Black Elk Peak Trail — Attraction in Hill City

I started at 10am on trail #9 and went all the way up and looped down on trail #4, which gives views of cathedral spires and little devil's tower. I arrived back at the parking area by 3pm. This is strenuous hike and the air is thin near the top. Bring atleast 2 large bottles of water, a hat,enough snacks like chips and granola bars, and sunscreen is a must! You need to be in decent health to do this hike. Make sure to take your time and go slow and steady. The trail is steep at various parts of #9 & #4, and #4 was slightly difficult because the trail intersects with 2 others and there weren't enough trail markers so i amost got lost and had to repeatedly ask others for directions on where they came from. However, black elk trail gets very rocky and quite steep near the peak lookout tower before the stairs. And that's where you really feel the thin air in your lungs and scary heights. I saw little kids ages 5 to 8 doing this trek, along with older folks with dermination. I didn't see any mountain goats, but i saw one family who rode the whole trail on their horses. If you do the entire loop is about 6 to 7 miles and a slow steady pace lasted 5 hrs for me. By the end of it my feet,thighs, and knees were aching and I was exhausted. I did Crow Peak hike and I knew I could do this one. The views are absolutely beautiful and unbelievably astonishing at every moment. Do this and you won't regret the immense sense of...

The hike to Black Elk Peak - at 7242’, the highest point in South Dakota - is a must-do if you are a hiker and you visit the Sylvan Lake area of Custer State Park. It is a strenuous hike -- about 8 miles with about 1,350' elevation gain -- so take plenty of water and give yourself plenty of time. We are experienced hikers in our 70s and we did the round trip hike in 5 hours 45 minutes. When planning your hike, check the weather forecast as you do not want to be on the trail during a thunderstorm. We did the hike as a loop counterclockwise from the Sylvan Lake parking lot, going up trail #4 and down trail #9. We have also done this hike in the clockwise direction. I think we prefer the counterclockwise direction, as you go up trail #4, which is steeper and more rugged than trail #9, earlier in the day when it is cooler. It is interesting to visit the historic fire lookout at the summit and to enjoy the fantastic, panoramic view in all directions. While we were eating lunch at the summit, we had the pleasure of a mountain goat...

My husband and our two teenage boys did this hike in a little over 4 hours. We aren’t expert hikers but we aren’t newbies either. The other reviews I read were really conflicting so I was really unsure what to expect. I read one person say they did this with their 4 year old in 1.5 hours, that played through my head a lot, especially when I was huffing and puffing. Everyone we encountered was really friendly. There was quite a bit of poison ivy. Our boys like to climb the rocks and explore. There weren’t many opportunities for them to go off trail and explore. But we only stayed on trail 9. The view from the top made it worth going up the never ending stair case. The hike was pretty easy until the last 3/4-1 mile or so, then I would say it became a bit more moderate. And then the stairs pop up at the end for a great grand finale. It is worth the...