China Wall Trail

Total Miles
9.1

Elevation

1,674.23 ft

Duration

1.5 Hours

Technical Rating

Easy

Best Time

Spring, Summer, Fall

Trail Overview

Another fantastic historical site in the Black Hills National Forest is the China Wall. The waypoint on the track shows exactly where the hike begins, and it's only about 600 yards to the wall. It's well worth the hike. The trail begins at Highway 385 on the south, and it runs up through Galena and onto the north to Calamity Canyon. Galena is a gem of history as well. There is an old school house there, that is really great, and a beautiful cemetery. You go by the Vinegar Hill Cemetery on this track. It's well worth a stop to visit. This track combines Forest Roads 534, 170, 172.1, 567.1E, 567.1, and Camp Five 8044. Part of the trail is labeled Bear Den on the Forest Service map, part of it is called Lost Gulch, Butcher Gulch Lane, and Galena Road. The scenery is fantastic. The history of the China Wall is a bit jumbled. Most say it was built by the Chinese. Some say it was for a mine but it ran out of money and the building stopped. Others say it was a scam to bilk easterners out of their money, and that's why it stopped, someone discovered the scam. At any rate, the amount of work put into these 3 completed walls is really amazing. Our SXS is 75" wide roughly, and we fit this trail easily.

Photos of China Wall Trail

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Difficulty

Much of the track is just forest service trails and dirt roads. If you get into Calamity Canyon, that's a different story. It's rated an 8. But this trail will go across Calamity and continue up the other side on an easy trail if you don't want to tackle Calamity Jane. This track is easy. There is a chance of mud in the spring or after rain, but nothing technical or difficult.

History

The history of the China Wall is a bit jumbled. Most say it was built by the Chinese. Some say it was for a mine but it ran out of money and the building stopped. Others say it was a scam to bilk easterners out of their money, and that's why it stopped, someone discovered the scam. At any rate, the amount of work put into these 3 completed walls is really amazing.

Technical Rating

Status Reports

Cameron Lindhorst

Sep 24, 2024

4x4

Open

We decided to take this easy trail in the evening because it was rated only 2/10 difficulty. The first half of it was probably only 1/10 difficulty until we reached Butcher Gulch which was easily a 4/10 or higher. We started up the hill/cliff and it got progressively worse. Sharp angles, lose rocks, steep climb with a long drop off the side. We had no place to turn around and I didn't want to drive the whole thing backwards. We weren't equipped for this but we made it to the first turnaround as it got dark. It was a beautiful drive but be advised this was at least a 4/10 difficulty. This would have been more fun in a more capable vehicle. If it wasn't already dark I would have taken some pictures.