South Dakota Hiking
Badlands Traverse
Centennial Trail
Centennial Trail
Badlands National Park
Pre hike meal at the chicken finger stand in the town of Scenic. We would visit this town again later about 50 miles into the walk
Halfway through day one
Climbing the first pass west of "The Castle"
There are six major passes on the Badlands Traverse which goes from Ben Reifel VC to White River VC (80 miles one way)
We carried what we believed to be enough water to reach the town of Scenic, where there is a pump at the post office to refill the containers
With heavy packs and muddy conditions day one was the shortest and we camped on some dry ground east of Conata
Sunset from above camp
On day two there was a clear path leading to the Deer Haven area from the Conata picnic area
Climbing above Deer Haven
Thumbs up as we found a way down into the valley
Sage Creek camp
Warmest night on the trip, the temperatures ranged from 30F to 70F in early May
Matt on a ridgeline in southwest Sage Creek. This section hurt the most with repeated climbs up the pinnacles and no clear way down the other side
We reached the town of Scenic by late afternoon and said goodbye to Matt
Scott and I took a break, then continued to the Pine Ridge section of the park to complete the final thirty miles
We felt strong after filling up on burgers and eggrolls at the convenience store, making it over Sheep Mountain by sunset
Pronghorn in the grasslands section of the park, the second fastest animal on earth behind the cheetah
Curious wild horses near Cactus Flats, they kept inching closer as I was looking at the map
Scott climbing Stronghold Table
We got lucky finding ways over the final two passes on the first try
We thought getting through Stronghold by nightfall would be a good, yet we had already reached the area by midday
With the aforementioned good luck, we decided to finish the walk to White River VC. We went along the road as the light faded to avoid stepping on holes/cactus
There are also shorter walks in the Badlands with trails located near the Ben Reifel VC in the eastern section of the park, such as a walk to Castle pictured above
The Door and Notch trails also start in the same area from a parking lot on the eastern side
Centennial Trail Black Hills
The Centennial is South Dakota's longest trail starting in Wind Cave National Park and ending near the town of Sturgis. A beautiful fall hike and one that I would probably reserve for when the temperature is cooler due to longer water carries
Several bison encounters on the first day in the rolling hills of Wind Cave
Depending on time constraints, a cave tour is a good way to start or end the walk. The well-formed boxwork ceilings are unique to this area
The sun came out as I reached Custer State Park and stayed with me for the remainder of the walk
Legion Lake
Camp on the first night near Legion Lake Lodge, where I had dinner and breakfast and resupplied with snacks
Overview Map
The official trail end is in Bear Butte State Park, an additional ten miles from where I ended the walk in the town of Sturgis
The walk took five days using somewhat expensive transport to and from the Rapid City Airport. I got a Lyft to Wind Cave and used the local airport transport service for the return drive from Sturgis. I resupplied food as I went picking up snacks at Legion Lake (limited) and Nemo Merchantile (larger grocery store). I also had meals at Legion Lake, Mount Rushmore, and Sugar Shack
The trail goes alongside Mount Rushmore, a two mile side trip from the Black Elk Wildernerss Area
Morning sun from a ridge north of Samelias Peak
Heading down to Sheridan Lake
Would bring some flavoring for the water, the lakes are all popular fishing spots and the water is hard to drink. I found myself paying for water in the towns
Elk Creek Canyon
Lucky break at Elk Creek, an organization keeps water here for hikers. Elk Creek looks like a reliable water source on the map and I was depending on it. After doing some research post-hike, I found that there is a thirty mile section with no water from Dalton Lake to Sturgis/Alkali Creek Campground. For water sources, I used were Legion Lake, Mount Rushmore, Sheridan Lake, Pactola Lake, Sugar Shack (restaurant in Merritt), Nemo Mercantile, Dalton Lake, and this monitored cache at Elk Creek
The final morning leaving the Black Hills for Sturgis