see a sign for Sunday Gulch Trail, it is trail #6.  The trail itself can be quite steep in places but it...
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  • Custer, South Dakota

    Kayak Sylvan Lake

    4.0
    2 mi
    There are a few reservoirs within the hot and dry Black Hills of South Dakota. The water here comes from the harsh winter month's snowpack or frequent afternoon thunderstorms. Sylvan Lake in the town of Custer offers many activities thanks to it's unique and rugged terrain. Hiking, biking, rock c...
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  • Deadwood, South Dakota

    Bike the George S. Mickelson Trail

    5.0
    108.8 mi / 2300 ft gain
    Biking the George S. Mickelson Trail is a very popular activity for many people in the Black Hills, locals, visitors, and tourists all enjoy the Mickelson Trail.  Not only can you bike, but you can run, walk, or even ride horses, and you most definitely do not have to do the entire length of the ...
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  • Custer, South Dakota

    Hike Grace Coolidge Walk-In Area

    6 mi / 150 ft gain
    Grace Coolidge Walk-In area is a fantastic place to go for a hike and do some fly fishing! There are 6 dams built along the 3 mile trail. You can start on either from Center Lake off of Playhouse Rd. or you can start at the southern trailhead near Highway 16A, that is not too far west from the St...
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  • Hill City, South Dakota

    Camp at Black Fox Campground

    Black Fox is 9 miles west of Rochford has nine campsites along the Rhoads Fork Creek where it meets up with the South Fork of Rapid Creek. Campsites are nicely arranged for the most part with a fire pit and picnic table at each site. From the campground there are many things to do, many people en...
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  • Lead, South Dakota

    Hike to Mt. Roosevelt Tower

    0.8 mi / 160 ft gain
    To get to the trailhead for Mt. Roosevelt, you will need to travel about a mile north of Deadwood, on HWY 85, then you will see signs for it near the Lodge of Deadwood, from there you will eventually hit a gravel road and it is about 2.5 miles from the highway. The trailhead has picnic tables, an...
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  • Lead, South Dakota

    Camp at Hanna Campground

    0.25 mi / 0 ft gain
    The campground is located 7.5 miles south of Lead on Highway 85, then turn left on road 196, there will be a sign for Hanna CG, from there it is just over 2 miles to the campground. The campground has 13 total sites, the main area of the CG is closed during the fall winter and spring, but there a...
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Go Great Places in South Dakota

In the Mount Rushmore state, travels to South Dakota are full of one-of-a-kind adventure with wide-open spaces as endless as the horizons. Between legendary landscapes and scenic drives, you can always find space that shifts life into park. When you’re ready, go great places.

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