Have you ever hiked the Lovers’ Leap Trail in Custer State Park? Do you know the story behind the trail’s name? Head on out to the park this weekend for a snowshoe hike at Lovers’ Leap.

On Saturday, February 15, Custer State Park will be holding its annual Lovers’ Leap Snowshoe Hike. Meet at the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center at 1 p.m. Reservations are required. Please call 605-255-4515 for more information. The park states that the trail is rated moderate and starts with a steep incline. Make sure to dress in layers as it may be cold but you will warm up fast.

The trail has been used since the 1930s and is a 4.2-mile loop which ascends a ridge up to the “Lovers’ Leap.” The highest elevation reached on the trail is about 4,800 feet and on a clear day, hikers can see Black Elk Peak, Mount Coolidge, and the Cathedral Spires in the distance.

According to legend, Lovers’ Leap derives its name from a Native American couple who elected to end their lives by plummeting from the lofty outcropping of rocks at the top. Just why the couple leaped to their deaths is not remembered.

Also near the summit is a wooden sign with a quotation attributed to Badger Clark, South Dakota’s former Poet Laureate who lived in the park. The sign reads: “Custer State Park is a place where one can still be an unworried and unregimented individual and wear any old clothes and sit on a log and get their sanity back again.”
Don’t miss out on this wonderful chance to get outside during the winter months at Custer State Park!

For more information: https://gfp.sd.gov/parks/detail/custer-state-park/

Winter Activities: https://www.custersd.com/Winter-Activities

Winter outdoor recreation safety tips: https://www.custersd.com//blog/Winter-Outdoor-Recreation-Safety-Tips

Lovers’ Leap Story by: Bert and Jane Gildart

Photos by: Custer State Park and Marcus Heerdt