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Where to see and photograph the stars near the Black Hills National Forest

Support Black Hills Preservation Project by purchasing Dark Skies: Rare Phenomena in America’s National Parks photography book

20% of the profits are directly donated to Black Hills Preservation Project

Devil’s Tower National Monument

Devil’s Tower is an iconic rocky protrusion on the western edge of the Black Hills region. It is considered sacred by Northern Plains Indians and indigenous people. The gentle hills around it have plenty of open space, making it a location where you can capture a variety of different dark sky phenomena—the Milky Way, star trails, and the moon.

Between March and September, with summer being the peak season, the most visible part of the galactic center of the Milky Way rises over the landscape, creating amazing photo opportunities.

Download a planning app like Photopills or Photographer’s Ephemeris to plot your shot during the day and head out at night.

Camera settings:

Aperture: Wide open, ideally F2.8 or lower

ISO: 1600 or 3200

Shutter speed: 10-13s

Focal length: 20-30mm

Advanced tip: Shoot your foreground during blue hour, when there is still light to illuminate Devil’s Tower. Photograph the Milky Way when it gets into position for your composition and stitch them together in Photoshop.

George S. Mickelson Trail

Running from Deadwood to Edgemont, this rails to trail bikepacking trail is an amazing way to experience the forests and rolling landscape of the Black Hills National Forest. It’s also an ideal place to capture the moon as it rises or sets along the horizon. You can stay in towns along the trail or camp out anywhere in the national forest, making it easy to pop out when the moon is close to the treeline, rocky crags, or maybe even the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is visible from the trail.

Bring a long lens (300mm or longer) and zoom ALL the way in until the moon fills the frame. This brings the foreground and our lunar companion closer together, making the moon feel giant by comparison.

Check the local times, and then use an AR app like Photopills or Photographer’s Ephemeris to figure out where the moon will come up. Grab a telephoto lens, ideally something 300mm or longer.

You’ll have to be ready. For something that moves so slow, the moon moves frustratingly fast. Get your settings dialed in with some practice shots on the moon elsewhere. Be prepared to use your legs to move when our lunar companion emerges. Zoomed in, you’ll have precious little time to capture that giant silvery disc so close to the ridgeline.

Camera settings:

Aperture: Wide open, ideally F2.8 or lower

ISO: 200 to 400

Shutter speed: 1/20 to 1/125

Focal length: 200mm or longer

Needles Scenic View or Cathedral Spires Pullout

If the Milky Way is south, another trail to beautiful night sky photos is to the north. That’s right, we’re talking about star trails.

You’ve probably seen plenty of these striking, swirling shots that reveal the movement of the night sky as it rotates around the North Star. You can see the streaking arcs with relatively short exposure times, but to really create the effect you should plan on being out there for at least an hour.

Luckily, this gives you time to experience what night in the Black Hills is like. Dark skies aren’t just about the sights. You’ll hear things in the quiet: animals rustling through the undergrowth, coyotes yipping as they emerge from their den, maybe even the sound of your own heartbeat as the waking world goes dormant.

These pull offs look north over the aforementioned Needles and Cathedral Spires rock formations. Spires of stone rise above the forest, creating a jagged ridge and interesting foreground for the stars to swirl above.

Camera settings:

Turn off long exposure noise reduction

Aperture: Wide open, ideally F2.8 or lower

ISO: 400 to 1600

Shutter speed: 30s and stack multiple photos in Photoshop or bulb mode with a remote shutter for a single long shot

Focal length: 30mm or lower

Iron Mountain Road

As you learn more about astrophotography, you’ll quickly learn a major challenge is finding interesting compositions.

Iron Mountain Road has plenty of opportunities. It’s a 70-mile drive that leads to Mount Rushmore. Along the byway, visitors will find wildfire exhibits, pigtail bridges, and tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore.

The most interesting photos to be had here are of the expansive stars. Bring a wide angle lens, ideally something 24mm or shorter. Use the same settings you used for the Milky Way and reveal thousands of points of light glittering above your composition.

Depending on how busy the road is, you’ll get to experience a common frustration of photographers—figuring out how to get good photos when headlights, headlamps, and other man-made light sources ruin your shot.

It’s a good reminder of good dark sky habits:

Only use light when you need it, turn it off when you don’t.
Use a red-light headlamp to minimize impact on wildlife and people.
Avoid using bright cell phone screens

Not only will these habits ingratiate you with your fellow night-sky enthusiasts, you’ll be making the flora and fauna around you happy.

Black Elk Peak

If you’re adventurous, comfortable being out on trail in the dark, and make safety preparations (extra water, compass, headlamp, etc.), head out to Black Elk Peak in the Black Hills for an epic 360 degree view of the stars and explore an old stone fire lookout tower on the summit. It is no longer in operation, but photographers can use it in their compositions with the stars.

It’s a little over 7 miles round trip and ends at the tower. Hikers will climb just over 1,500 feet in elevation change. You can place this man-made folly in the foreground and then photograph the galactic center of the Milky Way rising behind it, depending on the time of year and night.

You’re even more likely to have the place to yourself and will have all the time in the world to experiment with things like light painting, watching for shooting stars, or just enjoying the quiet of the night sky.

Want to help protect dark skies in the Black Hills National Forest?

Black Hills Preservation Project’s goal is to prevent commercial mining on public lands in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This is to preserve, land, drinking water, and the natural beauty of the Black Hills. Commercial outfits bring light and noise pollution to otherwise wild areas, impacting wildlife, vegetation, and human’s ability to enjoy the landscape.

20% of the profits for every sale of Dark Skies: Rare Phenomena in America’s Public Lands directly supports conservation efforts led by Black Hills Preservation Project

About the book: If you’ve ever stared at the stars and felt something stir inside you, this book is for you. Dark Skies is more than a photo collection. It’s a portal into the rare, the unexplained, and the unbelievable. It captures the ephemeral wilderness of our public lands in a way you haven’t seen before. It’s my love letter to the American park system, and donating a part of every sale is my small way to say thank you to our beautiful country.

Support Black Hills Preservation Project by purchasing Dark Skies: Rare Phenomena in America’s National Parks photography book

20% of the profits are directly donated to Black Hills Preservation Project

About the author:

Jeff Pfaller is an award-winning photographer and has visited all 7 continents, all 50 U.S. states in the U.S, and over 20 countries. He funds his wanderlust and parkaholic habits as a content strategist. He lives in Chicago with his wife, three children, and rotating menagerie of animals. His latest landscape photography book, Dark Skies, seeks to help people experience public lands like the Black Hills in a new way by celebrating rare moments in the night sky.

Custer, South Dakota

Black Hills Preservation Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible.

Black Hills Preservation Project

PO Box 9

Custer, SD 57730

Contact Email: blackhills@myyahoo.com

www.blackhillspreservationproject.org

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