This hike in the heart of Wind Cave National Park combines two trails to make a 5-mile loop, and the two couldn’t be any more different. Centennial Trail takes you through lush meadows, and a rocky canyon lined with pine, while Lookout Point Trail experiences the wide open spaces of the South Dakotan prairie. Centennial follows the path of Beaver Creek through the canyon. Then, watch for wildlife on Lookout Point trail including prairie dogs, bison and pronghorn. My brother Dave and I hiked this combined loop on Friday, May 25, 2018 beginning about 6:30AM and finishing at 10:15AM. Our plan was to circuit the loop clockwise, starting on Centennial and finishing up with Lookout Point.

Centennial Trail was built in 1989 to mark the 100th anniversary of South Dakota’s statehood. It is 111-miles total length that will take you through prairies and mountainous areas. The trail begins at Bear Butte State Park, travels through the Fort Mead Recreation Area, Black Hills National Forest, Custer State Park and ends in Wind Cave National Park. It was this latter, southern end, where Dave and I picked up the trail.

From the trailhead, Centennial Trail (#6) starts in the forest and descends steeply about 140 feet into a fresh, grassy meadow that on this morning was covered with a heavy coating of dew. Almost immediately, as we popped into the open, we were greeted by a white-tailed deer scampering across the meadow. She paused for a moment to check us out, and allow a picture, then continued her bounding journey up the hillside on the opposite side of the canyon.

The canyon that surrounds Centennial Trail has been carved by Beaver Creek. Don’t think of it like the slot canyons in Utah with narrow chutes and high walls. This is a wide U-shaped canyon with tall stone outcrops and ponderosa forest that stands 100 feet on either side. The creek is small, no more than 5-6 feet wide, and meanders gently through the center of the grassy meadows.

The canyon, and therefore the trail, twists and turns around and through the high outcroppings thereby presenting surprises and new meadows around each corner. There are a handful of wooden foot bridges that cross Beaver Creek. It was the dew that got our feet wet… not the creek.

Because of our early start just past dawn, we were chasing the sun around every corner. The grasses and wildflowers were waking up to the morning brightness and warmth as the dew glistened from the verdure tips. We found bluebells and larkspur, shooting stars and ragwort. The water in the creek is fresh and clear, assuring the lush meadows will be nourished.

Just as we would pop into the bright sunshine, so too would we enter shady areas with ponderosa canopies and cool air emanating from the flowing stream. It was, to put it simply, an absolutely delightful morning, our best at Wind Cave.

Moving from the shadows into the light.

At about the two mile mark you reach a trail junction at the last creek crossing. Centennial Trail continues up the hill and on for another 109 miles to northern South Dakota. You want to get on Highland Creek Trail (#7) at this point, for just about a quarter mile, until it reaches another junction with Lookout Point Trail (#4). Take a right turn (to the south) on Lookout Point Trail at the second junction and you will stay on it for the remainder of this hike.

When you turn onto Lookout Point Trail, it begins a moderate climb for about a half mile through the pine forest and back up to the ridge level. When you clear the forest, voilà, you are on the prairie. You did put on sunscreen and a hat didn’t you? Because you won’t get any more shade as you cross the prairie.

The trail now turns in a westerly direction, so the morning sun is behind you, and you’re no longer staring right into the brightness like you do in the canyon. It’s breezy. There is a near-constant wind over the wide open plains. Better tighten your hat strap under your chin.

The flowers are different now too. They are less the ephemeral varieties, and more of the small shrubs and herbs like milkvetch.

After about a half mile on the prairie you begin to hear it. It starts as quiet chirps, then as you continue it evolves into a chorus, and then a crescendo as you walk right through prairie dog town. These little guys really give it their all to warn their friends and siblings that big ole human interlopers are in the neighborhood. They really put a lot into it. With each chirp, their tails bob up and down, like cranking a water pump. It’s humorous to watch.

The trail winds among rolling hills on the plains, and the prairie dog town seemingly goes on for a mile. We happened upon one lone bison grazing on a hill to the south of us. I wondered when the bison run across the grassland if they ever step into the myriad of prairie dog holes and injure themselves. Maybe they just don’t run as much as we see on TV.

