Deerfield Lake Hike in the Black Hills

Deerfield Lake is one of our favorite places to go hiking in the Black Hills of South Dakota because it is so beautiful, remote and with few people around! So it is a great place to go for a long day hike when you don't want to run into very many people!

​We hiked the Deerfield Lake Loop Trail #40L, which is about a 12 mile loop hike around the lake. On this particular day it was super hot 

so we enjoyed jumping into the lake with our dog, Pippie, on more than one occasion!

The thing we have learned with this trail is that the NPS website says the trail is only 10 miles but it is really around 12-14. We haven't been able to get an exact distance the two times we have hiked it due to all the hills and our Apple watches not taking in the elevation changes throughout the hike. The terrain on 

this hike varies quite a bit from rolling meadows to a few steep hills. That is part of the reason I love this hike...so much diversity in views!

This year our summer was very wet so all the wildflowers were still blooming in July, which was such a treat! At times we were hiking through fields of wildflowers. Just beautiful!

Last year when we did this hike there was a big beaver dam but we think it was washed out from all of the flooding. As you can see, this area was still pretty flooded and our boots did get wet!

From this part of the trail you hike up for a while and then come to a big open meadow, where it is pretty easy to lose the trail. We didn't lose the trail this year because 1: we knew where to go, and 2: horses must have been through recently because there was more of a defined trail this year! Last year we had to put our new-found orienteering skills to the test!

Since it was so hot, this was a great spot to enjoy the South Dakota wind that almost always seems to be blowing! It is appreciated on a hot summer day, not so much when it's 20 below zero outside!

Then you will come to the part of the trail where you cross a little bridge and then have to walk along the highway for a little bit. This is where we normally always see people because we hear the lake has great fishing, and we see people out there canoeing and kayaking!

From there you go through the woods and on some old trails that we aren't really sure what they were used for. But the mileage on the wood signs is incorrect...we measured!

We then came to one of our favorite stopping points which is by the creek before you start the ascent up to the view of the dam from the reservoir. It is a good climb but worth it, not only for the breeze but the noise from the dam is pretty impressive!

The next part of my hike is my favorite. It always reminds me of the opening scene from Little House on the Prairie! It always makes my heart smile!

Blog post written by Amy Karras
Unnamed Adventures

The picture on the left is from us hiking the trail in June of 2017, and the picture on the right was July of 2018. 

After we first completed this hike we learned to always bring plenty of water as well as some snacks because you can't always trust the trail signs or guide books. And when a trail is much longer than you anticipated, it can make for a potentially dangerous situation.