119.1 miles
Distance
15,727 ft
Climb
-16,736 ft
Descent
1 mile
High Point

Marking the 100th anniversary of statehood, 1889 to 1989, the 111-mile Centennial Trail represents the diversity of South Dakota. The Trail begins in Wind Cave National Park near Hot Springs skirting lakes and streams as it climbs into the Black Hills high country, before it crosses the prairie grasslands as it reaches Bear Butte State Park.

Detailed Description
Black Hills Centennial Trail is a 119 mile popular expert route located near Hot springs South Dakota. This hike primary route and has a hard overall physical rating. This route includes 11 trails. This route climbs 15,727 ft with a max elevation of 5,874 ft then descends -16,736 ft.
Route Supporters
Local Trail Association
Please consider joining or donating to the local riding association to support trail development & maintenance.
donate to earn trail karma!

9 Reviews & Comments

  • + 0
fatbottomgirl (Oct 7, 2022 at 12:07)
Rode north from parking area by interstate for 7 miles and then rode back. Excellent!
[Reply]
  • + 0
fatbottomgirl (Oct 7, 2022 at 11:50)
The climb and descent distances are not correct for this trail. These may be correct for out and back, but not for a one way ride. Distance seems correct for one way.
[Reply]
  • + 0
fatbottomgirl (Sep 25, 2022 at 19:28)
Rode from Elk Creek TH south for 9 mi. and then back. Better to start at Elk Creek TH if out and back. Better to start at Dalton Lake if you have a shuttle. Good, fun ride with plenty of climbing, fun descents and nice scenery.
[Reply]
  • + 1
Larrycollins (Jul 20, 2020 at 10:21)
Rode this trail yesterday from Dalton Lake TH to Elk Creek TH and back to Dalton Lake TH....great out and back. Highly recommend!!
[Reply]
  • + 1
Larrycollins (Jul 20, 2020 at 10:19)
Rode from Elk Creek TH towards Alkali Creek TH but bailed at Rattle Snake Ride and came back to Elk Creek TH via the Dams area trails. IMO riding Elk Creek -> Alkali TH is the best direction.
[Reply]
  • + 1
krankypants (Jul 1, 2020 at 5:56)
Agree with SeattlePV, not a great MTB route, lots of double track. I would avoid this if you are looking for singletrack.
[Reply]
  • + 0
SeattlePV (May 31, 2020 at 20:13)
The description of this trail is no longer accurate. It is almost all fire road or logging road now. There was a large fire in one section, and they appear to be taking down beetle-killed trees in others. There is about a 1 mile stretch from the iron creek trailhead that is single track, and that's about it. Generally easy riding now.
[Reply]
  • + 0
Dogl0rd (Nov 19, 2019 at 16:17)
Is pre'ey gid
[Reply]
  • + 0
Darcielynne (Oct 5, 2018 at 17:36)
Highly recommended! Very scenic, fast and flowy with just the right amount of rocky elevation, best trail in the park !
[Reply]





Login or Sign Up to Comment

Details

  • Riding area
  • Primary Activity
    Hike
  • Other Activities
    • Horse
  • Difficulty rating
    Black Diamond
  • Route Type
    Point to Point
  • Physical rating
    Hard
More Stats for Black Hills Centennial Trail mountain bike route
  • Altitude change
    -1,008 ft
  • Altitude min
    3,180 ft
  • Altitude start
    4,194 ft
  • Altitude end
    3,186 ft
  • Grade
    -0.2%
  • Grade max
    -47.5%
  • Grade min
    80.6%
  • Distance climb
    53 miles
  • Distance down
    56 miles
  • Distance flat
    10 miles
no votes yet
close
3D
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Inadequate
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches

Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
disable
Only show trails with NO bikes.
enable

Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.

Save
Trail transparency
92
71
42
48
Alkali to Elk Creek
Alkali to Elk Creek
3:40 | 690 | comments: 0 | favs:
Sep 16, 2018

Recent Trail Reports Along Route

statustraildateconditiondescription
Trail 89 - Pilot Knob TH - Deer Creek TH
Sep 7, 2022 @ 11:29am
Sep 7, 2022
One tree down about half mile south of pilot knob TH. otherwise clear. Trail in good shape
Centennial Trail #89
Aug 20, 2022 @ 10:56am
Aug 20, 2022
Large tree down across trail, blocking trail
Trail 89 - Deer Creek TH - Rapid Creek TH
Aug 18, 2022 @ 9:01am
Aug 18, 2022
Very overgrown in sections with limited visibility.
Centennial Trail #89
Jul 1, 2022 @ 6:25am
Jul 1, 2022
CT89 - Boxelder to Pilot Knob
Jun 16, 2022 @ 7:57am
Jun 16, 2022
nothing blocking your route, lots of muddle puddles, but easy to avoid
more reports »
  • By chuktA TRAILFORKS NFTA Map Team & contributors
  • #35361 - 288 views