South Dakota trails · Eagle Cliff Bratwurst
Eagle Cliff Bratwurst
A 2.7-mile out-and-back in South Dakota, with 407 ft of climbing. Reaches Deadman Spring and other spring destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 60% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 0.9.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Deadman Spring (spring)
- Potato Spring (spring)
Getting there
EAGLE CLIFF / HOLEY ROCK — parking nearby, restroom, water. About 47 min drive (34 mi) from Spearfish. 44.22953, -103.95202 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:40 a.m., the sun rises at 7:09 a.m. and sets at 6:13 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:42 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 05 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 5.4-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 24 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:33 a.m. — 8 h 40 min before sunset.
Loop options
- EAGLE CLIFF THE LOOP + EAGLE CLIFF THE LOOP SPUR + EAGLE CLIFF BRATWURST — 2.6 mi loop, 299 ft gain
- EAGLE CLIFF BRATWURST + EAGLE CLIFF HIDDEN BASIN + EAGLE CLIFF SUNNY MEADOWS — 4.3 mi loop, 520 ft gain
- EAGLE CLIFF BRATWURST + EAGLE CLIFF THE LOOP — 2.3 mi loop, 258 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Snow-5 — 3.6 mi
- Stageyard 150 — 4.3 mi
- Limestone 100 — 4.4 mi
- Rimrock — 7.0 mi