Family Nature Summits: Black Hills Summit: Full Schedule

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.

8:00am MDT

Ramble - Mount Rushmore and Horse Thief Lake

Sunday August 2, 2026 8:00am - 12:00pm MDT

Ramble Van 1

This is a winning combination if you like history and a lakeside ramble! We’ll start off by driving along Iron Mountain Road to Mt. Rushmore. You’ll get a true sense of how large Custer State Park is and start to get the feel of this landscape. Once at Mt. Rushmore, we’ll walk the Avenue of the Flags, see the monument from the terrace, and have time in the Visitor Center to see exhibits and to watch the movie that gives more background on this historic site. We’ll take a short (.2 mile each way) ramble on a paved pathway, which leads to a platform that provides a closer look at the monument. Be sure to bring some money to indulge in the Thomas Jefferson Ice Cream - handmade ice cream utilizing Thomas Jefferson’s original recipe, which has received rave reviews from everyone we have met!

On our loop back to the State Game Lodge, we’ll stop at lovely Horse Thief Lake and ramble the Forest trail on the lakefront. There are 35 stairs (wide, not steep, handrails on both sides) leading to the lake, and this ramble is level and easy, and will be about a half mile total.

Faculty

Betty Trummel

Rambles, Faculty

Betty Trummel is retired from a 35-year career of elementary teaching and 10 years as an adjunct professor at the university level. She's taught at over 40 Summits since 1983 and loves to reach out to learners of all ages to teach about the natural world and create a sense of wonder... Read More →

Sunday August 2, 2026 8:00am - 12:00pm MDT
Ramble Van 1 Transportation Area

Ramble, Difficulty- Easy

8:30am MDT

Tour - Crazy Horse Memorial

Monday August 3, 2026 8:30am - 12:30pm MDT

Ramble Van 1

The Crazy Horse Memorial site includes the colossal mountain carving and a 40,000 square foot Welcome Center. You will be free to explore at your own pace. The Welcome Center includes theaters, the Native American Museum, and the Native American Educational & Cultural Center. You may choose to purchase a bus ride to the base of the mountain for $5.

Faculty

Betty Trummel

Rambles, Faculty

Monday August 3, 2026 8:30am - 12:30pm MDT
Ramble Van 1 Transportation Area

Tour, Difficulty- Easy

1:00pm MDT

Ramble - Heddy Draw Ramble

Monday August 3, 2026 1:00pm - 3:30pm MDT

Ramble Van 1

Heddy Draw is a 15-minute drive from the State Game Lodge. The trail begins with a flat paved section that borders a section of the 2017 Legion Lake Fire, third-largest fire in South Dakota history. This trail is still heavily wooded and provides an opportunity to talk about fire ecology. A beautiful wooden shelter & platform give us a chance to take in the incredible view. We’ll continue on the level gravel path on this ridge, before turning around to complete the ramble. Total distance is approximately three quarters of a mile.

Faculty

Betty Trummel

Rambles, Faculty

Monday August 3, 2026 1:00pm - 3:30pm MDT
Ramble Van 1 Transportation Area

Ramble, Difficulty- Easy

Family Nature Summits: Black Hills Summit

8:00am MDT

Betty Trummel

8:30am MDT

Betty Trummel

1:00pm MDT

Betty Trummel

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