Pine Ridge Trailhead

The Pine Ridge Trail is a 40 mile hiking, mountain biking and equestrian trail that spans most of the Pine Ridge section of the Ranger District. The east end of the trail begins at Spotted Tail Trailhead a few miles south of Chadron. The Western end is at The West Ash Trailhead on West Ash Road about 10.5 miles south of Crawford. Approximately 2 miles of Dead Horse Road connect the eastern and western sections of the trail as it passes through private land giving the user a taste of rural life in Northwest Nebraska.

The trail passes through a wide variety of landscapes ranging from grassland, Ponderosa Pine Forest, creek bottoms, canyons and open ridges with views of the nearby buttes. Approximately 10 miles of the trail passes through the Pine Ridge National Recreation Area.

The wildfires of 2006 and 2012 burned through almost all of the trail. Along some sections the former pine forest was severely burned with few remaining live trees.  In other areas the effects of the fire are barely noticeable.

Access: Between the east and west ends of the trail are numerous access points and trailheads. Some of the easier ones to access are trailheads at East Ash, Coffee Mill, Black Hills Overlook, Outrider and Strong Canyon. The trail can also easily be accessed from Chadron State Park.

For more detailed trail information: call the Pine Ridge Ranger District at 308-432-0300.

At a Glance