Looking for a fun, beautiful location to hike that offers both an easier, family-friendly trail as well as a more challenging option? Check out a portion of the Centennial Trail that runs between the Badger Clark Trailhead and French Creek within Custer State Park!
This post is going to be a little unique as there are two options when hiking this trail.
Option 1: Badger Clark to Barnes Canyon Trail
This is the easiest and most family-friendly of the two options. It is about two-and-a-half miles in each direction.
Where is the Badger Clark Trailhead?
The trailhead is found off the Badger Clark Road, which is situated very near the junction of Route 16A (the southern route) and Route 87 (the Needles Highway). It is also found just to the east of the Legion Lake Lodge. All of these places are located within the central portion of the very large, Custer State Park, in the central Black Hills of western South Dakota.
The trailhead is found at the parking area for the Badger Hole Historic Site, which was the historical retreat of the poet laureate, Charles Badger Clark Jr., during the mid-1900s. He enjoyed vacationing here throughout his final 30 years of life. During the summer months, the home is open for touring, though in the winter, you can only tour the outside grounds.
What you will see on the Badger Clark Trail
This is a great trail! It’s got a few lengthy, steep portions, but for the most part, it meanders along through the rolling Black Hills that comprise this portion of the park.
The trail is quite scenic, snaking through forested hillsides and more arid, grassland areas. (This combination of ecosystems is common in this park.) You can also see some of the burn scars leftover from the terrible, Legion Lake wildfire that roared through this area in 2017. Some of the scenic views you will see from the trail include the grasslands of central South Dakota branching off to the east, and the green, pine-covered Black Hills surrounding you in all the other directions.
This trail is not one of the more popular ones in the park, so it is fairly lightly-traveled. This is nice as it is quieter and allows you to more easily enjoy the peace and tranquility found in the park’s inner portions. You also won’t miss anything by taking this lesser-traveled trail as you’ll see much of the same scenery that is available throughout much of the rest of the park.
At its terminus, this trail ends at the Barnes Canyon Trail, another great, family-friendly option!
Option 2: Badger Clark Trailhead to French Creek
This is the more difficult of the two options. It is around four miles in each direction. I would NOT recommend this hike in the winter unless you have some serious traction devices, such as YakTrax. (These come in various options which you can check out below.) Several of the steeper slopes are in more shaded areas and/or on slopes that aren’t likely to see much sun in the colder months. Expect these areas to remain icy long after much of the rest of the trail has dried out.
YakTrax options: (†As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
What you will see on your way to French Creek
This is one of the most difficult sections of the Centennial Trail that the Trekkers have hiked to date. It is VERY pretty but in a few sections, it’s the steepest terrain that we’ve seen on this trail. Be watchful, many of these areas are made slick with loose rocks, gravel, and pine cones that like to stymie your step!
You will see clumps of deciduous trees (mostly along waterways) mixed in with the majority Ponderosa Pines that cling to the hillsides.
This route runs to the French Creek Trail and a VERY nice horse camp located off of North Lame Johnny Road (the Centennial Trail continues to the south from here). There are a few water crossings over French Creek on this portion of the trail, and there are no bridges. Depending on the time of year, this could be problematic. (This is one of the few, local creeks that usually has water in it–depending on what portion of it you cross. We had to rock-skip when we did this route in late November–and that was in a drought year).
Normally, I would STRONGLY advise against crossing creeks during colder times of the year, it’s too risky that you can get wet and cold. But, this particular day we were only planning for a short hike of a mile or two so we knew we’d never be far from the car. It was also almost 70 degrees so it was VERY warm.
Watch signage carefully on this trail. We missed the turnoff for the Centennial Trail once as the sign marking it had been knocked over by a buffalo, scratching an itch 😮–oddly, this is a common occurrence in this park. 😝 So, we ended up on a horse trail, instead.
Where is the French Creek Trailhead?
This portion of the trail can be hiked from either direction. If you wish to start at the French Creek Trailhead, you can find it at the far end of the French Creek Horse Camp (just follow the main road through the campground till it ends.) There is a sign regarding hiking the Centennial Trail.
To reach the campground take the dirt road marked Route 4 from the Blue Bell Lodge area of Custer State Park (near the corrals used for horseback riding). There are signs pointing towards the horse camp. Note: Use caution on this route in the winter. It is not heavily traveled and it may not be maintained. The Blue Bell Lodge is located on Route 87 on the western side of the park.
This is a great way to see Custer State Park! On your next visit there, be sure to check it out! It will give you easy access to the inner, very scenic portions of the park that not everyone sees!
Have you ever hiked either of these trails? What did you think? Tell me about your experience in the comments!
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