Calamity Canyon

Calamity Canyon is a challenging Black Hills rock crawling trail located within the Camp 5 area near Deadwood. The trail follows Butte Creek through a narrow-walled canyon, offering no reprieve as you continuously weave your way up, over, and around a jumbled mess of beachball and couch-sized boulders. Although the trail can be run in either direction, traveling from north to south, starting at Camp 5 Road and ending at Galena Road, is the recommended direction as you will be driving the trail uphill. The trail remains in the creekbed most of the way, paralleling and crossing the observation or bypass trail several times. These trail crossings offer a great opportunity to bail out if you break something or the large rocks prove to be more than you can handle. However, once both trails merge together and exit the canyon, you climb a steep, rutty hill where you will still encounter moderate challenges.

This trail will require a skilled driver who is comfortable with undercarriage damage. Vehicles attempting this trail should be equipped with skid plates, rocker protection, and larger tires. Lockers are highly recommended but not required.