Galena Trail, Custer State Park (SD), 5-29-25

Sometimes in hike planning you get lucky. In 2023, after 15 years away, we returned to the Black Hills. We had several favorite hikes we wanted to revisit, and some new trails to try, but after that long a time it was easy to assume much of our knowledge would be out of date. We made sure to stop by the new Visitors Center at Custer State Park when we arrived. After getting info on the new Barnes Canyon hike, and on the oldies we would revisit, we asked the helpful volunteer behind the table about his favorite hikes. We could tell he was fit from hiking and sure enough he knew the trails. He mentioned that one of his favorite hikes was the Galena Horse Trail connecting the Lovers Leap Trail to the Badger Clark Road.

We were skeptical since many of the horse trails at Custer are pounded into submission by heavy horse traffic, their surfaces rocky, eroded, and littered with loose rock. He assured us that the Galena Trail was little used by horses (probably because there are no corrals at either end), and had great footing. He described the narrow canyon as especially scenic, and the creek as small and pretty. The only caveat was there are 20-odd creek crossings.

When we came back in 2024 we planned to hike the Lovers Leap Trail, and add on an out and back hike on the Galena Trail. Unfortunately, on that trip Jean had brought only her hiking boots. After only two crossings we realized that there would be too many crossing for her to either rock hop the creek or change shoes at every one. But the little creek was lovely and its canyon narrow and cozy, and we were eager to see its whole length. So, the hike was postponed to 2025, when she brought a pair of running shoes that could be used for the multiple creek fords.

The west end of the Galena Trail on CSP Road #9.

Our first day in the Hills, looked rainy so we waited for day 2. We drove in via the Badger Clark Road (CSP 9) to the trailhead used for the west end of the Barnes Canyon Trail and for Centennial Trail access. Just past the TH, the road is signed as restricted where it enters an old building complex that was formerly a youth camp, but now looks like employee housing. We drove back to the TH, parked, and hiked back down the road. At our slower pace we saw the small sign signaling the start of the trail which would bypass around the buildings to join Galena Creek farther downstream.

Bison at start of Galena Trail.

Immediately off the road at 0.2 mile, we spied a lone bull bison resting in the shade of a pine directly on the trail. We swung well in the tress to go around him and continued the gentle climb on an old gravel road. The road led past a fenced facility on the hilltop at right (probably for water treatment). At a low saddle the trail forked right from the road onto a single track. At 0.8 mile the trail returned to Galena Creek within sight of the last buildings in the restricted area. The trail follows an obvious tread, and is marked with the usual blue diamond blazes for CSP. A few horse riders use the trail, but the main use seems to be hikers.

Iris near the start of the trail.

In early season the hike begins with a dash of wildflowers including dwarf iris and shooting stars. The canyon walls are the Precambrian granite of the core of the southern Black Hills. Galena Creek meanders down the narrow valley while the trail unfettered by bridges crosses a total of 21 times. Luckily the crossings are usually just a few steps wide and only ankle to shin deep. Very agile hikers, or those in late season, could likely make many of the crossings with dry feet. 

More trailside flowers.

At times Custer Park can seem more like a manicured urban park with its well-spaced pines, lush grassy meadows, and sparse underbrush. The ground is often as clear as if to invite hikers to wander anywhere. But Galena Creek maintains its wild character, and the canyon seems a private oasis. The creek is often in view and serves as a burbling companion for quiet hikers.

At 2.4 miles a small tributary joins on the left in a small grassy park. After 3.3 miles the trail ends at an unsigned intersection with the Lovers Leap Trail. Ahead on Lovers Leap to the left it 2.1 miles along Galena Creek to Lovers Leap Trailhead on US 16A, and to the right it is 1.7 miles up and over Lovers Leap to the same trailhead. Retrace your steps for another 3.3 miles to return to the Barnes Canyon West Trailhead. 

Our bison friend still guarding the trail.

Access: From Custer drive east on U.S. 16A to Custer State Park. Continue east on U.S. 16A past Legion Lake and SD 87 to paved Custer State Park Road 9. Turn right and drive 2.0 miles south to the West Barnes Canyon (aka Centennial Trail) Trailhead on the right. The trailhead has a gravel lot and signboard. The road ahead to a housing complex is restricted.

Distance: The hike is 3.3 miles one way including 0.2 mile on CSP #9 to the start of the trail. Budget extra time for the 21 creek crossings. This hike can also be done as an ambitious add-on to the far more popular Lovers Leap Trail.

Rocky Ridge Smokies Off-trail, 5-5-25

Rocky Ridge is a route I first spotted on the Smokies topo map. We had just hiked little known Tater Ridge to finish off a series of great ridge walks on Rich Mountain in Cades Cave, and I was looking to find more similar routes. Rocky is a well-defined ridge extending two miles and 1800’ from Cove Mountain and Chinquapin Ridge down to the Little River at Metcalf Bottoms. I could find no information on it from other hikers, which of course increased its appeal.

From the name I thought the ridge might hold some interesting rock formations. We had a little experience in the area. Jean and I had done a nice open manway to the west near the Walker Sisters homesite (Walker Sisters), we’d bashed the horrific undergrowth on top of Long Arm ( Long Arm) across the Little River, and we’d bushwhacked up to Phils View on the other side of Laurel Creek. Whether Rocky Ridge would resemble any of these trips would have to be determined. After the hike I found a map of a route down Chinquapin Ridge from 10-25-16, probably copied in the heyday of the Go Smokies message board, but the write up from that hike was no longer posted.

Approaching the cemetery.

