Soldier Creek Wilderness: Trooper and Boots and Saddle Trails

Nebraska National Forest, Pine Ridge Ranger District (near Crawford)

Check before you go. Check before you go: the South Fork Fire started in the Soldier Creek Wilderness on June 9, 2026, and burned about 39,700 acres around Fort Robinson before it was contained in late June. In June, fire officials said a Forest Service emergency closure order was in place while the Soldier Creek Recreation Area was evaluated, and they warned of flash-flood risk in the burn scar. The forest's alerts page listed no South Fork Fire closure on Oct. 17, 2026, and the Forest Service wilderness and campground pages show the sites as open, but those pages were last updated March 29, 2025, before the fire. We found no official reopening notice for the wilderness. Stage 1 fire restrictions (Order 02-07-00-26-12) also apply forest-wide. Call the Pine Ridge Ranger District (308-432-0300) before you go.

The Soldier Creek Wilderness covers 7,794 acres of the Pine Ridge just west of Crawford, bordering Fort Robinson State Park. Congress designated it in 1986, and the Forest Service calls it the larger of Nebraska’s two federal wilderness areas. Its two trails, the Trooper and the Boots and Saddle, start from the Soldier Creek Campground and make a compact loop of creek bottoms, canyons, and open ridges.

The area’s history is in its name: the Forest Service says it was once a timber reservation and horse and mule pasture for Fort Robinson, and Wikipedia notes the U.S. Cavalry used its Soldier Creek pastures from the late 1800s through World War II.

The hike

To reach the trailheads, the Forest Service says to take U.S. 20 about 2.5 miles from Crawford to Fort Robinson, then drive north on Soldier Creek Road for 6 miles. Three trailheads sit in the campground. The Forest Service wilderness page describes the Trooper Trail Loop as about 10.5 miles from the Middle and South Fork trailheads, and the Boots and Saddle Trail as about 7 miles from the North Fork trailhead, tying into the Trooper. The campground page gives 9.7 and 7.1 miles. The Trooper Trail was certified as a National Recreation Trail in 1979, and the national database lists elevations from 4,250 to 4,700 feet.

Backpacker’s 2020 guide to the Boots and Saddle describes a 9.5-mile, two-day loop that follows white-painted markers. The first mile has five crossings of Soldier Creek, one by footbridge, and the guide calls the creek “normally small and shallow.” The trail then climbs onto the prairie, crossing ridgelines and winding ravines, and later crosses the North Fork and, around mile 5.5, the Middle Fork before looping back through canyons and along ridges.

An older Backpacker trip (2010) strings the Trooper and Boots and Saddle into an 11-mile figure-eight with an off-trail side loop, and warns that game trails cross the first three miles, so keep a northwest course when unsure.

Fire has reshaped this landscape more than once. The Forest Service says most of the ponderosa pine forest became grassland after the 1989 Fort Robinson Fire; Wikipedia says that fire destroyed almost 90 percent of the pines. Then, on June 9, 2026, the South Fork Fire started in the wilderness and burned about 39,700 acres before full containment in late June, according to news and state emergency-management updates. Fort Robinson reopened its trails July 1 but warned of fire-weakened trees, unstable ground, and missing gates.

Wildlife listed by the Forest Service includes elk, deer, turkeys, coyotes, bobcats, and eagles. Wikipedia notes two windmills more than 100 years old along the trails.

For a longer Pine Ridge trip east of Crawford, see the Pine Ridge Trail.

Tips

Call ahead after the 2026 fire. Ask about hazard trees, washed-out crossings, and the campground.
Watch for flash floods. Officials warned of increased flood risk in the burn scar during summer storms.
Carry a map and GPS track. Game trails can be confusing, especially on the 2010 route.
Bring weed-free feed if you ride; the Forest Service requires certified feed and hay.
No bikes or carts. Mechanized transport, including game carts, is prohibited in the wilderness.

Camping

The Forest Service allows camping in the wilderness; its page says camping is allowed “with a proper permit” but doesn’t say which permit, and Backpacker’s 2020 guide lists no permit. Groups are limited to 25 people and/or livestock, dogs must be kept under control, and motorized and mechanized equipment is prohibited. Forest Order 02-07-00-24-11 limits camping to 14 days in 30 within a ranger district. The Forest Service says the Soldier Creek Campground at the trailheads has 8 sites, 3 vault toilets, a 15-paddock corral system, and a hand pump well with potable water; its page was last updated before the 2026 fire.

Inside Intel: Backpacker’s 2020 guide suggests camping on a grassy flat on the open prairie at about mile 2.8 of the Boots and Saddle loop, or continuing to forest shelter near the North Fork of Soldier Creek. The 2010 Backpacker trip camped in an open field near a trickling stream. Both predate the 2026 fire.

Trail facts

Distance: Trooper Trail Loop about 9.7 to 10.5 miles; Boots and Saddle about 7 to 9.5 miles, by source
Route type: Loop
Difficulty: Moderate
Campsites: Dispersed; grassy flat near mile 2.8 of the Boots and Saddle (Backpacker)
Water: Hand pump with potable water at the campground (Forest Service; confirm after the 2026 fire); none in the wilderness. Treat water from Soldier Creek and its forks
Permits: Unclear; see Camping
Group size: 25 people and/or livestock
Dogs: Allowed; keep under control
Trailhead: Soldier Creek Campground, 6 miles north of Fort Robinson
Last verified: October 17, 2026

The Lowdown

A grassy flat on the Boots and Saddle loop:

Backpacker's suggested camp is a grassy flat on the open prairie at about mile 2.8 of the Boots and Saddle loop. Side sleepers can find fixes for sore mornings, from a wider pad to a roomier quilt.

See the tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.