Rocker Trail - Walking, Hiking, Mountain Biking!

Rocker Trail stretches approximately three miles through the hills above campus. Visitors can take in views of Rapid City, the surrounding prairie, the Black Hills, and the South Dakota Mines campus below. The elevated location offers unique perspectives throughout the year.

Rocker Trail can be accessed from several locations on campus, including trailheads near O’Harra Stadium and above Connolly Hall. Trail signage throughout the route helps visitors navigate and explore the network comfortably.

The trail includes education components. Faculty in the civil engineering department are working on a land reclamation study along the trail. They have also constructed a living laboratory adjacent to the trail that is the center of ongoing research and engineering education. Students in the industrial engineering department helped design the signs along the trail and Mines students studying geological engineering helped with the digital mapping for the project.

The area surrounding Rocker Trail holds an important place in the university’s history. Portions of the trail pass through the historic Smelter Hill area, where gold and other metals were processed during the early years of the institution. Today, the landscape offers a connection to both the region’s mining heritage and the university’s roots.