Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor AdventureNeedles Highway
$25–$50Drive 14 winding miles past granite spires, Sylvan Lake and narrow rock tunnels in the Black Hills of Custer State Park.
Photo: Skye Marthaler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor AdventureHistory Buff
Black Elk Peak
Climb to South Dakota's highest summit, topped by a 1930s stone fire tower with views across the Black Hills.
Trail 9 from Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park · Custer, SD
About Black Elk Peak
Black Elk Peak, at 7,244 feet the highest point in South Dakota, rises in the Black Elk Wilderness of the Black Hills. Most hikers take Trail 9 from Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park, about 7 miles round trip. At the top stands a stone fire lookout completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1938. The peak was renamed in 2016 for Lakota holy man Black Elk, who received his Great Vision here at age nine.
- #hiking
- #summit
- #fire lookout
- #black hills
- #wilderness
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What's around here?
The closest stops to Black Elk Peak, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
1.8 mi awayMore like this
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Mount Rushmore KOA Resort at Palmer Gulch
$50+A KOA campground and lodge near Mount Rushmore with cabins, RV sites, pools and Black Hills activities.
2.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay
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Mount Rushmore National Memorial
No admission feeA National Park Service memorial in the Black Hills with giant carved presidential heads on granite.
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Black Hills Wilderness Edge
$50+ATV and UTV rental outfitter for guided backcountry trail riding near Keystone, South Dakota.
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Black Hills Glass Blowers
No admission feeWorking glass studio near Mount Rushmore where artisans blow and lampwork glass on site.
4.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
- Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor Adventure
Rushmore Tramway Adventures
$25–$50Adventure park near Mount Rushmore with a scenic chairlift, alpine slide, zipline course, and aerial ropes park.
5.5 mi awayMore like this
