USFS · South Dakota, Wyoming

Black Hills National Forest

Black Hills National Forest is located in southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, United States. The forest has an area of over 1.25 million acres (5,066 km2) and is managed by the Forest Service. Forest headquarters are located in Custer, South Dakota. There are local ranger district offices in Custer, Rapid City, and Spearfish in South Dakota, and in Sundance, Wyoming.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.5 million acresUSFSSDWY37 campgrounds within 10 mi162 Forest Service sites575 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
2 fires
active
Antihorse Rx (prescribed burn) · 13 mi from the center · 804 acres
1 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StatesSouth Dakota, Wyoming
Size1.5 million acres
Forest Service code0203, region 02
Center point44.01° N, 103.79° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 14)

Boundary map

4 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Black Hills National Forest10°20°30°40°50°60°70°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 19.7°F averageFebruary: 20.7°F averageMarch: 28.3°F averageApril: 36.1°F averageMay: 45.1°F averageJune: 55.1°F averageJuly: 61.7°F averageAugust: 59.5°F averageSeptember: 51.3°F averageOctober: 38.8°F averageNovember: 28.2°F averageDecember: 21.3°F averageTemp °F
The line is the average temperature at Rochford 2 WNW, 9 miles from the center point at 5,450 feet, station USC00397227 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

30 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 7 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Bear Gulch
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Bearlodge Campground
Reservable8 sites
FS · Inside
Bearlodge Campground
First-come8 sites
FS · Inside
Beaver Creek Campground
Reservable8 sites
FS · Inside
Bismark Lake
Reservable24 sites
FS · Inside
Black Fox Campground
Reservable9 sites
FS · Inside
Black Hills Off-Season Campgrounds
Reservable17 sites
FS · Inside
Boxelder Forks Campground
Reservable14 sites
Show 4 more

25 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 162

The Forest Service lists 162 recreation sites in this forest, among them 25 day hikings, 24 trailheads, 22 campgrounds, 21 OHV trails. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 102 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 575 named trails in this forest, 1,354 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Snow-1 ↗54.9
Snow-2 ↗45.4
Snow-3 ↗39.9
Centennial on Northern Hills ↗38.1
Centennial on Mystic ↗31.9
Deerfield ↗23
Snow-5 ↗19
Snow-A ↗17.8
Snow-7 ↗16.9
Snow-2k ↗16.7

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 575 trails in Black Hills National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Antihorse Rx

    13 mi from the center point · 804 acres

  • Prescribed
    Work Center Rx

    33 mi from the center point

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Monument · Adjacent
Jewel Cave National Monument
National Memorial · Adjacent
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
National Park · 3 mi
Wind Cave National Park
National Monument · 5 mi
Devils Tower National Monument
National Register listings within 15 miles · 158 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for South Dakota and hiking across the country

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Hiking the Black Hills Country
    Bert Gildart and Jane Gildart, 2021
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Moon Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills
    Laural A. Bidwell, 2016
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Walks of a Lifetime in America
    Manning, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Black Hills National Forest?

1.5 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Black Hills National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Black Hills National Forest in?

The boundary crosses South Dakota and Wyoming.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Black Hills National Forest?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Black Hills National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 44.007° N, 103.794° W. Jewel Cave National Monument is adjacent. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Black Hills National Forest right now?

2 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Antihorse Rx at 13 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Black Hills National Forest?

Jewel Cave National Monument (adjacent), Mount Rushmore National Memorial (adjacent) and Wind Cave National Park (3 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Black Hills National Forest?

The National Register has 158 listings within 15 miles, including Bauer, Maria, Homestead Ranch and Byron, Lewis, House.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: Black Hills National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.