South Dakota trails · Hawkwright Loop
Hawkwright Loop
A 13.3-mile out-and-back in South Dakota, with 737 ft of climbing. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 50% of the ascent falls between mile 8.9 and mile 13.3. It gives back about 916 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Getting there
HAWKWRIGHT MOTORIZED — parking nearby. 43.66457, -103.79023 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:47 a.m., the sun rises at 6:17 a.m. and sets at 7:32 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:02 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 15 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 26.7-mile round trip takes roughly 10 h 37 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 4:54 p.m. — 2 h 38 min before sunset.
Loop options
- HAWKWRIGHT LOOP + PINE TREE + PINE CONE — 4.4 mi loop, 523 ft gain
- PINE TREE + PINE BOUGH + HAWKWRIGHT LOOP — 4.9 mi loop, 590 ft gain
- HAWKWRIGHT LOOP + RED CLIFF + DEER DRAW — 8.6 mi loop, 1,018 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Wabash — 9.2 mi
- Sunday Gulch Trail — 16.9 mi
- Little Devil's Tower — 17.0 mi
- Paha Sapa Trail — 17.1 mi