The rolling plains are home to prairie dogs, bison, and pronghorn.

Most of the other hikers we saw on this day we passed on the prairie. They had started later than us, and were headed the other direction. Probably there were others behind us as well that we just never saw because we were on the same pace. Even on a Friday in June, we mostly had these trails to ourselves. I think most of the Wind Cave visitors are going underground to see the caverns. That means more solitude for those of us who like to explore above ground.

After about two miles of crossing the prairie, the trail makes a decidedly northern turn and heads for home along the final half mile. There’s a dip into a narrow barranca with a different creek and scrubby vegetation, then a final climb back up to the original starting point in the ponderosa forest.

In summary, this moderate hike of just over five miles was, to us, the most enjoyable of the three hikes we did in Wind Cave National Park. It offers a good overview of all that the park’s above ground trails have to offer, including rolling plains, verdant meadows, wildlife and wildflowers, and a sense of grand expanse. I would recommend this hike for your entire family.

By the way, there is no requirement within Wind Cave to remain on designated trails. So, if you happen upon an area that you deem worthy of extra exploration, feel free to blaze your own path.

I don’t normally promote businesses in my trail reports, but Dave and I had such an excellent experience at the Econolodge in Custer that I had to mention it. The staff that works there are all super friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. We stayed with them for six nights and were completely satisfied. The price is very reasonable and the amenities are all that we needed. If you’re staying in Custer, SD I highly recommend the Econolodge.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Located in the remote northern corner of Wind Cave National Park, Boland Ridge Trail crosses the wide open prairie, then a series of ridge climbs offer panoramic views of the Black Hills, the Red Valley, and the western South Dakota plains beyond. Because of the isolated nature, elk and bison are often seen along this trail. In fact, we had to cut this one about a mile short because of bison on the trail. My brother Dave and I hiked Boland Ridge Trail on Thursday, May 24, 2018 beginning about 10:00AM and finishing at 12:30PM. Our plan was to go to the end of the trail and turn around, but two groups of bison made it difficult to pass, so we stopped short.

As you drive the dirt roads through the heart of Wind Cave National Park, keep your eyes peeled for wildlife. Just in the few miles between Rankin Ridge and the Boland Ridge trailhead we saw pronghorn and buffalo grazing on the vast prairie. Keep your ears open too for the chirping sound made by the prairie dogs. Oh, and please don’t run over them with your car. They will come out on the roads.

The Boland Ridge trailhead is in kind of an odd place. It’s simply out in the middle of the prairie, miles from anywhere. There’s a sign there and a few parking places off the side of the road, otherwise it’s just as nondescript as the rest of the grassland.

For the first half mile the trail traverses the prairie, crossing a small creek once. There is an old trough by the creek, perhaps formerly used by cattle ranchers. The only grazing these days is by the wild animal variety.

This area is called the Red Valley, and you can see for miles in every direction. They call Montana Big Sky country, but you get the same effect here on the South Dakota plains. You can see from horizon to horizon.

There are two small hills to be climbed, each of about 200 feet elevation gain, neither particularly steep. On this day in late May there was a variety of wildflowers including phlox and puccoon.

The pines that line the ridges here were unfortunately damaged by a grassland wildfire that swept the area in 2010. Amazingly the pine needles did not burn, but they all turned an orangish/brown hue that detracts from otherwise delightful natural beauty. Black scars are a sign of the flames that licked the tree trunks.

As we topped the second ridge the wide expanse of the rolling hills came in to view. So too did an obstruction just 50 yards away, right in the middle of the trail. A small family of bison was grazing right where we were headed. There were six right in front of us, and another two about a hundred yards farther away. They didn’t seem threatening, but we certainly didn’t plan on walking right through them.

The trail curved right through this small herd of bison.

To our left was a small hill that would take us safely around the bison, while also offering a nice view of our surroundings. There also happened to be some nice rocks at the top of the hill, perfect for sitting, and a great opportunity to change to longer lenses on our cameras. We even found some rocks under a pine tree that made a perfect lunch spot.

