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Bear Butte Summit Trail - 2 members in 4 triplogs have rated this an average 4 ( 1 to 5 best )
4 triplogs
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May 13 2025
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 Guides 99
 Routes 1,484
 Photos 16,072
 Triplogs 1,374

male
 Joined Jan 07 2017
 Fountain Hills,
Meade County Peakbagging, SD 
Meade County Peakbagging, SD
 
Hiking avatar May 13 2025
DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374
Hiking11.11 Miles 2,792 AEG
Hiking11.11 Miles   3 Hrs   28 Mns   3.35 mph
2,792 ft AEG      9 Mns Break
 
1st trip
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Bear Butte Summit Trail
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Route Scout Route Recorded  on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX
I started off this day by driving to Montana and hiking to a couple of county high points there. On my way back I hiked to a couple of peaks in Meade County:
1) Bear Butte (elevation of 4,431 feet and prominence of 1,253 feet)
2) The Meade County High Point (elevation of 5,464 feet and prominence of 178 feet)

Meade County is in the Rapid City metropolitan area and is South Dakota's largest county in terms of area. The county seat is Sturgis, which is probably best known for hosting a popular motorcycle rally every summer.

Bear Butte
(3.26 miles with 1,081 feet of AEG)
Bear Butte is northeast of Sturgis in Bear Butte State Park. It set me back $15 to park, and I hiked on the maintained Bear Butte Summit Trail to the top and back down. The trail is steep and rocky in places. It was not very crowded there and I enjoyed the hike. There are great views at the top and you'll get a good workout climbing up.

Meade COHP
(2.50 miles with 753 feet of AEG)
The unnamed county highpoint is southwest of Sturgis, and is just west of Vanocker Canyon Road. I parked at a pullout on the road and made an off-trail ascent to the high point. I followed what appeared to be an old logging road to get up a steep slope which led to a ridgeline, which I stayed on until getting to the high point. The pine trees are very dense up there, so there are no views whatsoever.

The two Montana county high points that I hiked earlier in the day amounted to 5.35 miles with 958 feet of AEG. In order to track my distance and elevation gain for the day I included these figures in the stats above.
 Flora
 Flora [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Chokeberry  Creeping Barberry  Little larkspur
 Fauna
 Fauna [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Bison (American Buffalo)
 Geology
 Geology [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Laccolith
 Named place
 Named place [ checklist ]
[ checklist ]  Bear Butte
_____________________
Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there
  2 archives
Aug 04 2024
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 Routes 255
 Photos 8
 Triplogs 261

54 male
 Joined Feb 19 2015
 Phoenix
Bear Butte Summit TrailWestern, SD
Bear Butte Summit Trail
Western, SD
Hiking avatar Aug 04 2024
bjonson • Triplogs 261
Hiking4.78 Miles 1,274 AEG
Hiking4.78 Miles   1 Hour   41 Mns   2.84 mph
1,274 ft AEG
 
no photosets
1st trip
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Centennial Trail - South Dakota
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Route Scout Route Recorded  on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX
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May 30 2018
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 Guides 177
 Routes 249
 Photos 10,213
 Triplogs 2,215

74 male
 Joined Feb 12 2002
 Gold Canyon, AZ
Bear Butte Summit TrailWestern, SD
Bear Butte Summit Trail
Western, SD
Hiking avatar May 30 2018
AZLOT69 • Triplogs 2,215
Hiking4.00 Miles 1,160 AEG
Hiking4.00 Miles
1,160 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
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Centennial Trail
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This one has been on my bucket list forever. Glad I stuck with it. a lot of bang for the buck. Enjoyed the hike.
_____________________
It's best for a man to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open his mouth and remove all doubt.
--Mark Twain
 
Dec 25 2015
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 Guides 3
 Routes 569
 Photos 11,976
 Triplogs 1,634

50 female
 Joined Sep 18 2009
 Tucson, AZ
Bear Butte Summit TrailWestern, SD
Bear Butte Summit Trail
Western, SD
Hiking avatar Dec 25 2015
GrottoGirl • Triplogs 1,634
Hiking3.06 Miles 1,135 AEG
Hiking3.06 Miles   1 Hour   29 Mns   2.30 mph
1,135 ft AEG      9 Mns Break
 
1st trip
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After Christmas Dinner at one of the Deadwood Casinos I had my parents drop me off for a hike near Sturgis. There were many tattered prayer flags along the trail. The trail had patches of snow and ice. Overall it was a nice trip to the top. At the summit there was a Native American finishing up a ceremony. It was cool to hear him changing especially knowing that the peak was sacred to his people. When I summited the clouds started to sock in the peak, reminding me of the pending snow for tonight.
_____________________
 
average hiking speed 2.57 mph

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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