OK, I admit it.

I always thought the north end of the Centennial Trail, between Bear Butte and the Black Hills proper, would be boring. You know, walking through pastures until you can get to some real hills, pine trees and rocky ridges.

I thought this section of the Centennial Trail, created in 1989 to commemorate the 100th birthday of South Dakota statehood, was added to only to make the trail it 111 miles (the other end is at Wind Cave), and connect it with Bear Butte, a well-known Black Hills landmark.

That’s what I thought — until Saturday.

About mid-morning I grabbed the dogs and headed to the trailhead/park just east of the Black Hills National Cemetery. I’ve done that before, and headed south under the interstate and into the Hills. But this time, we went north toward Fort Meade and Bear Butte.

It turns out that the north end of the Centennial Trail is a great, scenic hike.

We crossed a clover pasture, then headed up into the hogback ridge that runs east of Interstate 90 to Sturgis.  Before long, I was up near the top of the ridge looking down on an incredibly scenic view of Bear Butte and the plains to the east. And guess what? There are real hills, pine trees and rocky ridges.

I had to change the way I think about the north end.  It’s beautiful over there. I recommend that you give it a hike.