DESTINATION Generic 134 Photosets
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| Little Elk Creek Canyon, SD | |
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| | Little Elk Creek Canyon, SD | | | |
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Little Elk Creek Canyon, SD
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| Hiking | 8.01 Miles |
833 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.01 Miles | 2 Hrs 40 Mns | | 3.43 mph |
| 833 ft AEG | 20 Mns Break | | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | I'm in the Rapid City area to take care of my mom. I was happy to find that there was a hike with 15 minutes of her house!
The deer bolted as I drove up the dirt road to the unmarked trailhead. From there the trail followed the creek, never crossing. The trail was likely a very old road. Now it was a single track path that was mostly very smooth with just the slightest elevation gain. That is until you got close to the 'Gates'. The canyon is rich in geologic features that include the White Gate Monocline. In this area there are two gates. 'White Gate' and 'Red Gate'. These formations seem to jut out and dominate the canyon. I'm not quite sure what the formations are except that I do know that limestone and granite is in the canyon based on the geologic maps.
The canyon was starting to show its display of fall colors from the poison ivy to the birch trees.
I followed the trail until it ended at the road and then continued up to Dalton Lake. There were a few people camped and fishing there. Dalton is one of the many Trailheads for the Centenial trail which looked to be a multiuse trail. The non-motorized traffic had its own path from what I could tell.
I walked/jogged back to the TH because I spent too much time on photos and my mom would get worried.
It was a lovely hike that only takes 2-3 hours! |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
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