Hill City, South Dakota
Looking for the best hiking in Hill City? We've got you covered with the top trails, trips, hiking, backpacking, camping and more around Hill City. The detailed guides, photos, and reviews are all submitted by the Outbound community.
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Top Hiking Spots in and near Hill City
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Rapid City, South Dakota
Fly Fish from the Rapid Creek Trailhead
2 miTo get the the trailhead for Rapid Creek you must turn to the east onto Pactola Basin Road or FS road 164 when on Highway 385 crossing the Pactola Reservoir. The road down to the trailhead is steep and can be rough depending on the time of the year. Once at the trailhead there is a parking area, ...Read more -
Keystone, South Dakota
Presidential Trail at Mount Rushmore
4.70.71 mi / 137 ft gainThe closest possible access to Mount Rushmore National Monument is achieved by walking the Presidential Trail, which takes you to the bottom of the rock pile below the carving. This loop trail is just shy of 1 mile and offers a unique perspective with a chance to view some wildlife. Expect ther...Read more -
Keystone, South Dakota
Hippie Hole
4.80.3 miWhile making your way to the parking area, you'll keep right for the most part. You'll also need a high clearance vehicle or the patience to drive very slowly. The dirt road to the trailhead is full of dips, holes, rocks, and essentially could be a close relative of off roading. If you do not hav...Read more -
Keystone, South Dakota
Hike Iron Creek Trail #15
2.4 mi / 200 ft gainThe 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...Read more -
Rapid City, South Dakota
Hike to Falling Rock Overlook
0.5 mi / 50 ft gainThe beautiful hike is a tremendous spot to get out of town and enjoy the scenery and a great view of Rapid Creek down in the canyon below. Parking is right off Falling Rock Rd. then the trail is a very well marked path through the trees, easy to follow, and leads you right to the edge of limesto...Read more -
Custer, South Dakota
Hike the Custer Skywalk to Big Rock Observation Point
0.6 mi / 370 ft gainPark on the South end of 6th Street at Harbach Park in Custer, just 2 blocks off Main Street. The entrance to the trail is marked by an archway and a "Custer Skywalk" sign. The path is a dirt/small gravel trail that has stairs built into the hillside. To get to the first observation point it is a...Read more -
Rapid City, South Dakota
Hike to the Stratobowl Rim
2 mi / 100 ft gainThe winding trail to the Stratobowl is a gradual and easy hike, which is perfect for the whole family or for a quick excursion if you don't have a lot of time. It is roughly a mile to the Rim overlook, where there is a plaque commemorating the November 11th, 1935 balloon flight that launched 72,3...Read more -
Hermosa, South Dakota
Explore the Spokane Ghost Town
1 mi / 4521 ft gainSpokane 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...Read more -
Custer, South Dakota
Hike the Stockade Lake Trail
1.2 mi / 500 ft gainThe trail starts near the East side of Stockade Lake just outside Custer, South Dakota. The trail is a 1.2 mile loop, and climbs up to 5,650 feet above sea level. The trail is easy to follow and is well worn. Also the trees have blue diamonds nailed to them for even easier route finding. Once you...Read more -
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...Read more -
Custer, South Dakota
Hike Grace Coolidge Walk-In Area
6 mi / 150 ft gainGrace 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...Read more -
Custer, South Dakota
Fly Fish French Creek
0.5 mi / 15 ft gainThe creek has two main sections, there is Upper French Creek and Lower French creek, the upper/lower refer to the section of creek above or below Stockade Lake. The better fishing is below Stockade Lake. There you can find numerous sections of the creek that are on public land and easily accessib...Read more -
Custer, South Dakota
Hike through Hell Canyon
5.3 miThe Trailhead lies down in the canyon bottom, just one mile west of Jewel Cave National Monument and 13 miles west of Custer. Upon arrival, you are greeted by the parking lot, which is right off the highway and boasts a spacious gravel lot to park in. Since the trail is a loop, you can go either ...Read more -
Custer, South Dakota
Tour Jewel Cave
4.00.5 mi / 20 ft gainEstablished in 1908, Jewel Cave National Monument is home to over 179 miles of mapped cave passages. The cave features larger chambers and more interesting formations then nearby Wind Cave NP, and much of it is covered in spar crystals.A guided tour is the only way to see the cave system unless y...Read more -
Black Hawk, South Dakota
Hike Botany Canyon
5 mi / 807 ft gainAfter reaching the trailhead, the first couple miles are forest service road. You'll want to follow the main FSR, do not branch off onto any of the smaller dirt roads. The turn off to go down into the canyon is very easy to miss. It will be on your right hand side after a small patch of trees, th...Read more -
Rapid City, South Dakota
Explore the Skyline Wilderness Area
3 mi / 0 ft gainDividing Rapid City's East and West sides, the Skyline Wilderness Area is a 150-acre park that features numerous walking, biking and hiking trails. This area can also be enjoyed as a beautiful drive that offers one of the best views of Rapid City. The road stretches about two miles long and giv...Read more
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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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