South Dakota trails · Bear Butte Lake Loop Trail
Bear Butte Lake Loop Trail
A 1.8-mile out-and-back in South Dakota, with 21 ft of climbing. Reaches Bear Butte Lake and other lake/summit destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
Essentially flat — no sustained climb anywhere along its 1.8 miles.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Bear Butte Lake (lake)
- Bear Butte (summit)
Getting there
Bear Butte Lake Loop Trail access. About 32 min drive (25 mi) from Spearfish. 44.45959, -103.43263 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:38 a.m., the sun rises at 7:07 a.m. and sets at 6:11 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:40 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 04 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 3.6-mile round trip takes roughly 1 h 20 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 8:27 a.m. — 9 h 44 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Bear Butte Lake Loop Trail + Centennial Trail — 3.1 mi loop, 87 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Centennial On Northern Hills — 11.6 mi
- George S. Mickelson Trail — 15.8 mi
- Snow-7 — 19.8 mi
- Snow-7C — 21.9 mi