Horsethief Lake #14

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Commonly Backpacked · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

This is a singletrack trail leading from the Horsethief Lake camping area into the Black Elk Wilderness. This trail meets up with several other trails including the Centennial Trail #89 and the Grizzly #7. From these trails, you can access an even greater area of the Black Elk Wilderness, including Mount Rushmore via the Mount Rushmore Spur Trail, Black Elk Peak, Sylvan Lake via the Norbeck #3 trail, and the Harney Peak #9 (South) trails.

I did this trail in June 2019, and because of the heavy rain and severe winter this year, there was a lot of blow-down, blocking many parts of the trail. Be prepared to 'scramble' a few places. Also, with increased rains this year, the creeks were a little wider and deeper than normal.

Deer and other common wildlife are abundant in the area, as are ticks -- be careful.