Homestake Trail is a 5.7 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Lead, South Dakota that offers the chance to see wildlife and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from April until October.
March 11, 2021Temp is 48. Ground is thawing, hiked over mud, ice and snow. The app said it was moderate and a 5.7 mile hike. It ended up being 7 miles and strenuous. Still was amazing
January 11, 2021November 27, 2020November 26, 2020September 26, 2020Very scenic. Nice hike with coffee in hand. Believe the sign that warns of falling rock!
September 18, 2020Great hike! Like others have said, starting from Deadwood (at the Mickelson trailhead) is the harder hike. Trail is very clearly marked, I had no trouble finding my way. Started at about 9:30am on a Friday and only saw two other people.
August 10, 2020starting from Deadwood has the most climbing to do. If you park at Lead, go to old Abe St to stark the hike. It's a nice walk, not the best either, without a lot of shade.
July 27, 2020Easy and convenient trail between Lead and Deadwood. Along the Homestake mine property as well as other privately owned land. Practically every step offers a new and beautiful view of the towns or the surrounding area. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
July 18, 2020Trail was a lot of fun but if you are entering from the Deadwood end you will end up walking uphill a lot of the way. Almost 1000 ft in elevation gain. Starting in Lead would make this trail easy. It is moderate starting Deadwood. Took us 1 hour and 15 min and 3.38 miles from parking lot to parking lot.
July 18, 2020Easy trail with great views of the hills, Deadwood and Lead. Well maintained, weird parking situation on the Lead side-ended up parking on street.
July 7, 2020The trail was super confusing to get to. We accidentally went half way through and only ran half of the trail. Don’t use the directions built into the app... it takes you to weird place. But the actual start on the lead side is off of Old Abe Road. Then half way through, you have to cross Mine Street to keep going. There is some wild life and the mine is cool to see though.
June 24, 2020Very hot on a summer day. Not a lot of shade. The views are ok. You have to go through the dog park on the Lead side. It does have quite a bit of incline, but not hard.
June 13, 2020This is a very good trail to do while in the Deadwood-Lead area. The trail signs list it as 3.5 miles one way and I hiked it with about 9 other hikers. The best guestimate of mileage was about 6.8 miles round-trip. There are a few spots where the trail markers are hard to spot (coming out of Deadwood or once in Lead) but they are more numerous than when the trail opened. Well maintained and fairly level after getting up on the ridgeline (although it is moderately steep until then). Nice views of Deadwood and the Stanford Underground Lab (formerly Homestake Mine), along with the Open Cut and a couple of old mine-shafts.
June 10, 2020I did the trail as an out and back starting in Deadwood. This is a nice trail with a lot of historical markers and beautiful views. There were a couple spots the trail could have been marked better, but for the most part it is an easy trail to follow. As you come up the first incline you’ll run into a city street and the trail isn’t marked well there. Stay to the right and you’ll find the trail markers easily again. The trail head in Lead isn’t well marked like the one in Deadwood.
May 12, 2020Nice marked trail. Plenty of deer and some good views.
January 4, 2020Beautiful trail! Very well marked, Jan 4 2020, good amount of snow, but bare in a few places. Great workout!
September 19, 2019You might have to push your bike at first riding up but it’s a fun trail right in town.
September 4, 2019We hiked from Deadwood to Lead and back. A nice outing, most of the trail is “two track” and follows the mining railroad grade. In Deadwood, park at the Michelson Trailhead and hike toward Lead on the bike path; you’ll come to the signed trailhead for the Homestake Trail shortly. The hiking trail is marked with some signs, but mostly white diamond markers. Trail was in excellent condition in September.
July 11, 2019There is still lots of water on the trail (July). And I thought the trail head was tricky to find. But the views are great and we had it to ourselves which is always nice.
June 30, 2019We hiked from deadwood to lead and back today. This trail was beautiful! The views were well worth it and we saw several deer. It was a bit overgrown in some areas but was a nice moderate challenge and my dog loved it.
June 29, 2019We started at Lead and after about half mile trail closed
June 24, 2019This trail is only marked by white diamonds. It starts at the dog park in Lead. There is nothing at the parking lot to tell you that the trail is there. Walk straight through the dog park(through 2 metal gates) and then follow the trail. Once you're on the trail then there are signs explaining the Homestake Gold Mine.
May 30, 2019Hiked up part-way from Deadwood - well marked off Michelson trail. Nice views and good workout since the beginning of the trail is nice and steep.
November 13, 2018trail is now well marked, lots of deer, fresh lion tracks
October 24, 2018Great trail
September 7, 2018Nice beginner’s hike, a good workout and lots of nice views, wild flowers, and people along the way. The trailhead in Deadwood is difficult to find. You will need to start at the Mickelson Trail trailhead and walk 300 yards west up the Mickelson Trail. The Homestake trailhead is a sharp turn to your right. If you come to the bench on the Mickelson Trail, you went 10 yards too far.
July 15, 2018We only had 30 minutes to hike so went up for a quick leg stretch (just hiking 15 min in, 15 min out). Got to see the huge cut of the mine, which was really cool and an abundance of deer and wildflowers.
June 10, 2018
First to ReviewFun, relatively easy trail with beautiful views of Deadwood and Lead. Lots of great kiosks along the trail with information about the history of area. The unmarked trailhead on the Deadwood side is nearly impossible to find unless you’ve hiked the trail through from Lead. It’s a short walk up from the Mickelson Trail trailhead, just a bit past the little exercise station at the Powerhouse Park trail. It cuts sharply back up the hillside and runs nearly parallel to the Mickelson Trail, so be looking to your right and a bit behind you to locate the trailhead. The trail is much easier to find & follow from the Lead side. It begins at the Lead Dog Park. Take the steep path up to the dog park, then pick up the trail from the gate at the far side of the park.
April 20, 2018Hiked up the Homestake and looped back down to Deadwood on the Mickelson Trail!