Both Ed and Mike were interested in trying the ridge. We picked a day with a low chance of a small amount of rain in the forecast. It started raining as soon as I got in the car to leave Knoxville. The rain continued through the entire drive to Metcalf Bottoms, but the radar indicated we’d have one small wave, and then be in the clear. Still, it’s a downer packing up for a hike in the drizzle.

I hadn’t hiked in this area since our 2014 Walker Sisters hike and enjoyed the wide gravel road that was the Metcalf Bottoms Trail to Greenbrier School. A sign at the junction let us know the Laurel Falls Trail was closed for trail repair. Luckily we planned to head off trail just before that. We ducked out of the rain into the school, but the rain was already letting up. It quit somewhere up the Little Brier Gap Trail, and we were briefly out of the rain gear.

Its not good to have any add-ons for a new off trail hike, particularly early on. So, we skipped a side trip to the Walker Sisters Cabin. Beyond the turnoff the road became trail, and we started our climb. At Little Brier Gap we turned onto Little Greenbrier Trail. Another unmarked trail leads north to the area where the NPS has planned some mountain bike trails as part of its Foothills Parkway project. Little Greenbrier Trail is a beauty, great footing with a smooth, steady grade. I watched the understory for hints of what was to come, and knowing things would change before we left the trail. The western end of LGT was open, much like our Wallker Sisters hike had been, but the middle section was thick with some rhodo. As we turned to our last, southern, leg things opened up again.

Flame Azalea.

The vegetation was still wet from the morning rain, so we all put our rain gear back on before leaving the trail. I was set for rain, but had not brought gloves to protect my hands, and was wearing only a light pair of pants. I should have worn heavier pants, or wore calf sleeves to protect my lower legs. Right away we found ourselves bashing through thick brier. Our route was on the ridge crest, but it did not take long to realize there was much less brier just off the sides of the ridge. That complicated the navigation. When travelling just off the crest you are much more likely to be fooled into following the side ridges that you encounter.

Except for a plastic bottle laying just off the trail, we found no sign of other human travelers. But when the understory was more open, there was often a game/bear trail, though never for a long way and never completely clear. The leaves were fully out, and it was foggy, so we got only a single view. Bearings were hard to take as we could seldom see far ahead, so I relied more on the tracking feature of my phone GPS than I would have liked. I had been spoiled in the Cumberlands, where a quick shot at the top is enough to get you down an entire ridge.

The start of the ridge was relatively flat. I saw a few small chunks of quartz, but no rock outcrop. Early on I stepped on a small branch which broke, sending one half up to my hand. I first thought it would be too flimsy for a walking stick, but it proved sturdy enough to get me down the entire hill. There were sporadic Flame Azaleas blooming, and the Laurel was just starting to bloom. There were blowdowns, but less than expected with the frequent winter storms. As a modern measure of remoteness, we found two mylar balloons along the way.

Lunch stop (from Mike).

We stopped for lunch on the upper part of the ridge. At the last knob around 2950’ we made a tricky descent where the main ridge split into a couple of minor ones just as the whole area got much steeper. Luckily the slope was never butt-sliding steep. Our target was a small tributary of the Little River where Ed expected there to be a cemetery. Well down the steep part of the descent was a small outcrop of metasandstone. It dawned on me that this was the first outcrop I’d seen on Rocky Ridge! My hopes of open overlooks and intriguing rock formations had been for naught.

When we reached the ridge bottom, we decided to drop into the adjacent tributary and explore the small ridge on its north side as it resembled the types of places where cemeteries were often placed to avoid occupying any land suitable for farming. It was good idea, but the route gave us more rhodo than a hiker deserves at the end of a trip. Instead of a quick drop down to the cemetery access trail we added a long extra circular bushwhack. The draw gave me my only wrong turn of the day, when I thought to have turned downstream but noticed the stream flowing “upstream.”

But finally, I joined Ed and Mike on the access trail where we decided the effort just expended justified the cemetery visit. There were three graves with slate head and foot stones, but only one had legible carving on it. Ironically, in the morning I had given Ed a copy of a book on Smokies Cemeteries that we bought at a library sale. It turned out Ed already had a copy, but neither of us had thought to look up the info on the cemetery before our trip. The Cemeteries of the Smokies website (Cem Map) from the Pigeon Forge Public Library calls this the Sallie Moore Cemetery.

It was distressing looking at our map. Because we thought the Cemetery had been close to Metcalf Bottoms we’d walked most of a long circle to get there, when from the other side of Rocky Ridge we were only a few hundred feet away. Coming straight in from the Metcalf Bottom Bridge would be relatively simple except for a barely rock hoppable crossing of the small stream.

Sallie Moore Cemetery.

Hiking with Ed and Mike is always fun, especially when the terrain is new and the route uncertain. Both guys have been hiking off trail in the Smokies for decades, both have been SMHC presidents, and both are long term Appalachian Trail maintainers. With them you’ve got to appreciate your brushes with fame. Ours happened when we’d been back in civilization for about two seconds, and from the first car over the bridge comes a call “Hello, Ed”, from one of Ed’s fellow AT maintainers. Total distance was 6.1 miles with a 2,000’ climb.

Back in the parking area we talked up another hike soon. Mike had caught on to my planning strategy, asking “Are you working on a book, Ridges of the Smokies?”

Here’s a link to another post about the Sallie Moore Cemetery from Go Smokies in 2014 (Moore Cem).

Here’s another great map from the Pigeon Forge Library – Smokies National Park Parcels

https://copfgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=f8ab5a1ee93448b4a4a36938042f3f35