The Summer Hiking Trail Challenge at Custer State Park has begun. The trails on this summer's challenge are below. My husband and I did the 8 trails in 2 days and it would make for a really fun weekend in Custer State Park. Go to the visitor’s center to pick up the information and maps. A couple of things we noted.
You have to bring your own writing utensil. The park does not supply any.
We saw 2 medallions on the Creekside Trail. We were not sure which one was correct, so we copied both of them.
The park only gives you one piece of paper to copy the medallions. It is set up for only 6 medallions. You will need to ask for another piece of paper since there are 8 ( 9 ) medallions.
Check the maps before you begin so you know which group of hikes to do together so you are not driving back and forth through the park.
Legion Lake Trail -
Legion Lake Trail is an easy scenic trail that is about 1 mile long and circles Legion Lake. The trail starts at the lake and is an easy hike for the family.
Cairn Trail -
The Cairn Trail is the newest trail in Custer State Park and it takes you above the Coolidge General Store and gives you a bird’s eye view of the surrounding area. The trail is a shorter trail but it does go up for quite a bit until you get to the top. The trail is a good one for the kids if you want them to get exercise. When doing the trail we continued to the top to get a better view and then came back down to continue the trail.
Creekside Trail -
The Creekside Trail is a hard-surfaced trail that goes between the Grace Coolidge Campground and the Visitor’s Center. The trail is very simple, is about 2.5 miles one way, and passes the State Game Lodge, the Peter Norbeck Visitor’s Center, and the Coolidge General Store.
Barnes Canyon Trail -
Barnes Canyon Trail is a newer trail in Custer State Park and it goes between Wildlife Loop Rd and Badger Clark Road. The hike follows an old road trail, and is a little over 5 miles one way. The cool thing on this trail was we saw 3 elk ( hard to ever see ) and some buffalo near the trail. For the most part there is nothing special about the trail, and we saw very few people on it.
Centennial Trail (South from Iron Creek Trailhead located on HWY 87N)-
Part of the Centennial Trail that is 124 miles long.
Grace Coolidge Walk-in Fish Area Trail -
Grace Coolidge Trail is a 5.8 mile out and back pretty easy trail in Custer State Park. The trail is located right across the road from the Grace Coolidge Campground. The hike follows Grace Coolidge Creek and ends up at Center Lake/Campground. The trail is used for hiking, trail running, walking, and fishing. The trail is really cool and there are several lakes near the trail and lots of small bridges to cross over the creek. The trail is a favorite for kids since there are so many cool places to explore and get wet.
Cathedral Spires Trail -
Cathedral Spirals Trail is a short 3/4 mile one way trail in Custer State Park on the Needles Highway. You can do the trail out and back or meet up with the trail that leads to Black Elk. There is some scrambling to do on this hike and it can get wet and muddy when it rains. The trail goes through the needles and is pretty neat. The parking for this trail is small and around a curve and it can be hard to find a place to park if busy.
Prairie Trail -
Prairie Trail is a trail on the west side of Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park. It claims to be about 3 miles and goes in a loop. We actually tracked it around 2.1 miles. The trail goes through the prairie and the forest and although there wasn’t anything spectacular on this trail, some of the views were pretty and by the creek was nice. While we were there, the buffalo were far off, but there were buffalo chips everywhere. I would use extreme caution if buffalo are near the trail since you are exposed a couple of times in the prairie with no adequate means of cover if needed.
When you get done with the 8 trails be sure to go back to the visitor’s center at Custer State Park to get your free pin. They will want to keep all your sketches of your medallions and get your name and authorize that it had been done. Seemed pretty official when we did it.
