Black Hills National Forest · South Dakota, Wyoming

Dugout Gulch Botanical

6.7 mi of trail, end to end · Dugout Gulch Botanical Trailhead (Trail #77): 4.4 mi loop in the Service's write-up · native material surface · trail No. 77 · trail class 3 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 24-36 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Trailhead Dugout Gulch Botanical Trailhead (Trail #77) Drive there

Dugout Gulch Botanical Trailhead (Trail #77) 4.4 mi loop · the Forest Service's write-up

The Dugout Gulch Botanical Trail is a 2.3 mile trail plus a 4.4 mile loop trail.

Far from the boreal (northern) forest of the upper Great Lakes region and Canada, is a small unique community know as Dugout Gulch Botanical Area. Relic boreal plants find refuge in the moist, cool gulches. These survivors are referred to as boreal disjuncts.

The boreal forests of Canada once extended as far south as Nebraska. With their retreat at the end of the Ice Age, boreal plants gave way to species adapted to periods of drought and heat. Only where life sustaining moisture averages about 24 inches per year and temperatures remain relatively cool, can these survivors be found.

Sheltered under the cool, green branches of paper birch, ironwood and hazelnut trees, you may find the Rattlesnake Fern, Common Solomon's Seal, Canadian Enchanter's Nightshade, and the Oval-leaved Milkweed. Also lingering in this area are several sedges - Meadow Sedge, Fox-tail Sedge and Rosy Sedge.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

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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.