Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2016 6:43:33 GMT -8
I will be in South Dakota in May and will be hiking around Mount Harvey. What are some good camp sites near the peak? Also how was the hike over from Mount Rushmore? Is it worth parking there or should I find another trail head? Thanks
|
|
null
Trail Wise!
Posts: 578 
|
Post by null on Jan 5, 2016 10:14:37 GMT -8
Are you sure you don't mean Harney?
The obvious place to camp is near Lake Sylvan in the frontcountry campground.
If you're looking for backcountry camping, a fair amount of people hike to the peak so even if you found a place to camp, it would be pretty exposed to people, not to mention no water. If you don't mind dry camping, you could follow Trail #9 (I think) Northbound past the final cutoff trail to Harney Peak. About 1-2 miles past that intersection is a nice flat, fairly open space to camp (trees, but not much underbrush and hardly any other hikers)
There are a few nice sites in the Black Elk wilderness between Mt. Rushmore and Harney Peak -- Trail #3 at the bottom of the mountain near a stream is a really good one (I don't have my map handy so that's the best I can recall).
The Mt. Rushmore access trail is braided, steep and rocky, but it's only a half mile of poor terrain.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2016 13:50:07 GMT -8
I will be in South Dakota in May and will be hiking around Mount Harvey. What are some good camp sites near the peak? Also how was the hike over from Mount Rushmore? Is it worth parking there or should I find another trail head? Thanks You are undoubtedly speaking of Harney Peak. The route from Mt. Rushmore is along Grizzly Creek Trail #7. And there are places to camp, with water, along that trail. However, you are not allowed to camp within a quarter mile of Harney Peak, and there are no water sources near the Peak. Additionally, the forests at higher elevations are, in a word, devastated by Pine Beetle killed trees. So you are better off camping at lower elevations such as along Grizzly Creek. For that route, it is better to NOT park at Mt Rushmore, because that generally requires payment. For that route, park at Big Pine Trailhead about 2 miles west of Rushmore and north of Horsethief Lake. See crosshairs on this map for Big Pine TH. Your route will then depart from the southern end of Horsethief Lake down Horsethief Trail #14 to Grizzly Creek Trail #7. Follow the red dotted line on the map below.  |
|
null
Trail Wise!
Posts: 578
|
Post by null on Jan 11, 2016 5:55:29 GMT -8
I know of 2 car camping sites on Norbeck Trail #3 right on the Southern border of the Black Elk Wilderness. The one where the Norbeck Trail intersects the road is a Forest Service campsite with a pit toilet. The other one (near where it says #3 on this map) is (I think) suitable for horses. I don't remember the costs if any.  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 20:04:24 GMT -8
I know of 2 car camping sites on Norbeck Trail #3 right on the Southern border of the Black Elk Wilderness. The one where the Norbeck Trail intersects the road is a Forest Service campsite with a pit toilet. The other one (near where it says #3 on this map) is (I think) suitable for horses. I don't remember the costs if any. : The first site you mentioned with the pit toilet is called Upper Iron Creek Trailhead ( crosshairs of this map) and is actually located within Custer State Park and only accessible through Custer State Park. That means that access requires a Custer State Park permit ($20 for a week-long entrance fee). I've been there dozens of times but not recently. In my memory it is not a campground. And it is not listed as a campground by either the Forest Service or Custer State Park. It is simply a trailhead/picnic area with a nice pit toilet. While someone might "get away with" pitching a tent there, that would technically be against regulations and LNT because you would be camping too close to the stream. The second site that you mention is Iron Creek Horsecamp (see webpage). And while it is maintained by the Forest Service, it is only accessible via Custer State Park, so that also would require a state park permit. But because it is designed for horse packers, the fee for over-night camping could get kind of steep. It would cost $20 for a week-long entrance fee to the state park and $22 to camp each night. So to camp there even one night would cost a minimum of $42. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 20:14:56 GMT -8
The obvious place to camp is near Lake Sylvan in the frontcountry campground. Not meaning to nitpick here, but the campground at Sylvan Lake is in such high demand that all spaces are generally reserved far in advance. So I would definitely not expect to arrive there and get a campsite without reservations. And it might already be too late for that, but there is only one way to know, and that is to get the reservations now — if possible. |
|
