The Black Hills

THE BLACK HILLSSTARTER

Dinosaurs, Murals and the Wall

≈ 5,000 steps2.3 mi · about 2 hoursStarter · 3 stops · 500 credStart where you live.

A walk across Rapid City: from the concrete dinosaurs on the ridge above town, down Skyline Drive to the painted walls of Art Alley, then north across Omaha Street to two slabs of the Berlin Wall in Memorial Park. About two and a half kilometres and two hours, all of it free.

THE BLACK HILLSSTANDARD

Four Faces Through the Tunnels

≈ 5,000 steps + 4.0 mi by car2.4 mi on foot · about 3.5 hoursStandard · 4 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

Mount Rushmore head-on from its terrace, then south on the Iron Mountain Road, where Peter Norbeck laid out stone tunnels to frame the carving in the distance, ending at the overlook named for him. A half-day drive of about ten miles; the memorial charges $10 to park and the road is free.

THE BLACK HILLSSTANDARD

The Mountain, the Cave and the Spring

49 mi by carabout 5 hours · + the walk in to 1 stopStandard · 4 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

South through the southern hills: the unfinished face of Crazy Horse from its viewing veranda, the small rock opening that breathes out Wind Cave, the fire tower on the park's highest ridge, then a warm-spring gazebo on the river in Hot Springs. About sixty miles and five hours; Crazy Horse charges admission, the rest is free.

THE BLACK HILLSADVANCED

Gold Camp to the Canyon Falls

≈ 2,500 steps + 46 mi by car1.1 mi on foot · a full day · + the walk in to 1 stopAdvanced · 6 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

A full day in the northern hills: Wild Bill's grave above Deadwood, Seth Bullock's stone tower for Roosevelt, the half-mile-wide hole of the Homestake mine in Lead, then down Spearfish Canyon to three waterfalls. About forty miles by car with two short hikes; the cemetery charges $2 cash and everything else is free.

THE BLACK HILLSADVANCED

The Needles and the High Peak

≈ 4,000 steps + 29 mi by car1.9 mi on foot · 1 day or more · + 2 stretches not routedAdvanced II · 8 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

Two days in and around Custer State Park: the climb from Sylvan Lake to the stone lookout on Black Elk Peak, the Needles Highway and its granite spires and tunnels, then the fire tower on Mount Coolidge, a poet's cabin and a gold-rush stockade. The park charges a $25 vehicle licence for seven days. The Needles Highway and Mount Coolidge road close in winter.