A Day at the Centennial Trail – Alkali Creek to Elk Creek
The trailhead at Alkali Creek Campground was the third starting point for my long journey across the Black Hills hiking each section of Centennial Trail. The campground is located off Exit 34 on I-90, just south of Sturgis. From the exit, go left past the VFW Memorial Chapel and follow Old Stone Road a short distance until you see the entrance on the right. In addition to several camp sites that are available for rent, Alkali Creek has a public restroom, public drinking water during the summer season, and a bike service station. There are also picnic tables for relaxing in the outdoors and plenty of parking for those who want to venture out onto the trail.
According to the trail maps, it is 11.5 miles to the next trailhead, making this section the second longest hike between trailheads on Centennial Trail. As I was getting ready for my adventure, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to walk all the way to Elk Creek Trailhead and back in one trip. So, I decided to set a time limit for myself on the trail. I would hike about three hours out before turning around and returning to my car at Alkali Creek.
Starting at the campground’s parking area, I had to cross the gravel road and walk north a short distance to reach Centennial Trail. Now that I was back on the trail where I had turned around last time, I followed it west as it ran past the campground, curved to the right, and then went through a gate. Soon I reached a point in the trail where it split in two directions. I didn’t see any clear signs here, but it looked like the trail to the right went north towards Sturgis, so I took the left trail that went west towards I-90.
As I approached I-90, I found that the trail went through a large tunnel underneath the highway. A small creek drains through this tunnel, and I had to walk through about an inch of water to reach the far side. I’m sure the level changes depending on how much water is in the creek, and I was probably lucky it wasn’t any deeper. Otherwise, this would have been a short hike since I didn’t see any other way through. The water wasn’t deep enough to worry about getting my feet wet this time, but it’s definitely something to look out for when you hike this trail.
Once through the tunnel, the trail leads out onto more open prairie. It isn’t until about a mile and a half from Alkali Creek that Centennial Trail finally begins to enter the forest. And the further it goes, the thicker the trees become. The trail also becomes steeper and more challenging to walk on, with loose rocks and exposed tree roots in many places. About four miles into the hike, the trail rises to the top of a ridge and offers some nice views through the trees. I was able to catch several glimpses of Bear Butte far off in the distance as I walked along. There was even one clear break in the trees looking east where I could actually see my car, a tiny speck, parked down at the campground.
At around five miles, the trail meets a worn, dirt road. Although there weren’t any signs that I could see, the trail does pick up again directly on the other side of the road. From this spot, I thought that the next mile or so was the most difficult of the entire hike. There were some long, uphill climbs that got me breathing hard. There were also a couple of stream crossings that required jumping from rock to rock to make it across.
Finally, as I neared my turnaround time, I discovered what looked like the foundation of an old structure on the side of the trail. Large stones were clearly laid out in a rectangle and it looked like there were some old wooden planks left there, too. It wasn’t very large, but it was very cool to see. I can only wonder what this might have been many years ago. This spot was nearly 6.5 miles from my starting point, so I decided to take a short rest and then begin the long walk back to my car.
By the end of the day, I had spent over five and a half hours on the trail, climbed 1600ft in elevation, and walked about 13 miles in total. I wished I could have covered this entire section in one day, but I can always hike north from Elk Creek another time to see what I missed. However, next time I will be taking on a new section as I continue my southward journey across Centennial Trail.
