dwmckee

Hello BF.

We are planning to pile 3 families with kids into an RV and drive out west for our annual bike touring adventure this summer. One of the places we are thinking of touring is the Badlands area National Park and The Mickelson Trail. Do you folks have any recommendations for riding in either of these areas? We are likely going to be doing a combination of basing the RV and doing day trips out and sometimes having the RV be a support vehicle for the group with one parent taking turns driving to the destination each day. We expect to doing some hopping from place to place in the RV as well. We are looking for mostly doing out and back day trips from the RV. We were thinking of staying near Hill City for a couple of days and riding the Mickelson Trail out and back each direction for a day (north one day and south the other) as part of the trip. Is this a good idea? Do you have any advice for places to base an RV near the trail for a few days? And any suggestions for riding in the Badlands National Park? We are 3 families of experienced tourers and when not carrying camping equipment are used to riding 40 - 60 miles on a given day.

We are riding several tandems (kid stokers) that are capable of riding dirt roads in fair to good condition and paved roads with light to moderate traffic. We would love to hear your suggestions for campgrounds and 40 - 60 mile day loops we can ride from the campground bases.

We are planning to visit other areas out west also, (Glacier, Yosemite, Tetons) but right now just trying to nail down the South Dakota part of our trip.

Thanks!

indyfabz

Over the winter I was working on a SD/NE trip that includes the trail and was considering staying in Hill City one night. This place is just south the center of the city and, as it's name suggests, right along the trail:

Hill City South Dakota Camping & Cabins: Trailside Park Resort

Tourist in MSN

I did that trail about five years ago. Left my truck at the south end of the trail, rode to Oreville campground for 1st night, planned to camp further north on 2nd night but ended up riding all the way into Lead. Stayed at a low cost motel (I think it was called Palace Express) in Lead, then on the 3rd day went back to Oreville Campground and on the 4th day rode to the South end were my truck was.

Black Hills National Forest - Oreville Campground

A few general comments:
- Carry several water bottles on the bikes, especially at lower elevations on south end.
- The south end is out on the prairie, minimal shade and can be quite hot. But once you get further north into the forest, much cooler and more shade.
- In Lead there was virtually no open restaurants after about 9pm.
- We went to Lead, not Deadwood because Deadwood was at a much lower elevation and we did not want to climb back up that much hill the next day.
- There is a big motorycycle rally in Sturgis in summer. Find out when that is and avoid that time period. I called the park service and talked to them about time periods to avoid the worst crowds.
- Oreville campground was centrally located but had no showers. It is not exactly on the trail and there are no signs on the trail that tell you how to get to that campground. But I had the location in my GPS, so we did not get lost.
- We were tent camping so the campground was great for us, but with your families you might want something more like a KOA than a primative campground. I can't suggest any other locations to stay.
- Trail was in very good condition when we were there. I had 37mm wide tires, but almost every bike we saw had mountain bike tires at least 1.75 width.

Philly Tandem

I haven't biked in the Badlands, but have driven the park road a few times and camped there. The park road is really nice, with some ups and downs. I don't recall the shoulder exactly, but I don't think it was all that big. I'd check with park rangers about the suitability of that for riding with kids.

In general, the Badlands can be HOT!!

dwmckee

Thanks for the info. Do you remember about where the trail changes from prairie to forrest? This is really helpful. Is the trail surface well compacted or is it often soft and loose gravel?

jamawani 

I have biked all of the Badlands and much of the Black Hills over the years.
There is a BIG, BIG difference between the two - especially in summer.
The Badlands has almost no shade and can be brutally hot.
The Black Hills are ideal in summer - lots of mixed forests and meadows, camping.
I wouldn't restrict myself to the Mickelson Trail -
many of the unpaved forest roads offer great riding for anyone with experience.

Tourist in MSN

I really do not remember where the prairie transitions into forest. I was there about five years ago.

Trail surface was good. It rained the night before we started biking, the rain had dried out before we started which was good. There was a thin veneer of sand and gravel over hardpack in some areas, but that did not make the trail unsafe. My 37mm tires worked well, a friend I was touring with had 1.75 or 2.0 width tires and they seemed to roll a bit better than mine.

The photo is in Edgemont, I took the photo thru my windshield in my truck when we finished our trip and started to drive out of Edgemont, the sign says 34 degrees Celcius (about 93 degrees F).



This is the profile from my GPS data on our last day from Oreville Campground to Edgemont. Nice downhill, much nicer than our first day when we had to slowly climb up that hill. It looks steep on the plot but it was an old rail grade, so less than 2 percent. A wild guess would be that the 20 miles closest to Edgement was prairie, but there is a wide tolerance on that estimate.



There was a tiny little cafe in Edgemont 5 years ago, they had outstanding shakes and malts. But there is not much commercial activity in town.

badger_biker 

The change is near Custer. Hill City is a good place to base. The ride north to where the trail starts down to Deadwood is probably the best. I did it in June of 2007 and the meadows in that area were very pretty. Hill City to Custer is OK but starting to open up a bit near the Crazy Horse monument. We were traveling fully loaded and the climb out of Deadwood took us a while. Not that steep but long and at the time it was wet with some mud patches. The rest of the trail had a good surface. I had 35 mm tires on my touring bike and was fine. We did hit some loose gravel south of Custer when they were resurfacing but I think normally it is pretty hard packed.

It is a great area and the Black Hills is one of my favorite spots - enjoy your trip!

Be prepared for quick weather changes. We had a front come through in Custer and it dipped into the lower 40's for highs with a stiff wind for a couple days in mid June.

