Bear Butte State Park
Fodor's choice
On the plains outside Sturgis, there's a mountain where it seemingly should not be: Bear Butte rises more than 1,200 feet above its surroundings (and 4,400 feet above sea level). It formed millions of years ago when lava pushed up from underground but never erupted. The Lakota named the resulting laccolith "Mato Paha"--translated as Bear Butte--because from some vantage points, it looks like a bear resting on its side. Today the site is a state park with a challengingly vertical, 1.85-mile trail to the summit, where the panoramic views are incredible. The butte is also a sacred site in the traditional religions of many Native Americans, whose cloth prayer-ties adorn tree branches along the hiking trail.
