Parking
The official maps show nearby parking symbols but do not assign one to Saw Mill; confirm the access point before setting out.
Overview
About Saw Mill Trail
Why go
- Two mapped sections connect into a short ridge traverse.
- A forested Black Hills route with a real climb and descent.
Heads up
- No dedicated Saw Mill trailhead or parking point is identified.
- Walking back on the same route doubles the distance.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Custer map
Full mapElevation4,777–5,502 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 Saw Mill 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 area
Mount Coolidge and Heddy Overlook0:00 / 0:38
“You're approaching the turnoff for Mount Coolidge's summit road. The drive climbs narrow, winding gravel, with no access for campers or oversized vehicles.”
Plays on the road 0.5 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Custer Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Smoke Seen from Mount Coolidge
- Badger Hole: The Poet’s Cabin
- Badger Clark’s Singing Cowboy
- Galena Trail: A Longer Shared-Use Walk
- 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 Saw Mill Trail
Route and timeThis is a point-to-point walk from the Heddy Draw side toward the Blue Bell/French Creek trail…
This is a point-to-point walk from the Heddy Draw side toward the Blue Bell/French Creek trail network. The park map labels a 0.6-mile Saw Mill connector joining a 1.6-mile section, about 2.2 miles one way. Allow roughly 1 hour 15 minutes for that direction; without a pickup, retracing the route makes it about 4.4 miles and roughly 2½ hours on foot.
Start and terrainThe saved route starts at the north Saw Mill junction with the Heddy Draw trail network.
The saved route starts at the north Saw Mill junction with the Heddy Draw trail network. The official maps don't identify a dedicated Saw Mill trailhead or assign parking to this line, so confirm access at both ends before relying on it as a through-hike. The wooded route climbs to about 5,500 feet before dropping toward the Blue Bell side; the park doesn't publish a Saw Mill-specific grade or surface description.
Shared-use and settingThe park map places this route among its multi-use trails, but permitted users vary by signed…
The park map places this route among its multi-use trails, but permitted users vary by signed segment; check postings as you go. Dogs are allowed on leash, up to 10 feet long. The Heddy Draw section opens onto forested Black Hills ridges, but the map doesn't mark a designated viewpoint or endpoint facilities.
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.