As we photographed the bison and enjoyed our sandwiches, we looked ahead toward the next ridge on the trail. There was a dip into a small valley, then another climb back up to the level where we were. And… there were more bison over there too!

It was looking like if we wanted to hike to the end of Boland Ridge Trail that we would have to continue mingling amongst the giant mammals that outweighed us by ten times. Discretion became the better part of valor, and we decided it was best to just cut this hike short and be content with what we had seen so far.

The return was easier as it was mostly downhill. Even more flowers were popping out now as we entered afternoon, and there were several golf and tennis ball sized mushrooms growing on the prairie grass.

When we got back to the car we decided to continue out park road #6 northward where it enters the adjacent Custer State Park. To our right was a family of pronghorn, totally oblivious to our presence. The wildlife around Wind Cave are very accustomed to people.

In summary, this moderate hike of three to five miles will give you a good idea what the above ground terrain of Wind Cave National Park is all about. They say there are usually elk here. We didn’t see any on this day, but we sure got a treat with bison and pronghorn. Because of the remote nature of this trail, you are very likely to have it all to yourself.

I don’t normally promote businesses in my trail reports, but Dave and I had such an excellent experience at the Econolodge in Custer that I had to mention it. The staff that works there are all super friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. We stayed with them for six nights and were completely satisfied. The price is very reasonable and the amenities are all that we needed. If you’re staying in Custer, SD I highly recommend the Econolodge.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

When you’re looking to get a good overview of the “above ground” features of Wind Cave National Park, what better way than to climb to the highest point. Fortunately, that’s easy to do with the Rankin Ridge Nature Trail. This one-mile loop takes you to an old retired fire tower with views into the Black Hills and as far away as The Badlands. Watch for wildlife and wildflowers along the way. My brother Dave and I hiked Rankin Ridge Trail on Thursday, May 24, 2018 beginning about 8:30AM and finishing at 9:15AM. This was a nice tuneup for a longer hike later in the morning.

Rankin Ridge Trail Map

We stopped at the Visitor Center for Wind Cave National Park to talk with a friendly ranger about above ground hiking recommendations. Since this was our first visit to the park, he suggested three, to get our feet wet. Boland Ridge in the far reaches of the park and known for wildlife, the Lookout Point/Centennial loop in the heart of the park, and this one that features access to a fire tower at the highest point in the park, and therefore offers a good overview of all that surrounds the ridge.

We chose to do Rankin Ridge first. It’s easy to get to and on the way to Boland Ridge. Plus it’s only a mile loop.

The trailhead is a short drive up a hill off Hwy 87 in the northern part of the park. It starts deep in the woods, in a pine forest, and climbs gently to the ridge. We were treated immediately, just past the trailhead, to a wealth of wildflowers including bluebells and pink shooting stars. I’ve seen white shooting stars before, in the Smokies, but these were my first pink ones.

Soon, there are views to the north through the trees of the craggy Black Hills in the distance. Some of those crags would be on our hiking agenda later in the week. As we approached the ridge line, the terrain got rockier. A summer intern project had done a nice job years ago building a stone stairway through the outcrops.

As we topped the ridge the wide expanse of the South Dakotan horizon came in to view. Far in the distance to the east is Buffalo Gap, a natural pass through the mountains in this area. Beyond that, even farther east, we could just make out the Badlands area where we had been the days before.

There’s a fire tower at the high point, still climbable. Far below there was a lone bison grazing amidst the pine forest. From this perch we could see the vast prairies, one of which would be our next hike, the canyon area we would be hiking the next day, and the forest that is intermingled amongst it all.

The return to the car is a simple stroll down the old dirt road that used to carry the park rangers to the fire tower when it was still in use.

This short nature trail was a good recommendation by the park ranger. It helped us get a good feel for the lay of the land that makes up Wind Cave National Park. This is typical western South Dakota — with prairie, hills and forest. Most people come to Wind Cave for the massive caverns found below ground. Don’t cheat yourself, however, by not exploring the fantastic scenery that is also found above.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.