What an amazing adventure that lies within the Hell Canyon Trail (Trail #32), south of Custer. This trail is a 5.3 mile loop. If taken in the Spring, the beauty that lingers among the flowers, trees, and animals is incredible. There is also a 0.3 mile spur trail that will take you to an overlook. The entire trail sits between 5,000 and 6,000 feet in elevation.
In 2000 the Jasper Fire burned Hell Canyon Trail entirely. The remains and regrowth of this fire are very evident for the entire hike, as well as along the drive through this area of South Dakota. The fire burnt over 83,000 acres in a very short time. The cause of the fire was established to be from arson. In looking at the damage to this canyon and its surroundings, the reminder to practice fire safety hopefully seems only obvious and essential.
Who should hike on the Hell Canyon Trail?
The trail is available for hiking, horseback, and bicycles. You cannot take motorized vehicles on this trail. A small portion of this trail is a bit of a climb, but overall this is a very easy hike. The views from the fire, and also the natural beauty of the Black Hills will make excellent keepsakes in your photo albums or hanging on your walls. This hike can be finished in only a couple of hours or can be stretched to an all day event. The overall relatively flat terrain make this a great hike for children of all ages.
A friendly reminder to hikers, especially those in the Southern hills, storms can build and arrive quickly so hike prepared!
If you want to spend a full day exploring in the Black Hills, you could easily follow this hike with Sunday Gulch, Black Elk Peak, or Cathedral Spires.
For the most part had a good hike on 4/19/14, until I got to the northern end of the trail, then lost the trail and ended up following a cow path. fortunately found the forestry road and followed that to the outlook and then found the trail again and hiked back to the trailhead. Please look at checking the trailmarkers and having some replaced or put in.
Other than that, was a good day and a great trip. thank You.
What a wonderful hike! I agree though, more markings would be great on this hike, as well as with many hikes within the Black Hills. I would love to get involved with making that happen. I’m glad you enjoyed the hike and thanks for the comment!
I went there to today the first time and I got really creeped out I got some wood and stuff some at charred wood and I seen that irregular growth in the trees with weird and it was quite as hell like I was in a bubble no animals and I felt like someone was watching me and it’s just that the name of the place is starting to creep out it was everything
Say that I didn’t enjoy it and it was beautiful and I had a good time there I just felt a feeling of total uneasiness in which I could not explain and I was raised in the Black Hills so it’s not just some tourist getting creeped out
Hell canyon was a great hike. Beautiful views that just kept on coming at every turn. We hiked it in a clockwise direction to get the climb out of the way early. The scenery change from the top half to the lower return trail was drastic, and seemed like two different worlds. It was a totally awesome adventure I would highly recommend.