South Dakota trails · French Creek and Mt. Coolidge Trail
French Creek and Mt. Coolidge Trail
A 9.4-mile out-and-back in South Dakota, with 868 ft of climbing. Reaches The Narrows.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- The Narrows (viewpoint)
Getting there
French Creek and Mt. Coolidge Trail access. About 52 min drive (34 mi) from Rapid City. 43.71214, -103.35132 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:37 a.m., the sun rises at 7:06 a.m. and sets at 6:11 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:40 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 06 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 18.9-mile round trip takes roughly 7 h 52 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 2:57 p.m. — 3 h 14 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Grace Coolidge Walk-In Fishing Area — 5.3 mi
- Highland Creek Trail — 7.1 mi
- Centennial Trail — 7.2 mi
- Paha Sapa Trail — 9.5 mi