Black Hills National Forest · South Dakota, Wyoming

Piedmont Fire Trail 144

5.0 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 8144 · trail class 3 · typical grade 10-12% · tread >120 inches wide · hiking, bike, motorcycle, atv, 4wd, e-bike · motorized use allowed

Trailhead Piedmont Trailhead Drive there

Piedmont Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up

The Piedmont Trailhead is on the east side of the most popular system of trails in the Northern Hills. The trails west of Piedmont wind through Ponderosa Pine forests, meander through large meadows, and climb to some of the most spectacular vistas in the Black Hills. The majority of the area trails are open from May 15 – Dec 15, with a few trails that stay open year-around.

Access the Piedmont Motorized Trailhead from Rapid City from Interstate 90 to Exit 46. Turn west (left) on Meade County Highway MC-4 / Elk Creek Road. Proceed to the intersection with Sturgis Road and turn north (right) on Sturgis Road. Travel on Sturgis Road for approximately 0.8 miles to Main Street. Turn west (left) on Main Street. Travel on Main Street nearly 0.6 miles through town to National Forest Service Road (NFSR) 144. NFSR 144 is on the left, labeled as “Piedmont Trailhead”. The parking area is visible approximately 200 yards after traveling NFSR 144.

Access the Piedmont Motorized Trailhead from Sturgis from Interstate 90, Exit 44, toward Bethlehem Road. Turn to west (right) on Meade County Highway MC-4A towards Sturgis Rd. Travel south (left) on Sturgis Road towards Piedmont for 0.8 miles. At Main Street, turn right (west). Travel on Main Street nearly 0.6 miles through town to National Forest Service Road (NFSR) 144. NFSR 144 is on the left, labeled as “Piedmont Trailhead”. The parking area is visible approximately 200 yards after traveling NFSR 144.

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.