You might be wondering, for two reasons, why I've devoted a section here to the Black Hills National Forest. After all, I think I've made it abundantly clear throughout these pages that I'm a creature of the prairie. I love the majestic grasses (especially the short ones) and the unbroken horizon drifting off into nothingness under an endless azure sky. Then, there's the fact that I'm from Minnesota. And aren't two of the richest National Forests right in my own state? Why the need to dwell on one some 500 miles away from home?

To address the first point, I do enjoy a forest from time to time, especially one that's devoid of people. I think it's fun to identify new trees using a guidebook, to listen to the pounding of a pileated woodpecker and to smell the aroma of pine needles underfoot.

With regard to the second question, the Black Hills National Forest is far easier to relax in than the Chippewa and Superior National Forests in my home state. There's no need to go through the endless ritual of tying your food up after every meal since there are no bears here, and mosquitoes are virtually nonexistent. If you've ever been to our Minnesota forests, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Where is It?

The largest share of the Black Hills National Forest lies in western South Dakota, with a smaller chunk spilling over into Wyoming around the Bear Lodge Mountains and Devil's Tower. It's big, stretching from south of Hot Springs all the way up to north of Deadwood.

Getting Oriented

Since the Black Hills National Forest is so large and so full of treats, it's essential you get oriented fairly early on. A good first stop is the Visitor Center on the Pactola Reservoir Dam. You'll find this on US 385 north of Hill City. Alternatively, you could take State Road 44 out of Rapid City to get here. It's open daily during the warmer months; check out the official Black Hills National Forest link below to get the exact days and hours.

The picture to the right shows the Visitor Center. (Remember, you can click on the thumbnail to enlarge the photograph to full size). This was taken on our expedition of 1997, in which we explored the Badlands, the Black Hills and Devil's Tower.

Inside are a number of wonderful interpretive exhibits, illustrating some of the natural and cultural history of the area. Just about anything you'd want to know is explained here: camping details, weather updates, recreation and program announcements, animals you might encounter and so. The rangers on duty are very friendly and can offer all sorts of inside information. Finally, there's a great observation area along the back.

This is really a fun place to visit, and I suppose we spent the better part of the morning here taking in the exhibits and sights. But perhaps most important is the fact that there's a full range of maps and guidebooks for sale.

You'll need some good ones to make the most of the Black Hills National Forest. The picture to the left shows just a few from my own personal collection. Let me remind you once again that I have no commercial interest in this stuff. I simply enjoy showing you some of the things I've picked up along the way, things I think will make it easier for you to plan your own trip out West. And keep in mind that you can always click the [footnote] to get the details. Doing so will open up a small window explaining who published the items and so on.

The large newspaper is the Black Hills National Forest Recreation Guide. This is published by the National Forest Service and updated perhaps every year or so. It's extremely well written, friendly, and contains a veritable wealth of information on the hiking trails (over 353 miles of them!), skiing, scenic drives, camping, fishing, fees and so on. This attractive full color publication is available free of charge, and is a must-have before you hit the trails. I got my copy at the National Grasslands Visitor Center in Wall.

The gray map, toward the right of the photo, is also published by the National Forest Service. This is the "official" one, and is jam-packed with extra wildlife photos, explanations of the trail markings and so forth. It follows the usual mile-square convention, making it easy to read. I think I paid about six bucks or so for it, and bought it right at the Pactola Reservoir Dam Visitor Center. It's a beauty.

The item in the lower right is the Hiking Map of the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve, including the Black Elk Wilderness, Harney Peak and the Needles. All of these latter areas are part of the Black Hills National Forest. This map, printed on a tough plasticized paper, is published by the Black Hills Group of the Sierra Club. I bought it, too, at the Visitor Center. Although the printing quality is a little scratchy in places, we found it very helpful when hiking through the Black Elk Wilderness later on in the trip.

The last two maps, toward the bottom left, are commercial ones put out by Trails Illustrated^®. These are excellent topo maps, covering two distinct sections of the Forest, printed on a very supple tearproof and waterproof plastic. The quality is superior, and it's pretty hard to ruin them through overuse. (I've been a fan of this company's wares for a while now; I also have their Rocky Mountain and Badlands editions). I don't recall where I got these, but most larger bookstores carry them for around ten bucks, and they're easily obtainable by mail order — see the links below. I know I saw them at the Pactola Reservoir Dam Visitor Center, too.

Water, Water Everywhere

After wrapping things up in the Visitor Center, we headed out to explore a little bit. This was our first visit to the Black Hills National Forest, and so everything was new to us.

It was nice weather that day, and even nicer as we approached the water. A pleasant breeze blew continually across it. As the picture to the right shows, the Pactola Reservoir is a major body of water, and capable of handling lots of different crafts. When we pulled into the parking strip, we couldn't help but note all of the cars with boat trailers lining up — a very busy spot. In fact, it was so active, that a Forest Ranger was pressed into service to direct traffic.

I'm not really into boating, and even less into large crowds, but I think it was great to see people enjoying what the Forest Service had provided here in such a gorgeous setting. It's important to remember that the National Forests are managed under a "multiple use" policy, and so you're apt to bump into hikers, campers, boaters, loggers, ranchers, oilmen and who knows what else.

After enjoying a decent picnic lunch, we decided to move on from the Pactola area. We ended up driving along the Spearfish Canyon Byway, even though it was out of our way. What a highway — the word "scenic" is feeble and hardly does it justice. After a bit of touring, we returned southward again, since our goal was eventually to do some hiking in the Black Elk Wilderness.

