Wind Cave National Park

Hiked on 3/25/21. We hiked the trail counterclockwise, which I’m glad we did. The first section has about a 50 foot rise in elevation. A lot of cow and buffalo dung to avoid. Beautiful scenery. The beginning is Prairie like with lots of prairie dogs squawking at you or about you! Saw one buffalo along the way who was about a block away. No issues with him at all. Part of the trail were in shadows and still snow covered. Had a post hole it in some places. Some snow packed had turn to ice. There is a steep hill about a couple of miles into the hike. It is Rocky, so watch your step. I would recommend bringing a hiking pole. When you hike counterclockwise, you’ll follow trail number 4. When you get to the bottom of the hill, turn left (west)and follow number 6/89 (the Centennial Trail). Nice creek crossings. Gorgeous canyon. Overall we loved the hike, the area is just so beautiful. The last approximate mile is a slight incline until right before the parking lot, which is a little bit steeper. Easily doable! Didn’t see anybody else on the trail, had it all to ourselves! I would bring extra shoes because your shoes will be either full of mud or sh!t. 

hiked loop twice. very well marked follow 4 -> 4/7 -> 6 (if going counter clockwise). watch out for bison roaming the roads on your way to the trailhead!! they're big and they won't move for cars.

Nice trail, a few Bison to contend with a ways off trail.

Great trail. Went counterclockwise. The first 2 miles is wide open and goes thru prairie dog towns. There's no shade so be sure to hydrate! Had a bison blocking the path on 2 separate occasions so I had to go off trail a bit. They are beautiful!

Great hike. Tons of prairie dogs and a bison! If starting with lookout point, look to your left to cross the second steam. Don’t go up the super steep hill that is the centennial trail going north.

Lookout trl 4 to Centinnel Trl 6 - easy single track. Straight thru prairie dog terrain. Very open and yes, lots of poison ivy along the trail. Well marked, solid bridges across creeks. A nice variety of scenery

Lots of poison ivy and very little shade

Mid-August...when others say there was poison ivy, they weren’t talking about a little here and there and beware. There was lots and LOTS of it, and unavoidable. The trail is mostly like a “cow trail”, single-person wide, with the ivy growing in wide patches right up to the trail. I would rather have hiked it in the fall, as it was mostly in the sun with a few very welcomed shady stretches. Andrew’s description is spot on. We also saw one buffalo. In fact, we almost ran into him, as he was lying behind a bush just across one of the creek bridges. Had to walk around and blaze our own trail, crossing the creek further down. It was the “rush” of the day! Just keep a watchful eye. This hike would earn a 5 if it weren’t for all the poison ivy.

Too much poison ivy

Nice, easy hike. Pretty views. Loved seeing the prairie dogs and even came upon a couple of buffalo towards the end of our hike.

Very pretty walk through Prarie and along a wooded creek. Lots of poison ivy on the 2 miles along the creek that you are forced to walk through. Wear pants! A lot of prarie dogs to see as well.

Great trail, got to watch out for bison and ticks. Recommend wearing long pants

The Centennial portion of the trail followed streams and was very lush and pretty. The Lookout portion ran through the Prairie and was pretty but unprotected with no shade. There was a little bit of poison oak at the beginning of the trail and, although overgrown in places, we didn’t see poison oak anywhere near the streams. We also saw no evidence of ticks. A nice, easy trail with lovely views and a bit of wildlife. Be aware of the split where centennial (trail #6) turns into lookout (trail #4) or vice versa. If you miss the fork (at about 1 o’clock in the map, you can see the backtrack if you zoom in), you will head North for 10 miles on the wrong trail.

Poision Ivy, poor trail markers at forks, no shade.

Beautiful 5 mile hike on a late spring afternoon. Hike along the creek then up to grasslands and Prarie dog mine field. Lots of ticks and poison ivy detracted from our rating. Had to extract ticks from dogs & is.

Nice and easy trail. Going clockwise, the trail follows the Centennial trail and the creek. Several crossings, all with bridges. At the easternmost point it forks off to the right leaving the Centennial trail and goes up a short climb to the plateau, where an army of Prairie dogs will greet you. The remainder of the trail winds through open prairie with great views back to the start. It is well marked with log posts, sometimes protected by buffalo sleeping next to them..

Started later in the day and had to run to get back to the car before dark. A herd of bison crossed the trail. We kept distance and they did not bother us or seem bothered.

This trail was a lot of fun! One of the Buffalo was napping on the trail so I went off of the trail to give him some space. The sites and prairie dogs were another plus.

beautiful, simple hike. loved seeing prairie dogs, be sure to watch for ticks

03/08/20: This is a really beautiful hike and a really great trail to see wildlife. We saw bison, prairie dogs, eagles, turkeys, and lots of local birds. There are several bridge stream crossings that are really gorgeous. You also get some great canyon views. The trail is marked very clearly. In March, it was a bit icy and muddy, so wear boots.

Great for spotting wildlife. I ran into several bison, prairie dogs, and a coyote. The bison can be very intimidating and close to the trail. I had to go off route a couple times to go around them because they looked like they wanted to charge me. Very sunny and overgrown but has some good views!