Iron Creek Trail (Black Elk Wilderness)
If you like a forest hike along a rushing mountain stream, then the Iron Creek Trail is a great hike for you. Though the trail is beautiful any time of the year, it is particularly stunning in the fall when all the aspen, oak and birch trees along the stream begin to reach their peak colors. The Iron Creek Trail (Trail #15) crosses Iron Creek many times (11 total), causing the hiker to pass back and forth between the Black Elk Wilderness to the north of the creek and the Norbeck Wildlife Area the south of the creek. While the trail follows the route of an old forest road, in most places there is only a single track to hike on. The hiking is fairly easy, since there is little incline on the 2.4-mile trail. The east trailhead is along Highway 16A, the Iron Mountain Road, while the west trailhead is at the end of Road 345. This trail is listed on the free Black Elk Wilderness Map & Guide available at many Black Hills Visitors Centers, forest service offices and the Norbeck Center at Custer State Park. For a free downloadable PDF map, click on the link below:
Iron Creek Trail Map & Guide
Iron Creek Trail Map & Guide
Hope says: The Iron Creek Trail is one of the first I was attracted to when Tom and I started hiking together. I had seen pictures he had taken and it just called to me. My first real experiences of hiking outside the urban areas of Minnesota, where I grew up, was a little taste of rural Georgia…and then almost four years outside the villages of what was then West Germany. Picture forest steams and mountain villages seemingly untouched for centuries.
Hiking along the Iron Creek Trail is very much like this. It is beautiful in the spring time with the rushing waters (though I admit, with my balance issues, my eyes are only looking at my feet as I hang onto my steadier husband while crossing those planks!) and budding greenery…and Autumn! When God’s paint brush has swept through the area, well, I just want to park a chair in the forest primeval and mediate on His wonders for the entire season!
Hiking along the Iron Creek Trail is very much like this. It is beautiful in the spring time with the rushing waters (though I admit, with my balance issues, my eyes are only looking at my feet as I hang onto my steadier husband while crossing those planks!) and budding greenery…and Autumn! When God’s paint brush has swept through the area, well, I just want to park a chair in the forest primeval and mediate on His wonders for the entire season!
Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. Proverbs 3:13-17