Standing tall as the Mount Rushmore State’s highest point, Black Elk Peak rises to an elevation of 7,244 feet.  Named in honor of Nicholas Black Elk (December 1, 1863 – August 19, 1950), an Oglala Lakota medicine man, the peak commemorates a life deeply woven into American history. Black Elk fought alongside his second cousin, Crazy Horse, at the Battle of the Greasy Grass (Battle of the Little Bighorn – Custer’s Last Stand) in 1876 and later survived the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.

Overlooking the vast expanse of the Black Hills, Black Elk Peak is recognized as the highest natural summit east of the Rocky Mountains. Today, it stands in honor and respect of Nicholas Black Elk and the Lakota people.

On brilliant blue-sky days, hikers are rewarded with sweeping views that stretch beyond South Dakota into Montana, Nebraska, and Wyoming.  On warm sunny days, we’re also on alert for the rattling sound of SODAK’s ‘hissy sticks’ – rattlesnakes!

– Buffalo Hydraulic