Tech Essence

Tech Essence is one of the more sustained climbs and descents on Lookout Mountain. It’s a fun, technical trail featuring tight corners, steep sections, and rocky challenges. Many locals enjoy the added test of climbing it as well.

The upper section descends through a series of flowy, tight corners and a few steep drops before transitioning into remnants of sandstone outcrops. From there, the trail drops into a drainage shaded by thick stands of ponderosa pine.

Eventually, the trail flattens across one of the area’s many gypsum outcrops, offering a beautiful overlook of the Northern Black Hills. After the viewpoint, riders encounter one more rocky descent before the grade eases out. You’ll pass the white concrete marker of the original Thoen Stone site — a local artifact — before continuing down a mellow, newly built flow section that finishes just above the tunnel leading back to the trailhead.