Open in App
Get this trail on your phone instantly.
more stats
8.6 miles
Distance
728 ft
Climb
-1,497 ft
Descent
01:36:01
Avg time
-769 ft
Altitude change
3,836 ft
Altitude min
4,654 ft
Altitude max
4,627 ft
Altitude start
3,858 ft
Altitude end
-1.7%
Grade
-59.1%
Grade max
33.7%
Grade min
3 miles
Distance climb
5 miles
Distance down
1 mile
Distance flat
01:36:01
Avg time
Foster Gulch Details
-
Activities
- Mountain Bike
- Winter Fat Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
-
Riding AreaStorm Mountain Trails
Rapid City, South Dakota -
Difficulty Rating
-
Local Popularity40 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 5 in Trail Running
- 40 in Hiking
- 5 in Winter Fat Biking
-
Global Ranking
-
State Ranking#159 in Mountain Biking · South Dakota [+]
- #405 in Trail Running
- #329 in Hiking
- #3 in Winter Fat Biking
-
Trail TypeSingletrack
-
Bike TypeAM, XC, Fat
-
Climb DifficultyBlack Diamond
-
Physical RatingHard
-
SeasonYear Round
-
Dogs AllowedYes
-
eBike Allowed
-
TTFs on TrailDrop, Ladder Bridge, Rock Face, Rock Garden
-
Land OwnerUS Forest Service
The Foster Gulch Trail is truly a gem for a trail in the Black Hills. This trail has world class scenery and winds through technical, rocky terrain. The Hayward-Battle Creek Fire burned through this zone in 2002. A must do trail for advanced riders. This trail is point to point so many folks will shuttle this one.
The way it gets used is usually from north to south but it goes either direction. It is possible to connect with the Washington Trail and take the South Rockerville Road back to where you parked.
Access Info
Park at the old CCC Stairs trail head located about 1/2 mile west of the Coon Hollow Trail Head on Silver Mountain Road or at Coon Hollow Trail Head and back track the standard Storm Mountain Trail to the old two track road at the bottom of the Pet Cemetery Trail. To shuttle this trail park on SD-40 at the Battle Creek Trail Head located about 1/2 mile west of Rushmore Cave. Some people park just south of US-16 where the trail crosses the highway shortening the length of the outing.
This trail is unsanctioned.
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
Recent Activity on Trail
Past Week
- 1 rides
- 20 miles average
6 Months
- 4 rides
- 15 miles avg distance
All
- 21 rides
- Last: Oct 2, 2026
| c1 | c2 | c3 | c4 |
|---|---|---|---|
January | February | March | April |
May | June | July | August |
September | October | November | December |
Foster Gulch Trail Reports
more »
close
3D
Trail Conditions
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users activity logs 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 users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last Used
Trailforks scans activity logs 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 activity logs 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 activities = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
Radar Time
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Winter Trails
Warning
A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where users jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
BC Backroad Status
![map legend]()
Service Road Atlas is a free to use, community-driven service for viewing and creating reports on the numerous back-country service roads around B.C. and Alberta.
Slope Aspect
Direction the slope faces
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
Only show trails with no bike usage.
Suggested Layers
Based on selected activity type
Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.
Save
Directions to foster-gulch trailhead
(43.942670, -103.373970)
Photos
32 more »
Videos
no videos have been added for Foster Gulch yet, add a video.
9 Reviews & Comments
WaylonsQDTd
No trees down on the section from storm mountain to the highway, but very hard to follow the trail at the top. The top section of foster gulch is very fun and flowy. Easy climbing with fun downhill sections. Trail is hard to follow in spots so keeping your phone charged with trail forks ready is helpful. The tech section towards the bottom is some of the best in the hills. There was one tree down on the flat section right before the narrow ridge begins. Keep an eye out for rattlesnakes as we did see one right before you drop into the technical section of trail.
lug-wrench
All mowed and cleared. No mud, no eroded trenches, no humans. Just old school hard single track. Perfect fall riding.
keyul
Fun trail but a bit overgrown and difficult to follow on some spots. Lots of rocks to strike your pedals in the tall grass so watch your feet. I also had to climb over a barn wire fence around mile 6.2 where the trail does a U turn and then drops down. Had to cross over one more fence at mile 7.9 along the narrow ridge. Numerous cows along the double track, I’m guessing this is why the fences are currently up. There is one 90° Right Turn that is a bit overgrown and easy to miss by the prospectors
We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!
Create a FREE account to view all trail reviews and much more.
Nearby Trails
- Foster Gulch Connector 2,566 ft
- Fs 719 3,796 ft
- Sm #11 - #12 3,842 ft
- Pet Cemetery 3,855 ft
- Ccc Stairs Trail 3,885 ft
Storm Mountain Trails
- #117783 - 5,978 views
- Follow/Subscribe
- login to download gpx or kml files.
Hit the Trail
Download Trail
Save to wishlist, Garmin & download.
Find Related Routes
Find routes and users activities that include this trail.
You must enter a description before submitting.