Iron Creek Arch

The Iron Creek Arch is located in Spearfish Canyon off Iron Creek Trail. This was a very hard hike and I consider it kind of dangerous. There is a lot of loose rocks, a steep hill to climb, and lots of places where rattle snakes could be hiding. We did this hike in the fall and it really tired us out. With little information on the location of this arch, we ended up climbing all the way to the top of the hill on some very hard inclines. After checking lots of different rock formations, we finally found it on the way down.

A couple of things to note - we found a lot of mines in the area, which may be tempting to check out, but these are privately owned and should be left alone. The climb up to the arch was very hard, but coming down was worse. On more than one occasion, we started a small rock slide which could endanger anyone below. There really is no real trail to the arch, and it is easy to miss. Once again the rattlesnakes could be anywhere, but we were on so many rocks and sometimes with little control.

The trail to the arch is on the Iron Creek Trail between about .40 to .50 of a mile in. If you get to the somewhat of a trail with a rope going up the hill, you are in the wrong spot. That is the way we went up, and it is not correct. Once you start climbing the hill, you hit a lot of rocks and then eventually a rock formation wall about 5 feet tall. This was hard coming down - not sure about going up it. You keep going up and will eventually see a ridge appear on your right. Once you climb on the ridge, you will see the arch below you.

The arch has a fragile section in the middle, and looks like it could break very easily. Do not climb on it at all. Please respect the area and the arch. I do not recommend this hike for young kids, pets, or anyone not in good shape. Once again I consider this a dangerous hike for several reasons. Use extreme caution.