A Sunny Day at the Centennial Trail – Rapid Creek to Brush Creek
The Centennial Trail is a 111 mile trail that starts at Bear Butte near Sturgis in the north and ends in Wind Cave National Park in the south. The trail is used year round by hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. I have done portions of the trail over the years but have never completed the entire trail. Trail Addict added a Centennial Trail Hiking Challenge this year so it gives me the perfect motivation to tackle the entire Centennial Trail!
Rather than thru-hike it, I am going to section hike the trail in no particular order. As I drove out of Sturgis up Vanocker Canyon, I still wasn’t completely sure which trailhead I was going to start at. I was by myself so I knew I wanted to keep it around 5 miles between trailheads or less so my total distance wouldn’t be over 10 miles doing the out and back. I was contemplating Pilot Knob, Deer Creek or Rapid Creek as my starting points.
One of the great things about hiking alone is I can do whatever the heck I want, so for no particular reason, I started at Rapid Creek Trailhead. I just wasn’t “feeling it” as I drove by the other trailheads. The trailhead at Rapid Creek is easy to find, it’s located across from Pactola Lake off Hwy 385. There is a large sign directing you to a gravel road that travels down less than a quarter of a mile to the trailhead. There is a large parking lot and a bathroom.
The trail starts off as a single track close to the creek. There were a couple of fly fisherman along the first half mile, but after that I did not see another person along the entire trail. (Which I love!)
The trail starts climbing after about ¾ of a mile. It seemed like it was a climb most of the way. I was looking forward to the downhill on the way back, but for some reason, it was uphill on the way back, too! (This must have been the way Grandma took to school…uphill both ways!)
There were quite a few places that had me thinking about fall and how amazing this would look with the leaves changing colors. I’m definitely going to add this to my list of hikes to check out this fall!
There were a couple of creek crossings, but they weren’t too difficult to navigate without getting wet.
The trail was well marked and easy to follow. The only spot I lost the trail for a bit was once I hit the road close to the Brush Creek Trailhead. The trail winds back and forth across the road, but I ended up just walking along the road part of the time because I missed the trail. You will get to the trailhead either way.
The Brush Creek Trailhead has a decent amount of parking and a large sign and map but no bathroom.As I turned around to head back the way I came, I’m always amazed at how different the trail looks coming from the other direction. I usually get a bit worried I got off the trail because some sections just don’t seem familiar at all. Am I the only one this happens to? (This is why out and back trails don’t bother me, it’s all new on the way back! Ha!)
