Black Elk Peak 7242' - South Dakota's High Point                                                                          June 20, 2021

After Ricardo played a gig with his band, he and Ulyana, along with friends (and bandmate) Gonzalo, his wife, Vanessa, and their two sons joined us on an ascent of South Dakota's highpoint. At 7,242 feet, Black Elk Peak is not only South Dakota's high point, but the highest elevation between the Rocky Mountains in the western United States and the Pyrenees Mountains of France.

The peak features a stone fire tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1938. The stone, cement and sand were hauled up more than 3 miles, one-way, by carts pulled by horses and mules! 

State highpoint rank: 15th 

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SUMMITS: Black Elk Peak Photos

SCIENCE: "Extinct Elephants"

Shot on location in Hot Springs, South Dakota, home to the largest concentration of mammoth remains in the world.