Trail: Sylvan Lake Trail
Hike Location: Custer State Park
Geographic Location: south of Hill City, SD (43.84365, -103.56245)
Length: 1 mile
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: September 2000
Overview: A fairly easy, but high-elevation hike around the idyllic Sylvan Lake.
Directions to the trailhead: From Hill City, go south on SR 89 5 miles to the Sylvan Lake campground store and trailhead on the left. Park in the lot closest to the road. The trail begins beside the lake.
The hike: At 6000 feet above sea-level and surrounded by towering granite spikes that reflect in the clear waters, Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park appears as a scene from the Rocky Mountains to the west. The lake, created by a dam on the north end, makes for good fishing, and a small beach on the east side allows for some swimming. The lake is particularly beautiful in the evening when the granite spires cast long shadows over the lake. This trail encircles the lake. The walk is easy except for a small section on the north end of the lake.
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| View north across Sylvan Lake |
From the trailhead on the south end of the lake, turn right and begin hiking counter-clockwise around the lake. With the lake on the left, the trail passes through a marshy area with numerous cattails as it crosses the lake's headwaters. Now on the east side, the trail curves left, passing an intersection with trail #9, which goes right 3 miles to Black Elk Peak (formerly known as Harney Peak), the highest point in the Black Hills. Continue straight through a sparse forest of Ponderosa pines, pass the beach on the left, and arrive at the base of a granite outcrop on the north side of the lake.
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| View of Sylvan Lake from granite outcrop |
The trail assumes a course on bare rock, topping the granite outcrop. When I hiked this trail on a clear evening in late September, shadows from the nearby pines and mountains darkened part of the lake, creating a quiet postcard worthy scene. If you lose your way, go in the general direction of straight ahead to a small crevasse, where the trail goes right to descend the other side of the outcrop. Back on dirt, the rock now lies to your left between the trail and the lake as you reach a junction with the Sunday Gulch Trail, a difficult 2.8 mile loop trail.
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| Natural granite tunnel |
Our trail passes beneath the Sylvan Lake Dam, takes a left turn, and passes through a tunnel in the granite rock to bring the lake back into view. An overlook from atop the dam lies to the left. The remainder of the trail consists of a flat hike on the west side of Sylvan Lake to return you to the trailhead. On your walk, look for Little Devils Tower, a smaller version of the Wyoming landmark, on the skyline to the east.
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