When
Jean and I were preparing for our return to the Black Hills we knew that much
of what we remembered would be changed
from our last visit in 2007. We wanted to spend most of our time around Custer
State Park and were happy to see that the park had added several new trails.
Most of these were short hikes, but at 4.6 miles (one way) Barnes Canyon looked
long enough for a full day hike..jpg)
Elk near the Wildlife Loop Road.
Digging
in deeper, we found that the trail was formerly part of Custer State Park Road
#8. We expected the gravel road had been closed around 2020 due to some type of
blockage for vehicles, but still looked forward to walking it. I had previously
driven, and mountain biked several of the CSP roads, and found them scenic
enough for hiking and wildlife watching.
The
CSP trail map showed the East Trailhead near the park airport, and there we got
our first surprise. Instead of a trailhead near the airport road junction, we
saw a sign directing us out onto the gravel road. We nearly gave up on reaching
the TH, when nearly a mile later we parked in a small lot adjacent to a road
closure gate in a seemingly random spot. But we were eager to set out on the
trail. After the prior day’s crowd on Black Elk Peak and Little Devils Tower,
we expected to have this trail to ourselves.
The
first mile was mostly open prairie. The trail would remain a gravel, two track
surface that would make ideal biking. Once into the trees, conditions were
cooler and shadier. Jean did some wildflower investigation, but we were down to
a sparse summer assemblage. The trail was marked as a buried fiber optic cable
line, so perhaps there were right of way issues leading to the vehicle closure.
The
trail dropped along Dry Creek, which with 2023’s wet spring supported a modest
flow. Near the head of the creek at Lost Mine Draw were five bison taking
advantage of the available water, shade, and grassy meadow. They were reluctant
to vacate such an idyllic spot for two tourists, so we adapted by hiking a wide
loop around the trail and the bison.
Bison grazing along Dry Creek.
On
the next hilltop was the trail’s medallion for the park’s 2023 hiking
challenge. We would come close to completing the challenge in our week in the Hills,
but did not collect the medallion rubbings that would have been needed to
certify our result..JPG)
Bison in mid roll.
At
4.6 miles, in a lush, but shady lunch spot we reached the T-intersection with
the CSP Calkins Draw Horse Trail, leading left and south toward French Creek.
The park’s hiking and horse trails are on separate maps, so you need both maps,
and some figuring, to orient yourself at these junctions. Though our distance
was about right, we were clearly not at the West TH for the Barnes Trail. Knowing
that a right turn would take us toward the Badger Clark section of CSP, we followed
the horse trail and access road that way.
We
climbed over a small hill topped by a wastewater pond, and then walked down the
access road for the pond. At the bottom of the hill a “Trail Closed” sign led
left, so we kept right and headed for the main gravel road (which was the west
end of CSP #8), then turned right again to walk a short spur towards the West Trailhead.
Luckily
for us we arrived just as a pickup pulled in. We queried the driver, who proved
helpful and knowledgeable about trails, and about the Centennial Trail in
particular. As it turned out we’d followed the Barnes Canyon Trail to its end
correctly. It is really 5.1 miles long,
even accounting for the fact that 0.8 mile of the old road on the east side is
not part of the trail.
Cloase up of Dry Creek bison.
Our
guide told us about of his mushroom hunting as he led us back to the trail
closed sign. Just a tenth of a mile past the sign, the trail intersected what was
marked as the Centennial Trail, but is actually just the spur connecting the West
Trailhead to the main CT, near its mile marker 17. After resetting our bearings,
we headed back to the Calkins Draw junction for a cool, shady lunch stop. 
Our Barnes Canyon Map.
The
hike back was uneventful. Not too far along we spotted our guide, up on a ridge
searching for his mushrooms. We encountered our bison friends again, and got
the requisite extra mileage detouring around them.
Jean
and I both liked the trail, but it did seem very much like hiking a closed road
rather than a hiking trail. The interesting features are spread out, so this
would be much more fun riding on a mountain bike. The firm smooth surface would
be a great ride, and there would be the possibility of linking up to rides
toward Legion Lake or French Creek. CSP no longer produces a brochure on
mountain biking in the park, but their gravel road system offers great
potential for easy riding.
Mooching mules on the Wildlife Loop Road.
With
much of the day still ahead we decided to drive the Wildlife Loop Road. But in
the middle of the day, we saw few critters, especially compared the early
morning bounty we were seeing on our morning drives. The Bison Center (which opened
in late 2022) had some great displays, and fits with the park’s bison-centric
marketing scheme. But we were disappointed with the new trails that were
advertised as 1 and 3 miles long in park’s trail brochures, but were actually
only 0.3 and 0.5 miles long. Since a goal of the trip was to determine if it
was feasible to update a third version of my Black Hills and Badlands hiking
guide, I was taking detailed notes on our hikes.
Coyote prowling a prairie dog town.
The
park’s Tatanka Magazine and its hiking brochure seemed poorly put together.
Trails were missing from each, several mileages were wrong, the horse trail
info was missing, and several spur trail were marked on the ground as the main
Centennial Trail. Hopefully, these are a short term glitches that will be
repaired in later editions.
Map of the Bison Center trails.