We stayed one night at a campground just south of Hill City and it was very nice with a stream running through it. I can't remember the name but it is likely the one that indyfabz mentioned. It was walkable to town also.

I can't comment on the Badlands as we just did the Michelson. We did a day ride north of Deadwood up the Spearfish canyon and back that was very nice though.

Cyclebum

I approached the Badlands from Rapid City. There's Sage Bush Campground, primative, on the western edge of the Badlands rim road, and and RV park with tent camping on the eastern edge at Interior. No water resupply from Scenic to Interior. Scenic was for sale in 2011. Interesting story about that.

The Michleson is well maintained, rolled, crushed granite. Be no problem rolling on that. The entry from the trail to Crazy Horse Monument was not marked and required pushing the bike up an embankment to the hwy. Don't miss Crazy Horse.

radeln

The land changes to foothills down by Pringle. South of that, some of it is prairie, but there are still some trees and terrain. Each section of the trail is unique and worth seeing.

indyfabz

How was the traffic and riding conditions. The loop I have been planning takes me from Rapid City to the town of Spearfish and then through the canyon. I looked at portions through the canyon on Street View and noticed there wasn't much (if any) shoulder for part of the way. And di you take the side road to the falls? Can't recall the name of them at the moment.

badger_biker 

I kind of recall a falls of some type that we stopped at but don't remember going off the road much so maybe you are referring to something we missed. You are correct there wasn't a lot of shoulder but the traffic was light and not travelling too fast since the bends in the road keeps the speed down. We didn't find it to be a problem. That was just a day trip before we headed down the Mickelson so we weren't loaded down and taking up a more space with panniers.

radeln

Bridal Veil Falls is on the road in the northern part of the canyon. A third of the way from the south end, Roughlock Falls is on a gravel road a few miles off of the canyon. Traffic is usually light, lowest on weekdays (except during the Sturgis Rally in August).

dwmckee

Thanks for the advice. Can you point us to any of those logging roads in the Black Hills? I am thinking maybe biking in the Bad Lands themselves may be out and we focus in the cooler hills for riding parts. Alternatively. do you know of a good guide book for the area?

spike57

If you're looking for a full service, resort type RV park, the Rafter J has a great location about 3 miles south of Hill City, right on the MT. I agree that Pringle is about where the more scenic forest views begin to wane going south. Make sure you schedule around the Sturgis Rally, unless you're into that kind of biking. I recommend the evening lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore as an off-bike activity.

Rafter J Bar Ranch

jamawani 

I did some wonderful riding in the Badlands last year late May after a very wet spring. I had never seen the Badlands so green. But in mid summer it is parched, 100+ degrees, brown, and grit between the teeth. You are right, however, that in July it is best to forgo the Badlands

jamawani 

As for the Black Hills, in general it is best to stay west of US 385, south of Deadwood/Lead, and north of US 16 - the western Black Hills have that incredible mix of meadows and forest. Valleys tend to run NW to SE with low ridges between parallel valleys. Across the border in Wyoming, there are a few wonderful deep valleys with meandering streams - very private - heading NNW towards the I-90, Old US 16 corridor.

In fact, it seems well within your framework to consider a ride from Hill City, SD thru Sundance, WY to Devils Tower National Monument. The ride over the Bear Lodge Mountains from Sundance has a moderate/moderate+ climb - then after you top out you have a long downhill with Devils Tower swinging into view as you finish.

Pic from 1988 x-USA tour in western Black Hills -

dwmckee

Darn, this looks like a good possibility as well. Could you suggest a few more specifics for a route here, maybe some route numbers or town waypoints we could use to piece together the best route? Is following Deerfield Road west & north the best general route?

dwmckee

This looks promising as well. Thanks!

jamawani 

You do sound like an Easterner, but hey. Not logging roads - forest service roads.
Also, buying a Black Hills National Forest map in plastic wouldn't be a bad idea.
Best map out there for cyclists - order from their website.

Do you know that you can camp anywhere on public lands in the West for free?
As long as you are 1/2 mile (varies) from a developed site - also some closed areas.
The western Black Hills are the watershed - relatively high and less visitation.
Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore are packed - also heavier weekend use.
And there's the humongous Harley rally in Sturgis in early August every year.

Here's a traffic volume map for SD -
https://www.sddot.com/transportation/...affic_2014.pdf

Deerfield Rd has moderate traffic - thinning as you head west.
The reservoir creates a good deal of traffic - esp. on weekends.
Rochfort Rd (unpaved) will have significantly less traffic.
Whether you use Deerfield or Rochfort - overnighting in the western Black Hills is nice.
(You can choose from a couple of small developed sites or random camp.)

US 85 in the western Black Hills has very low traffic.
You can take Mokee or Grand Canyon Rds north -
But I might suggest US 85 since it has so little traffic.
Plus you have a stunning ride downhill thru Spearfish Canyon.

I say that also because the dirt ride over the Bear Lodge Mtns might be much.
You can take SD 34 / WY 24 from Belle Fourche to Devils Tower - light traffic.
Plus there the historic general store at Aladdin.
Form whatever direction - riding up to Devils Tower is amazing.

Hill City Devils Tower v1 - A bike ride in Hill City, SD

indyfabz

Thanks. Looked it up. It's called Roughlock Falls. It maybe a mile or so off the main road from where the lodge is.

shelbyfv

Custer State Park has a variety of campgrounds, it's a huge park. You generally need to reserve well in advance.