South Dakota trails · Sunday Gulch Trail
Sunday Gulch Trail
A 2.5-mile out-and-back in South Dakota, with 711 ft of climbing. Reaches Sylvan Lake. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 53% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 0.8. It gives back about 712 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Sylvan Lake (lake)
Getting there
Sunday Gulch Trail access. About 51 min drive (34 mi) from Rapid City. 43.85276, -103.57353 · 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 6:12 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:41 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 05 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 4.9-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 32 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:39 a.m. — 8 h 33 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Sunday Gulch Trail + SUNDAY GULCH — 2.7 mi loop, 846 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Little Devil's Tower — 0.8 mi
- Harney # 9 North — 2.4 mi
- Lost Cabin #2 — 3.4 mi
- Paha Sapa Trail — 5.2 mi