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Summit Ridge Cabin is located near the border of Wyoming in southwestern South Dakota.iin Black Hills National Forest, providing a perfect setting for guests seeking recreation and relaxation.
Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's, the cabin was originally used as housing for personnel that staffed the adjacent forest fire lookout tower. The cabin is available for reservation throughout the year when accessible. At an elevation of 6,096 feet, it can receive considerable snowfall. The roads to the cabin are not plowed, so generally it is not accessible from December through March.
**NOTE:** Check with local office for snow conditions during winter months.
The area around the cabin is remote, yet offers visitors a multitude of recreational opportunities throughout all seasons. Hiking, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, and riding off-highway vehicles are popular in summer and early autumn. Snowshoeing, skiing and snowmobiling offer visitors a chance to seek out winter landscapes. For hikers and bikers, the George S. Mickelson Trail, near Custer, South Dakota (approximately 40 miles from the cabin) traverses over 100 miles through the heart of the Black Hills, with four tunnels, more than 100 converted railroad bridges, and 15 established trailheads spaced along the route. The trail surface is packed gravel, traversing mountain, meadow, and forest terrain.
The cabin measures 22' x 32' and is comfortable for four people, though groups as large as ten may reserve the facility. The cabin is furnished with three bunk beds. Bedding and mattresses are not provided. The cabin is equipped with a propane stove for cooking, a wood stove for heat and an outdoor fire ring. Guests must provide the propane.
Visitors must also bring several of their own supplies as the cabin does not have food, cooking utensils, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, towels, dish soap, matches, pots and pans, toilet paper or garbage bags. Guests must also bring their own firewood and water for cooking, washing and drinking. There is no drinking water available at this site.
Although solar LED lighting is available, an additional light source is recommended. Kerosene lamps are not permitted for fire safety reasons. An accessible vault toilet is located on site and a steel firetower is located near the cabin, but is closed for public use.
Summit Ridge Lookout Cabin also has 2 RV sites at additional $12 each, allowing RVs up to 20 and 30 feet. If you would like to use these RV sites, please enter 11 people, and if you would like both please enter 15 people. The RV sites are not reservable on their own but in addition to the rental of the cabin.
Located in western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, Black Hills National Forest encompasses nearly 1.25 million acres of rugged rock formations, canyons and gulches, open grassland parks, tumbling streams, deep blue lakes, and unique caves. Derived from the Lakota language, the words "Paha Sapa," meaning "hills that are black," honor the dark, pine-covered hills rising several thousand feet above the surrounding prairie. Situated in a grassy understory beneath Ponderosa pine, the area around Summit Lookout Cabin exemplifies this landscape. Wildlife in the area abounds. Bighorn sheep navigate mountainous terrain, while elk, deer and pronghorn gather in forests and prairies. Bald eagles, hawks, osprey, peregrine falcon, and hundreds of other bird species can be found in the forest, especially along streams, lakes and rivers.
Explore Mount Rushmore National Memorial, host to almost 3 million visitors a year from across the country and around the world. Managed by the National Park Service, visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the birth, growth, development and the preservation of the United States, and take in the beauty of South Dakota's Black Hills. South Dakota caves are some of the most unique in the United States. Boasting sparkling calcite crystals and other rare formations, as well as some of the largest concentrations of passageways in the world, nearby Jewel Cave is currently the second longest in the world, at 180 miles. Other possible day trips include Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Monument and Wind Cave National Park.
Entrance into the cabin is by combination lock. Prior to your arrival please contact the Hell Canyon Ranger District, Monday - Friday between 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Mountain Time, at 605-673-9200 to obtain the combination.
From Newcastle, Wyoming, travel east on US Highway 16 for approximately 9 miles to Forest Service Road 117, Boles Canyon Road. Go North on Boles Canyon Road for approximately 12 miles and turn left on Forest Service Road 265, Summit Road. Follow Summit Road for approximately three miles to the Summit Ridge Cabin which is on the left.
Note that Boles Canyon Road and Summit Road do not receive any maintenance during winter months, including snow plowing.
One of the best vacation spots if you don't mind a bit of "roughing it". No electricity or water, but a great rustic cabin that sleeps 10+ people, breathtaking views, all on a seldom-travelled road.
Now there is a fence around the base of the fire tower with "No Entry, US Government Property" and "Area Under Surveillance". I suppose they had to do that because some moron would climb up there and fall off.
What a great place to stay for our family of 4. We flew in from Hawaii to Minneapolis and stayed here one night on our way west to Yellowstone. It is a great alternative to camping when you don't have room in your luggage for a large tent. It is accessed on a gravel and dirt road.
Summit Ridge Lookout Cabin is a great property with a fire pit. We made s'mores and enjoyed the fire late into the night. We took short walks, down the road, or out back to a meadow and found the area to be very private. We did not see any other people here during our short stay.
The cabin itself was in pretty good condition, but when we arrived, we did find it had a fly problem in the side room. We kept that room closed off from the rest of the cabin to prevent the flies from spreading out into the rest of the cabin. If we were staying on more then one night, we would probably spent more time trying to clear the flies out and make that a useable room. Even without the use of the side room, the cabin was a good size and fit our family of 4 comfortably.
What I always wonder about when going to a new place is how the bathrooms are. This cabin has a vault toilet located outside. It was relatively clean, in fact, surprisingly clean for an outdoor facility,. To me it had an odd smell but not too unpleasant.
We followed the directions to the cabin from Newcastle, as given on the website. We decided to shop for our cabin food in Newcastle, and resupplied at Shopko. I'm not sure if we just were unlucky, but the selection they had at that time was very limited. I would suggest shopping before reaching that town.
TIP: Bring a sleeping pad or air mattress if you want a nice soft sleeping surface. There was foam on some of the beds, but the foam was pretty dusty.
Great place to stay! Just take a comfy camping pad or air mattress. I did clean dead flies off the beds but no mice droppings. There is a fly season in the hills so that is expected as an early spring guest. Wood stove was much appreciated as the nights get cold. Someone left us dried logs so we split the wood and restocked wood pile for us and the next guest. Take water and TP along!
Bare bones cabin located in a fairly picturesque location. The bathroom is really nice for being an outhouse, exploring around the area was fun and the gravel road to get to the cabin is really well maintained.
The only negative is that the cabin is very close to a gravel road that is constantly used by OHVs, vehicles, and dirt bikes. The Cabin is located at an intersection which in turn become a turn around point for people exploring the by vehicle. There is a surprising amount of traffic for a remote area that stops right in front of the cabin. That factor alone really degrades the potential immersive feeling of being in remote natural space.
