Black Hills National Forest · South Dakota, Wyoming

Big Hill Loop a

2.5 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 72A · trail class 3 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 24-36 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike, ski

Trailhead Big Hill Trailhead Drive there

Big Hill Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up

(Trail #72)

Big Hill Ski Area is comprised of six stacked-loop trails that provide expansive opportunities for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing for a total distance of 13.6 miles. During the winter season the trails are groomed for cross-country skiing in cooperation with the Black Hills Nordic Ski Club.

Brochure & Map

Additionally, Big Hill provides a launching point for many of the area’s fat tire biking trails. This area hosts short trails adjacent to the parking lot for beginner skiers and those just starting to snowshoe. It also provides extensive groomed and ungroomed routes for longer adventures. Covering nearly fifteen miles, Big Hill offers something for nearly every ski, snowshoe, and fat tire bike experience. The ski area is managed in collaboration with Black Hills Nordic Ski Club. The club grooms approximately ten miles of trails throughout the area to provide a groomed cross-country ski and snowshoe experience. This effort covers a variety of trails and difficulty levels. Additionally, the Grooming Alliance of Spearfish maintains many miles of fat tire bike trails that fork out from the Big Hill parking lot. For more information related to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the Northern Hills Ranger District, please call (605) 642-4622 / Black Hills National Forest - Offices (usda.gov) . NOTE: Big Hill Ski Area offers a warming hut at the Big Hill Trailhead for those seeking warmth during their treks.

There is a Big Hill Trail designated specifically for snowshoeing. We ask that snowshoers not use the groomed ski trails. Snowshoeing damages the tracks that the ski clubs work hard to establish and maintain.

The snowmobile trail can be accessed near the Big Hill parking lot.

Big Hill was named when the early prospectors, heading to gold fields with wagons and teams of horses, could barely make it over the "big hill" when coming from Spearfish.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Black Hills National Forest

Other trails from the Big Hill Trailhead

All 535 trails in Black Hills National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.