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Family Nature Summits: Black Hills Summit has ended
If you would like to join a class that is frozen, please send us a message or email, and we will do our best to accommodate you. 

The Summit Handbook and our pick-a-hike guide are helpful resources! Email [email protected] with additional questions or message us in Sched!

Session availability is subject to change due to weather, availability, and interest. Classes with fewer than 5 participants are subject to cancellation. You are only able to sign up for one class during a time period (including waitlists). We do our best to accommodate waitlists. 

Add/Dropping Classes: All classes with an additional cost have a final add/drop date of July 13. After July 13th, you will be responsible for the cost of the class unless we can fill the spot. Classes with no additional cost can be added/dropped at any time.

Monday August 3, 2026 1:00pm - 4:45pm MDT
4.2 mile, 800-foot total climb "vigorous plus" out & back hike; 47 min. drive each way.

About ¾ of this hike overlaps with the Black Elk and Cathedral Spires/Sunday Gulch hikes.  What's unique is a steep granite slab scramble to the top for the Black Hill's 2nd best view, at 6,870 feet above sea level.  It's as close to the "incredible rock spires" as possible, hiking through quaking aspen country on the way to and from.  If you conclude that the rock formations & "look like huge pancakes turned on edge and stuck in the ground, " you'll get no argument.

At the top, after this Summit's steepest (but short) rock scramble, we'll be rewarded with panoramic views of the Cathedral Spires, Black Elk Peak, and much of the Black Hills.
Faculty
avatar for Matt Hays

Matt Hays

Hiking & Photography, Faculty
Matt Hays is an avid hiker, backpacker, rock-climber, skier, and mountaineer. He has climbed all fifty-four fourteeners in Colorado numerous times, many in the winter. He has also climbed Mt. Whitney, CA and the Grand Teton in Wyoming via the Exum Ridge. He summited Mt. Rainier in... Read More →
Monday August 3, 2026 1:00pm - 4:45pm MDT

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