Creekside Trail.

Today we were back in Custer State Park to take a walk on the 2 mile long Creekside Trail; the trail is paved so I refer to this as a walk verses a hike. The trail runs from the Game Lodge Campground to the Grace Coolidge Campground, the scenery is nice as the trail follows Grace Coolidge Creek and Hwy 16A through a valley and some open meadow; along the way you pass the Game Lodge, Coolidge General Store, the Park Office and the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center.

We parked at the General Store and walked west to the Grace Coolidge Campground, we crossed the road and checked out the creek and a walk-in fishing area before returning to the General Store. We stopped at the car to pick up a water bottle before continuing our walk east to the Game Lodge Campground; we walked through the campground before returning to the General Store, when we were done we probably had walked 5 miles or more. We found an open picnic table at the store so we sat down and ate our lunch before returning to Beaver Creek, another good day here in the Black Hills.

 

The trail is wide asphalt as it follows Grace Coolidge Creek.

 

Heading east toward Grace Coolidge Campground, the sides of the valley offer views of the rock.

 

A white-tail deer and two spotted fawns crossed the trail in front of us, we waited until they got down to the creek before trying to get some images of them.

 

Mother didn’t trust us, all three scrambled up the far bank of the creek, crossed the road, and disappeared into the trees.

 

Near the Coolidge Campground.

 

This is Coolidge Creek near the Park Office, we looked down from a boardwalk that went up and over a rocky area.

 

Walking east from the Coolidge General Store the valley opens up, this is near the Game Lodge.

 

This is Near the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center.