Critters in the Hills

There are some good birds to see in the Black Hills, but as I've mentioned elsewhere in these pages, the grasslands are really the best place go in general if variety is your goal. Prairies support an enormous number of species, and birding is always overwhelming in them. But do keep in mind that there are a number of uninterrupted patches of grasslands in the Black Hills National Forest, and these are probably the best places to hike if birds are your passion.

On the other hand, viewing animals of the four legged kind is perhaps unequalled in and around the forests. For example, the least chipmunk is a fairly common sight along the trails, and you might see the golden-manteled ground squirrel in similar surroundings.

Perhaps the most impressive sight was when we encountered a group of mountain goats. See the picture to the right. This was in the winter on a brittle but bright day, and their gleaming white coats matched the pockets of snow scattered here and there. The goats were working their way around the base of Mount Rushmore, which is embedded within the Black Hills National Forest.

Hit the Trails

The next week found us luxuriating in Custer State Park, which is surrounded by the Black Hills National Forest. On tap for that week was horseback riding, reading and lounging, exploring historic sites, getting bullied by the buffalo, and of course tippling a refreshment or two. Seven days later we were ready to start hiking, using some of the new maps I mentioned above. We decided to prosecute the Cathedral Spires Trail in the Black Elk Wilderness to the summit of Harney Peak.

As I said earlier, the Black Elk Wilderness is part of the Black Hills National Forest. No motorized vehicles are permitted here, and it really is a true wilderness.

Leaving Bluebell Campground in the south of Custer State Park, we drove twisty State Road 87, seeing an incredible amount of wildlife along the way. Eventually, we found the trailhead; there's a pulloff here with room for several cars.

Lashing on our trusty hiking boots, packing the sack lunches, lassoing our necks with binoculars and strapping on the backpacks, we were ready to head out.

The Cathedral Spires Trail was magnificent! We traipsed through dense ponderosa pines for mile after mile, and every once in the while a clearing would reveal the Spires. See the photo to the left.

I will never forget the pungent smell of the pine needles as we trudged through the woods. Another thing I recall was the astounding abundance of tiny butterflies, with blue and purple being the colors of the day. The trail itself sparkled like a path of gemstones, lavishly littered with particles of mica or schist or some other shiny rock. (Sorry, I'm not much of a geologist!) This was an absolutely perfect hike and I had everything I needed: cool weather, a beautiful setting and my favorite companion.

Along the way, we occasionally met other hikers, perhaps a half-dozen or so, but were able to shake them rapidly. When we tramp, we stop all the time to key out a new tree or plant or butterfly or bird or something, and the others zip right past us, as though they have a deadline to meet.

After several hours, our goal was in sight, the Harney Peak Fire Tower; see the picture to the right. This exquisite fire tower, no longer used, is testament to the tenacity of the burros (and the men) which hauled the needed materials up to this precipice. It was built by the CCC back in 1938, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. At a height of 7242 feet, you get a commanding view of the Black Hills from it.

As I said, we didn't see too many people along the Cathedral Spires Trail, thankfully. But be forewarned, Harney Peak is a popular destination out this-away, and several trails converge before the final ascent. It seemed to us that most of the other hikers were coming from Sylvan Lake.

It was a wonderful day out on the trail, and I can really recommend the Black Elk Wilderness in the Black Hills National Forest. Some hikes are instructive, some are inspirational, but this one, while partaking a trifle of each of these characteristics, was mainly relaxing. After a full day of trekking, our thighs and calves were throbbing, but we returned to camp that evening completely unwound from the cares of the workaday world. And keep in mind, I've only described a tiny bit of what the Black Hills National Forest has to offer. At 1.2 million acres, you'll never run out of places to investigate here.

The Black Hills is truly a glorious spectacle to explore and it's easy to see why people fall in love with it. I'm thinking here especially of the Lakota, who were promised this land as long as the rivers should flow. This wasn't some idle pledge undertaken by nameless bureaucrats, but guaranteed in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, authorized by the President and Congress.

A Fair Division of Labor

Quite a ways up the trail, where the elevation starts to change dramatically, we met a young man and woman, obviously backpackers going to do some primitive camping. We noticed that the woman carried an enormous load on her back, including all of the bedding and the pots, pans and cookstove. The man carried an anemic little pouch, perhaps containing a bag of potato chips. This led to some amusing discussions between my companion and me on what constitutes a fair division of labor.

But when gold was uncovered in the Hills, the Federal Government yet again found it convenient to try to forget about the law. While our much older Constitution is continually held in high regard as inviolate, the Treaties of 1851 and 1868 seem to have been broken whenever convenient. I can't be sure that Black Elk would be happy or not that the wilderness area in the Black Hills National Forest is named after him.

• Federal
  • Chippewa National Forest
  • Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
  • Forest Service Map Orders
  • National Register of Historic Places
  • Superior National Forest
  • U.S. Forest Service
  
  
• State
  • State of Minnesota Tourism
  • South Dakota State Parks Homepage
  • State of South Dakota Travel and Tourism
  
  
• Municipal
  • City of Rapid City
  
  
• Other Interesting Sites
  • Black Hills Parks and Forests Association
  • Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868
  • Supreme Court Decision of 1980
  • Sylvan Lake
  • Trails Illustrated^® plastic topo maps