Black Hills National Forest
Sundance Ranger District
Sundance, WY
The quiet Wyoming corner of the Black Hills, where dark ponderosa ridges rise out of the plains near Devils Tower.
The Black Hills are best known for their South Dakota half, but the range begins in Wyoming, and its western edge is a genuine hidden corner. Here the Bear Lodge Mountains rise dark with ponderosa pine above the surrounding grassland, a cool, forested island that the Lakota called the heart of everything that is.
This Wyoming side, managed from the Sundance Ranger District, is the quiet one. There are shaded campgrounds, small lakes, and miles of forest road and trail through the pines and aspen, all within easy reach of Devils Tower and far from the crowds of the eastern hills.
What Guests Love
- Cool, pine-scented ridges that feel worlds away from the surrounding plains
- The quiet trails and campground around Cook Lake
- Fall color when the aspens turn gold against the dark pines
- An uncrowded base for visiting nearby Devils Tower
Worth Knowing
- The forest is spread across ranch and public land, so a motor vehicle use map helps you know where you can go
- Roads climb quickly and can be snowy or muddy in the shoulder seasons
- Services are limited once you leave Sundance, so carry water and supplies
- Watch for cattle, deer, and wild turkey on the back roads
Details
Sundance, WY
Learn about Black Hills National Forest
The Bear Lodge Mountains
The Bear Lodge Mountains form the northwestern arm of the Black Hills, a low, forested range that carries the same dark pines and cool air as the higher country to the east. The name is a translation of the Lakota name for the whole range, and the hills remain sacred ground to the Lakota, Cheyenne, and other Plains nations.
Above the town of Sundance rises Sundance Mountain, a landmark that gave the town its name and, by way of the town, gave the outlaw Harry Longabaugh his nickname, the Sundance Kid, after he served time in the local jail. Trails climb through the pines to open views across the plains.
Cook Lake and the back roads
Tucked in a valley in the Bear Lodge country, Cook Lake is a small, still reservoir ringed by pines with a campground, a loop trail, and quiet fishing for trout and bass. It is the kind of place families return to year after year, easy to reach yet far enough in to feel remote.
Beyond the lake, a web of forest roads threads the ridges and draws, good for a slow scenic drive, a mountain-bike ride, or a hunt for fall color. In autumn the aspen stands flare gold against the dark evergreens, and the whole range goes crisp and quiet.
Forest of the plains
Rising as it does out of dry grassland, the forest is a magnet for wildlife. Elk, white-tailed and mule deer, wild turkey, and the occasional black bear move through the timber, and the mix of pine, aspen, and meadow makes for rich birdwatching.
The contrast is the whole appeal. You climb off the hot, open plains into shade and the smell of warm pine within a few miles, and the temperature and the mood shift with the elevation. It is why these hills have drawn people, for ceremony and for refuge, for a very long time.
Visiting
Sundance, just off Interstate 90, is the gateway and the place to pick up maps and information at the ranger district office. From town, forest roads climb north into the Bear Lodge Mountains toward Cook Lake and the higher ridges.
Summer and early fall are the prime seasons, with warm days, cool nights, and dry roads. Come prepared to be self-sufficient, respect the many private inholdings, and use the whole area as a peaceful base for the wonders nearby, chief among them Devils Tower.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Sundance
Devils Tower National Monument
About 25 miles northwest
The nation's first national monument, a soaring column of columnar rock sacred to many Plains nations, rising more than 850 feet above the Belle Fourche River.
Sundance
In the forest's shadow
A small county-seat town below Sundance Mountain, with the Crook County Museum, the old courthouse, and the story of the Sundance Kid.
Vore Buffalo Jump
About 20 miles east
A natural sinkhole used by Plains tribes for centuries to harvest bison, now an archaeological site and interpretive center near the South Dakota line.