Rankin Ridge Fire Tower

Rankin Ridge Fire Tower is a steel lookout built in 1956 at 5,013 feet, the highest point in Wind Cave National Park. A one-mile trail loop climbs through ponderosa pines to the ridge. The tower is closed to visitors, so you see it from the ground; the real payoff is the structure and the wide summit view. If you're coming to climb the stairs, skip it. For a short ridge walk and a different look at the park, it's a good stop.

The loop's narrower nature trail climbs over rocky ground, then returns on a wider, gated former service road. The trail section can feel exposed, so if drop-offs bother you, use the road as an out-and-back instead. There's parking at the trailhead, but no drinking water on the trail, and pets aren't allowed.

The summit opens over the southeastern Black Hills and the surrounding Great Plains. On a clear day, you can pick out Buffalo Gap and Badlands National Park in the distance. Frame the tower above the pine-covered slope, then turn to the open horizon for a wider landscape shot; the distant view depends on clear conditions.

The tower watched for fires during fire seasons through 1998, and the National Park Service still uses it occasionally to look for fires or monitor severe weather. Lookouts once scanned for smoke; lightning mapping arrays and satellite imagery now help identify possible fires. The ridge is named for William A. Rankin, Wind Cave's first superintendent. This area joined the park in August 1946, when more than 16,000 acres of the former Custer Recreation Demonstration Area were added.