Black Hills Parks & Forests Association
A mountain forest set down in the middle of the plains, where eastern and western animals share the same pine hills, and every season turns up something different to watch for.
Black Hills National Forest is a habitat island. A pine-covered mountain range lifts out of the surrounding grasslands, and that isolation makes it a crossroads where animals from the eastern woodlands and the western mountains live side by side. There is a lot to watch here, and it keeps changing as the forest moves through the year.
The forest cover sets the stage. Ponderosa pine dominates, growing in open, park-like stands with grassy floors that let you see a long way. White spruce, quaking aspen, birch, and bur oak fill the moist draws and the cooler north-facing slopes, and meadows open up along the creeks and roads. Each of those settings holds a different set of animals, and knowing which is which is half of finding them.
This guide covers the two questions visitors ask most: what lives here and where to look for it, and how the forest changes season to season. Start with the habitats, then skip ahead to the seasons to plan your timing.
Because the Black Hills stand alone between two very different worlds, the animal list runs long and a little unexpected. The trick to seeing more of it is to match the animal to its habitat. Here is where to look.
The ponderosa pine forest is where most visits start. Wild turkeys work the shoulders of forest roads, red squirrels scold from the branches, and woodpeckers drum the standing snags. White-tailed deer favor the thicker cover, while mule deer lean toward the drier, more open western side of the forest. In spring and summer the pines fill with songbirds: western tanagers in red and yellow, mountain bluebirds over the clearings, and warblers along the edges.
The meadows are the best place to see the big animals. Elk move out of the timber to feed in open parks at higher elevation, most reliably in the central hills, and both deer species graze the edges at first and last light. Where the forest gives way to grassland, pronghorn range the open country. The meadows along Deerfield Road are a dependable spot, and the open ground along Highway 385 turns up animals too.
The rock country holds the forest’s climbers. Bighorn sheep work the outcrops and canyon walls, mostly in the southern hills, and mountain goats, brought here in the 1920s and not native, have taken to the high granite of the Black Elk Wilderness. Yellow-bellied marmots sun on the rocks through the warm months. This is also where to watch your footing: prairie rattlesnakes use warm, south-facing slopes, so look before you put a hand or foot down.
Cold, clear water runs through the forest, and it holds brook, brown, and rainbow trout. Beaver build along the quieter stretches, and their dams and lodges are easiest to spot at dusk. Reservoir margins at Pactola Reservoir, Sheridan Lake, and Deerfield Reservoir pull animals in to drink, especially early in the morning, and the riparian corridors are the richest bird habitat in the forest. Golden eagles and red-tailed hawks hunt overhead, and in Spearfish Canyon you can sometimes catch an American dipper bobbing in and out of the creek.
Two animals round out the list that you are unlikely to see. Mountain lions hold a healthy population here but keep out of sight, and black bears turn up in small numbers in the central and northern hills. Both are shy of people. Finding sign, a track or a scrape, is far more common than seeing the animal itself.
Sitting where the eastern forests meet the western mountains gives the Black Hills a long bird list. Year-round you will find wild turkeys, black-capped chickadees, nuthatches, and several woodpeckers. Summer adds western tanagers, mountain bluebirds, and lazuli buntings, with golden eagles and red-tailed hawks overhead and great horned owls calling after dark.
The forest is worth a trip in any season, and the spread in elevation means you can catch two at once, spring blooming in the lower draws while snow still holds on the high trails. Here is what each one brings.
Spring works its way up the hills from the bottom. Pasqueflowers, the state flower, open on sunny slopes while patches of snow still linger, and by May the meadows fill in with prairie smoke, shooting stars, and wild iris. It is the quiet season, with active wildlife and waterfalls running full on snowmelt, Roughlock Falls in Spearfish Canyon among the best. Birds come back to the riparian corridors, and the dawn chorus peaks in late May. Lower routes like the Flume Trail near Sheridan Lake dry out first, while the high trails can stay snowbound and muddy into May, so check conditions and pack for rain or a late snow squall.
Summer is peak season, with warm days and every trail open. The water pulls the crowds: Pactola Reservoir and Sheridan Lake for boating, swimming, and paddling, Deerfield Reservoir for quiet water and trout, and the mountain streams for fishing and cooling off. For wildlife, go early or late, when the heat backs off. Meadows along Deerfield Road and the reservoir margins are good bets for deer and elk at dusk, and beaver get busy in the evening. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in July and August, so start early. Base at a campground near the water; the where-to-stay guide compares the options, and forest offices can point kids toward Junior Forest Ranger activities.
Fall is the one a lot of regulars wait for. After Labor Day the crowds thin, the air turns crisp, and the aspen, birch, and oak go gold and orange against the dark pines, best in Spearfish Canyon and along Deerfield Road from late September into the first week of October. The main event is the elk rut. From mid-September through October, bull elk bugle, a rising whistle that carries for miles in the still air, and dawn and dusk in the central meadows are the times to hear it. Keep at least 100 yards back; bulls are worked up and unpredictable during the rut.
Snow changes the forest and thins it down to the people who want quiet. Fresh snow also turns the whole forest into a record of who went where. Tracks of deer, elk, turkey, and rabbit are everywhere, and with luck you will cut the line of a fox or a bobcat. Some animals stand out against the white: wild turkeys gather in bigger flocks along the roads, and bald eagles concentrate near open water below the dams, where fishing stays possible. Snowshoes or skis carry you into country like the Black Elk Wilderness with nothing but your own tracks behind you. Come ready for cold and short days, and know that many forest roads go unplowed.
Seeing animals in the forest is a privilege, and it comes with a short list of responsibilities. The whole point is to watch without changing what the animal is doing. Get these right and you will see more, not less. Your part here lines up with the forest’s own conservation work.
Stay back at least 25 yards from deer, elk, and other large animals, and give rutting bulls or any mother with young far more room.
A fed animal loses its fear of people and often ends up dead. It is dangerous for you and harmful to them.
The first and last hours of daylight are when most animals feed and move. An overcast day stretches the window.
Speak low, move deliberately, and let the animals settle. Sudden noise and motion clear a meadow fast.
Sticking to established routes protects habitat and keeps you from stumbling onto an animal at close range.
Dogs stress wildlife and can trigger a defensive reaction. Keep food in lockers or a hard-topped vehicle so animals never get a meal from you.
A pair of binoculars around 8×42 does more than anything else to close the distance, and a regional field guide, sold at our visitor center bookstores, helps you put a name to what you see. Cell service is thin, so download any maps before you drive in.
Hiking, biking, and scenic drives, from the Centennial Trail to Iron Mountain Road.
Campgrounds, dispersed sites, and historic Forest Service cabins.
Black Elk Peak, Spearfish Canyon, and the forest lakes.
How the forest stays wild: partnerships, stewardship, and forest health.
The people and events that shaped Black Hills National Forest.
The main guide to Black Hills National Forest and everything in it.
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association is the nonprofit cooperating association at Black Hills National Forest. Memberships and the park store fund the interpretation, education, and Junior Forest Ranger programs here, and proceeds support conservation and visitor services at BHPFA partner parks and forests.
You can also donate or volunteer.
