Black Hawk, South Dakota

Dividing 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...

The 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...

To 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, ...

The 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...

There are 2 ways to get to Dakota Point, one from the north that is more common which I will talk about (or one from the south). The trail that starts on the north side of the lake is a nice easy trail to follow, it is wide and well-worn mostly in forested areas. Keep your eyes out for wildlife...

The Deerfield Lake trail is overall 23 miles long, but this post is just about the section of the trail that starts at Silver City where Rapid Creek flows into Pactola Reservoir, and follows the creek upstream to where Slate Creek converges, about 2.5 miles from the trailhead. You could follow th...

While 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...

Drive into Keystone, take a right on Old Hill City Road, drive for a little over two miles, you'll pass both Kemp's Kamp and the K Bar S Lodge, and look for Echo Valley Dr. on your left. As soon as you pass Echo Valley Dr, keep your eyes out for a pull off on the right. Once you get to the trailh...

Cool little pull off area to get a shot of Washington’s face from the side between the mountains. There is a pull off on both sides of the road and a popular spot to stop and photograph this unique perspective of Mt. Rushmore.  For the loop trail to see more of the sites of Mt. Rushmore, check o...

The trailhead is located at the Willow Creek Horse Camp. This trail doesn't allow motorized vehicles but you may share it with some horses depending on when you venture onto the trail. The trail itself is pretty easy, it will take about 1.5-2 hours depending on your pace and is shaded for about h...

Castle Creek is a challenging place to get to, the road in the off seasons can be even more difficult. In the spring/early summer when the road is wet it can become rutted. There is one road to get to the campground from the East from Mystic it is about 8 rough narrow miles, but you could arrive ...

Great all year long but, especially stunning when the galactic center of the Milky Way is visible from Spring to Fall, Spokane Ghost Town is a local favorite and a hidden gem. Set up your camera, and light paint some old buildings! The ghost town was originally a mine founded in the late 1800's w...

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...

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...

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...

Perfect for a pre or post Black Hills/Badlands adventure, Needles Highway is the joyride of a lifetime.  Entrance to Custer State Park costs 10 dollars, and do be prepared to keep it in low gear behind RVs and motorcycles. Pull-offs for photos and general marveling are frequent.