Foggy Trail to Black Elk Peak, Black Hills, South Dakota

Dirt hiking trail ascending through misty coniferous forest in Black Hills, South Dakota.
Dirt hiking trail ascending through misty coniferous forest in Black Hills, South Dakota.

Black Elk Peak, formerly named Harney Peak, rises to 7,244 feet in South Dakota's Black Hills, making it the highest natural point in the state and in the United States east of the Rockies. The summit trail climbs through stands of ponderosa pine, birch, and spruce before reaching a stone lookout tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The peak carries deep spiritual meaning for the Lakota people, tied to Black Elk's recorded vision of the mountain as the center of the world. It sits within Custer State Park and the Black Elk Wilderness, drawing hikers year-round on a route that gains roughly 1,100 feet over its final approach.

Taken July 2019

Photo Part Of
South Dakota
Badlands, Black Hills, and Custer State Park across multiple trips
26 photos
Black Elk Peak
Trails, fog, and the 1938 CCC stone tower at South Dakota's highest summit in the Black Hills
10 photos
Custer State Park
Bison along Wildlife Loop Road, granite spires on the Needles Highway, and trails to Black Elk Peak in the Black Hills
36 photos
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