Hiking the Old Baldy Trail
Old Baldy Trail is a fun 7.5-mile loop trail through forests of ponderosa pine and aspen trees with beautiful views from the top of Old Baldy Mountain. It is also a fantastic trail to hike in the fall to see the changing leaves in Spearfish Canyon. On my recent visit to Old Baldy, it was starting to get late in the fall season, so there were nearly as many leaves on the ground as there were still on the trees. But there were still a lot of fall colors and beautiful views to make this a fun autumn hike.
There are two ways to get to the Old Baldy Trailhead. One is to start from Spearfish and take Tinton Road about 14 miles south. The other is to take Roughlock Falls Road from Savoy. It will meet with Tinton Road after a little over 5 miles. Then turn right onto Tinton Road and in about a mile you will see the turn for Old Baldy Trail on the left. Both ways will have you driving a good distance on gravel roads, so the one you want to pick mostly depends on which direction you will be coming from.
At the trailhead you will find a nice parking area with plenty of space for several cars. It’s a rather remote site, so there are no restrooms anywhere on this trail. The nearest one would be at the Timon Campground. As you approach the gate to the trail, you will see a trail leading off to the right, away from the gate. This is the one-mile spur that leads to Rimrock Trail. It is also part of the Tinton Trail, which overlaps with sections of Old Baldy Trail and Rimrock Trail.
To get started, walk through the gate and follow the path towards the left along the fence line. After a short distance, you will come to the sign marking the start of the Old Baldy loop. From here you can choose to go left and take the west route or go right and take the east route. The only real difference is that the east route is a slightly shorter distance to Old Baldy Mountain. You may also notice here that the trail is more worn on the west route. That is because this section of Old Baldy Trail is part of Tinton Trail.
Because it was later in the afternoon when I started my hike, I decided to take the west route. That way I would spend less time walking into the sun as I went around the loop. I was actually surprised at how easy this section of the trail was to walk. For the first two miles, the trail was relatively flat followed by a gentle downhill slope. It wasn’t until I reached the back side of the loop that there began to be some uphill climbs, though nothing too steep.
At about 3.2 miles, I made it to the spur trail that leads to the top of Old Baldy Mountain. This path is a little under one mile to the summit. And while it does start out rather flat, don’t be fooled. The final quarter mile to the peak is the steepest section of the entire trail.
When you finally reach the top, you’ll see the sign marking the summit at 6,096 feet. You will also find short paths leading in each direction that offer wonderful views looking out at the surrounding Black Hills. Despite the name, there are actually plenty of trees here to provide welcome shade from the afternoon sun. Since this is close to the halfway point of the hike, it makes a great place to stop for a water break or a snack.
Once you take the spur back to the loop, you’ll follow it to the left to make the return trip to the trailhead on the east route. As you come down the hill, you will cross a small wooden bridge and see the sign for the Tinton Trail leading off to the left. To the right is the Old Baldy Trail going up the hill. The east route is not as clearly marked as the west route and there are few trail signs, so it can be a little hard to follow at times. When I started up this hill, I wasn’t sure if I was on the right trail or not. But I decided to push forward and I was soon confident that I was on the correct path.
To me, this final leg of the trail was the hardest part of the entire hike. It is a 2.5-mile uphill walk with only a couple of short downhill breaks. It wasn’t very steep, but it sure was tiring after hiking nearly 7 miles. That last mile was tough to grind out. I certainly was glad to see the sign marking the short path back to the trailhead.
Overall, I thought that Old Baldy Trail was a fantastic way to experience the fall colors in Spearfish Canyon. Although a bit long at 7.5 miles, I found it to be a little easier to hike than nearby Rimrock Trail and Little Spearfish Creek Trail. And, looking back, I think that starting with the east route and walking the trail counterclockwise would have made it even easier with more time walking downhill. I think next year I will try to hike this trail a little earlier in the season, too, so I can see more leaves still on the trees.
