Nestled near Mount Rushmore, in the Black Hills, lies the Hippie Hole. It should be called the 'Hidden Hole' because it's very hard to find. We turned off of Rockerville Road and entered on a dirt path. The directions told us to kept right on the road, which lead us back 2.5 miles. As we were driving we felt like we were on someone's private property. We were way back from any main road, there were free range cattle and forks in the road leading to more dirt roads. The road itself was AWFUL and filled with potholes, boulders, and bumps. During our drive, we peaked a small hill (after maneuvering over some massive potholes) and had an incredible view of the Black Hills with trees as fair as the eye could see. We were really 'out there'. After about 20 minutes of bouncing, swerving, and praying my car didn't blow a tire, we made it to the first parking area (the second is closer to the trailhead but is blocked by a huge dip my car wouldn't have made it though.) We walked a couple hundred feet and knew we were in the right place. A boulder lay near the entrance, spray painted "Hippie Hole".
The trail is very simple, only about .3 miles down to Battle Creek. Once we reached the creek the trail seemed to end. We explored for a little bit before finding a small pond. I knew this wasn't the Hole we were looking for. Luckily I had looked up the trail map beforehand and knew we needed to walk along the creek to reach our destination, so we went down a narrow path that we thought might be the trail. Thankfully, an explorer before us marked the trail every so often with a pink spray painted arrow, pointing to the Hole. We were heading the right way! Without those arrows, I don't think we would have found it since the trail leads over boulders and branches, and through thick brush.
Finally the trail opened to a glorious view. We were at the top of the Hippie Hole. A small waterfall poured into the pond below. Many people cliff jump off the ledge were standing on, and we noticed the rope secured to a large boulder for people to climb up once they make their jump. We, however, did not jump. M would never let me in a million years, plus the water is so dark you don't really know how deep it is or if rocks are right below the surface. So we just walked around the Hippie Hole and enjoyed the view it offered us. We were completely alone, with only the sounds of splashing water, the wind bending around the trees and the songbirds to keep us company. This place is definitely a hidden gem, and we were lucky to uncover it.
