When I lived in the Black Hills I was lucky to have plenty of skiing opportunities to help get me through the winter. There were two downhill areas just outside of Lead, a small one at Deer Mountain and a larger area with four lifts at Terry Peak. I probably never would have tried downhill skiing if it wasn’t for having these two areas so close by. But my main winter outdoor pursuit was cross country skiing, which I’d enjoyed since college. The hills offered with two groomed cross country areas, several marked trail systems, and almost unlimited opportunities for exploring off trail.
The
Deer Mountain ski area also including a modest cross-country ski trail network.
Because it was so close, it was the area I visited most often. I could ski
after work even after dark, if I brought
my headlamp. The ski area groomed the trails. Later Jim or Brian Brown from the
ski club would also do some grooming. There was a citizen’s race sponsored by
the local ski club most weekends. These races alternated between Deer Mountain
and the BHNF Big Hill Trails outside of Spearfish. The club even had a snowshoe
race and a ski/snowshoe biathlon at Deer Mountain.
I
started skiing as soon as I moved to the Black Hills in February 1987. My first
cross-country trip was 3-28-87 at Deer Mountain. The next winter, skiing started
up in December. I got some early trips into Big Hill and Eagle Cliff, but much
of my skiing was still at Deer Mountain. At the 1988 Spearfish Challenge I won
a pair of skating skis in the raffle, and started entering the local races
regularly. My last trip before leaving the Black Hills was to ski at the Deer
Mountain Trails, then being maintained by the Brown’s.
I
included a description of the Deer Mountain trails in the first edition of my
guide because they were so important to the cross-country community. But by the
time of the second edition, I was living away from the hills, and less able to
keep in touch with changes in trail systems. So, I decided to eliminate the
Deer Mountain trails from the second edition of the guide to avoid becoming out
of date with my information.
The
Deer Mountain ski area closed in 2017, after 50 years of operation. I don’t
know how long the cross-country ski trails stayed open. The area is now planned
for a second home development, but time will tell if that effort is successful.
A slightly updated description of the loop from the first edition of my guide is below.
DEER MOUNTAIN CROSS
COUNTRY SKI TRAILS (Area now closed)
Description: An easy cross country
ski tour on groomed trails. Deer Mountain was a private ski area, and charged a
fee for trail users.
General
Location:
Three miles south of Lead, SD.
Access: Drive three miles
southwest of Lead on US Highways 85 and 14A. There is now no public access to
this area.
Distance: A three mile loop.
Maps: Deer Mountain Cross Country and Touring Trail Map, USGS Lead, SD 7.5 minute quadrangle.
Many Black Hills skiers got their
introduction to cross country on the trail system at Deer Mountain. Groomed
trails, deep set tracks, and the gentle terrain along the railroad grade were
ideal for novices and for those looking to polish their diagonal stride.
The
cross country trails started to the right of the ski lodge at the upper parking
lot. The loop was best skied counterclockwise to break up the long climb back
to the trailhead.
The Deer Mountain Trail starts with
two sharp drops before making a fast run down into Campground Meadow. After 0.9
mile at the bottom of the meadow, turn left back up the meadow staying on the
Deer Mountain Trail. After 1.5 miles reach the Railroad Grade Trail and turn
left onto the grade. At 1.7 miles turn left off the grade onto the Golden
Reward Trail. From this intersection ambitious skiers can add an additional 1.6
miles to the loop by continuing on the Railroad Grade Trail and then returning
via the ungroomed Buck Ridge Trail.
To return to the parking area from
the beginning of the Golden Reward Trail, turn left at the junction of the
Golden Reward and Buck Ridge Trails. At
2.1 miles, turn right onto the Deer Mountain trail and climb steadily back to
the start.
The former Deer Mountain Cross Country Ski Trails in yellow.
