For a little exercise in the moonlight and some education on the mining history of the Black Hills, you might want to check out the Rockerville Flume Trail Moon Walk on Saturday, June 6 at 7:00 pm, organized by the U.S. Forest Service.

The Flume Trail is near Rockerville, a city which thrived during the Black Hills Gold Rush, but like many other mining communities, has dwindled to the status of a ghost town.

In case you’re a little rusty on your mining terminology, a flume is an artificial water channel in the form of a chute, and placer mining is the use of water to uncover gold from deposits left at points where rapidly moving water has slowed down. The Rockerville Flume carried water about 20 miles from Spring Creek to the use of the placer miners in the city.

Michael Salisbury, an archaeologist from the Mystic Ranger Station in the Black Hills National Forest will guide visitors passed Spring Creek and up the Flume Trail while describing the history of the flume and placer mining in the area.

The Flume Trail is about 9 miles west of Rapid City. The Moon Walk is a 1 ½ mile round trip, which is expected to attract around 100 participants.

Three other Moon Walks are still schedule for this year. The Underground Wilderness Moon Walk is set for July 11, The Meeker Ranch Homestead on August 8 and the Bald Eagle Walk is planned for September 5. Click here for more information.