The drive was uneventful and as we entered the park, we had a wonderful view of a single bison bull and the Black Hills in the distance.
From there we bypassed the visitor center and headed to the intersection with South Dakota Highway 87. There's a pretty large prairie dog town there and we stopped for a few minutes to observe the animals as they barked, and hid partially in their burrows.
From there we crossed over the Beaver Creek Bridge
and headed north towards Custer State Park. Instead of entering the state park, we turned onto NPS 5 and made our way east towards NPS 6 and the trailhead for our hike. We passed many bison (and prairie dogs) along the way,
and noticed a fairly large herd of bison along NPS 5 north of the trailhead.
Soon we hit the trail, passing through a bison-free area of prairie towards the distant hills and ridge.
The trail eventually climbs along a steep, rough old section of road and then levels out for a bit, before climbing again.
There are very few wildflowers still in bloom this late in the year, but the views of the distant Black Hills, including Black Elk Peak, were pretty grand.
For once we actually followed the trail to its official end.
I feel like after all the times we've hiked this trail, we rarely follow it all the way to the end. Usually, we stop at the edge of the surprisingly deep and narrow canyon along the park boundary. We headed there again on this hike and spend some time eating our sandwiches and snacking for a bit. Eventually, Noelle noticed a canyon wren and spend some time looking for it through her binoculars.
Finally, it was time to head back towards the trailhead and the car. The scenery on the way back was quite dramatic with more views of the surrounding pine-clad hills and distant higher peaks.
On the way back Noelle noticed a pretty large herd of about 40 to 45 elk off in some distant trees.
We stopped to observe them for a bit before starting back to the trailhead in earnest.
The only thing that really slowed us down on the way back was a group of four bison that blocked our trail for a bit. We hunkered down to watch them before they veered off the trail towards the east.
Soon we were on the homestretch back to the car.
Some bison left lick marks on the car in our absence. Perhaps it was the group of 4 we had seen on the trail?
On the way out of the park we saw more bison,
and caught a big herd of pronghorn just before leaving the park.
It was a great day of exploring our favorite trail in one of our favorite national parks.
