Black Hills National Forest · South Dakota, Wyoming

Osprey

1.7 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 58 · trail class 3 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 24-36 inches wide · hiking, bike · seasonal: hiking 04/16-10/31

Trailhead Osprey Trailhead (Trail #58) Drive there

Osprey Trailhead (Trail #58) the Forest Service's write-up

TRACK Trail Mount Roosevelt
Photo: US Forest Service

Osprey Trail Brochure

A 2.2 mile trail that includes two loop trails and a spur trail to an overlook.

Visit the Osprey Kids in Parks - TRACK Trail webpage for a fun and interactive family adventure!

The Osprey Trail was appropriately named because ospreys are often seen in the Pactola Lake area. Osprey, also known as fish hawks, are fish-eating specialists, with live fish accounting for about 99 percent of their diet. Osprey are spectacular divers. Once they have sighted their prey, they fold their wings tightly, descend swiftly and enter the water feet first, often submerging completely. Long sharp talons and barbed pads grip the slippery fish. The fish will be carried back to the nest headfirst to make it as aerodynamic as possible.

From Rapid City, travel about 15 miles west on Highway 44. Turn south (left) onto Highway 385 and continue for 2.7 miles. Just after the Pactola Visitor’s Center turn west (right) onto Custer Gulch Road. Wind along the lake, past the beach for 1.4 miles before you turn north (right) following the signs to Pactola Campground. Go all the way through to the end of the campground facility past the fee booth to the trailhead.

The Osprey Trail is maintained for hiking and bicycling. No motorized use is allowed.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Black Hills National Forest

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.