Parking
Park at Badger Clark Trailhead beside Badger Hole Historic Site; the loop starts by the cabin.
Overview
About Badger Clark Trail
Why go
- Rock-lined tread and poetry signs tie the walk closely to Badger Clark.
- Higher points look toward Legion Lake and Mount Coolidge.
Heads up
- Published mileage varies from 0.6 to 1 mile.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Custer map
Full mapElevation4,974–5,112 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Custer Tour Guide
Your drive to Badger Clark Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Custer State Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Badger Hole: The Poet’s Cabin0:00 / 0:33
“You're approaching Badger Hole, the cabin of South Dakota's first poet laureate, Charles Badger Clark.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Custer Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Legion Lake: A Short Walk and Lakeside Lunch
- Why Turtles Share a Sunny Log
- The Dragonfly's Underwater Life
- The Vulture's Wobbly Glide
- 82 audio storiesacross Custer’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bison, Wapiti, Bighorn Sheep, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 40 trails, 49 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“We recently toured Badlands, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and more! We learned so much from this app as we toured each of these sites. The audio tours are worth the money.”
Trail guide
Hiking Badger Clark Trail
A short cabin loopBadger Clark Trail is a 0.
Badger Clark Trail is a 0.6-mile loop that starts beside Badger Hole, the historic cabin where cowboy poet Charles “Badger” Clark lived in Custer State Park. Give it about 30–60 minutes. It is an easy-to-moderate walk with one short hill, and the higher ground earns views toward Legion Lake and Mount Coolidge. Stay on this cabin loop if that is the walk you want; the longer Centennial Trail also leaves from this area. Published distances vary: the map labels 0.6 mile, while the same guide gives 0.7 mile in its heading and 1 mile in its description. The mapped circuit measures about 0.58 mile, so 0.6 is the closest fit.
Rocky hillsides and poetryThe loop threads through mixed pine and hardwood forest over rocky hillside ground.
The loop threads through mixed pine and hardwood forest over rocky hillside ground. Some of the path is rock-lined, and that stretch is attributed to Clark himself. Look for interpretive signs with his poems as you go. The park also lists this trail for biking, so expect to share the route with cyclists.
A poet's homeClark was South Dakota's first poet laureate, though he preferred the joking title “Poet…
Clark was South Dakota's first poet laureate, though he preferred the joking title “Poet Lariat.” He lived at Badger Hole for the last 30 years of his life. The cabin had no running water or electricity and has been preserved as he left it in 1957. When the house opens to visitors in summer, its displays include Clark's boots, large library, and original writing desk; that seasonal cabin visit is separate from the loop.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Custer
993 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
91 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
258 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
85 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
256 sightingsBurroMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
707 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Custer. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
