prj71

Me and the girl are headed to the Black Hills for a little vacation next week. What say you about riding the Mickelson Trail and Spearfish Canyon?

jackb

I did the organized Mickleson Trail ride about six or seven years ago. A really pleasant three days of riding. I've not done it on my own, but it is a very nice ride.

veloz

The Missus and I rode the Mick last summer, end to end & back. Awesome for a rail trail and it had some long grades. The climb out of Deadwood was work but we coasted many miles downhill going back south. Also rode quite a bit of Custer State Park as we camped there a couple nights. That entire area was gorgeous and worth a couple extra days.

Reflector Guy

Been out that way by car a couple times. Pretty area! I've long been curious about the bike trails but the aforementioned long grades worry me. I am more used to flat Illinois rides.

indyfabz

Be more specific, please.

I toured the BH in 2015. Started in Rapid City and rode to Spearfish via Nemo and Deadwood on Day 1. Day 2 I rode up the canyon to Savoy. From there I rode to Cheyenne Crossing and then up and down the hill to the Englewood trailhead and on the Hill City for the night. That was a hard day. Did the rest of the trail to Edgemont the next day.

Spearfish is a neat little place. If you will be camping, the municipal campground/park was probably the nicest municipal campground I have ever stayed at. Make sure you visit the fish hatchery museum right next to it.

The trail itself has some noticeable grades and tops out at around 6,000 between Englewood and Hill City. I have to split at the moment but can respond to any specific questions you might have.

indyfabz

During my loop I ended up riding from Hot Springs through Wind Cave National Park and then through Custer State Park back to the city of Custer. Saw lots of bison, including some right by the side of the road in Custer. I also had to stop in Wind Cave as one took its time crossing the road in front of me.

Stayed in Custer a few nights and did a loop that included Needles Highway. Really nice.

indyfabz

BTW.. Good rain gear is a very good idea. Thunderstorms with hail can pop up this time of year. I got slammed in Hill City while at a campground along the trail. It can be worse if you are on the trail at higher altitude.

Check out what happened in the state yesterday:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/u...y-derecho.html


Fortunately, the trail has periodic shelters if things turn bad. Keep in mind that the trail is not “warm and fuzzy” in the sense that there are a lot of little towns along the way where you can seek shelter and other services. The segments between towns are pretty remote. For example, the only commercial services between Englewood and Hill City were in Rochford.

If you’re interested in that sort of thing, check out the bike shop in Hill City. It may still offer shuttle service where it drives you to a trailhead and you ride back to town. Hill City has a couple of campgrounds, some indoor lodging, a decent grocery store and places to eat. With a car it’s not far from Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. You can also take a steam train ride to Keystone and back. I would bet there is a shuttle from Keystone up to Rushmore.

prj71

The grades don't concern us. I live in WI so climb hills numerous times a week during my bike rides.

prj71

Staying at an Air BnB near Cheyenne Crossing in Spearfish Canyon. Will be there for 6 days. We are bringing road and gravel bikes with. Just wanting to know what to expect as far as cars (road riding Spearfish Canyon) and people (Mickelson Trail).

1st order of business is to head to Deadwood and start heading south on the Mickelson and ride out and back for however many miles we feel. Probably ~25 miles one way each day for a 50 mile ride. Probably do it in segments until we reach the end.

Also want to fit in some road riding in Spearfish canyon and plan to fit in a little trout fishing. Any recommended breweries and restaurants?

prj71

Thanks. That's good info if we don't want to do an out and back.

indyfabz

I rode up the canyon on (I think) a Saturday morning in mid-June. Traffic was very light going up. I thin there was a timber sale in the area because I saw some logging trucks coming down the other direction. The climb up was relatively gentle until closer to Savoy, but even then there was nothing killer. Might be worth riding down the canyon from Savoy to Bridal Veil Falls and then back up. Or start in Spearfish and ride there and back. There was more of a crowd when I reached Savoy because it was getting to be around lunch time. Roughlock Falls up there was worth the visit. Park in the lower lot. If you go to the top you don't get as good a view of the falls. Spearfish Falls are also up at Savoy. I had lunch at the Latchstring. It was actually pretty good. I was not cooking during that tour. I found good dining to be a relative rarity where i was. When I did the Needles Highway loop out of Custer I remember passing a resort place with a public restaurant. I was really hungry so I went to check it out. The specials board outside listed a spinach salad with goat cheese and strawberries. I thought i was imagining things. You don't see a whole lot of that out there.

I only rode a short part of the trail in Deadwood when I was on the way to Spearfish. That portion is paved. As I think someone mentioned, heading south from Deadwood is the steepest section, so starting there will give you a downhill return. I don't have a mileage chart handy, but when I got on the trail at Englewood (don;t forget to bring $$ for the trail fee.) I immediately faced a 5 mile climb that, according to RWGPS, averages nearly 3%. One option you might like to drive to Custer and do an out and back starting south and retuning north. I remember some nice views along that section. That would also allow you to drive the Needles loops I did. ND 89, right onto ND 87 and pretty Sylvan Lake then back to Custer on U.S. 16A. I think you can ride (or walk) a relatively short distance around part of Sylvan Lake. Stopping by and riding around Stockade Lake off of 16A on the way back to Custer is another option. Finally, while I didn't do it because I had seen plenty of bison between Hot Springs and Custer, this is supposed to be nice, but there is probably a good amount of traffic:

Wildlife Loop State Scenic Byway | Travel South Dakota

KerryIrons

Remember that railroad grades are typically 3% max. So you might have to drop down a couple of gears but you just keep pedaling. You're not climbing the Tourmalet. I also second the recommendation to do the Needles Highway.

indyfabz

I had a stiff headwind when I got on at Englewood. And the surface was loose in a lot of places during that 5 miles up hill. But yeah, it’s not like climbing a mountain. I think what really got to me was the fact that I rode up Spearfish Canyon and the climb up from Cheyenne Junction earlier in the day, all white loaded (minus cooking gear). I think it would have been easier had I started on the trail from Deadwood.

On the hill up from Mystic I caught up to some young folks with a chaperone who were also headed to Hill City. They were walking and still had a ways to go up. When I got to the top I went hard on the descent to town. I didn’t arrive until dusk. Hit up the grocery store quickly and got to camp along the trail on the south edge of town in the dark. I have a hard time imagining that they made it to town before dark. At least they had rooms at a motel booked.

OP: If you do the Needles Loop I described definitely do it in the direction I described.

Korina

HTH.

tcs

Saw everything from a guy on a racing bike with 23s to a guy on a fat bike. There were some self-contained, fully loaded cycletourists. Most folks seemed to be riding the modest spec hybrid they had in the garage. My wife rode the Mickelson on her Dahon folding bike.

indyfabz

Was hoping they had one for the Hiawatha.


Like they did, I rode it west to east. That was in 2019 during a two-week, self contained tour in MT and ID. The part you see them driving from Avery to the Pearson trailhead I rode after camping maybe 9 miles outside of Avery the night before. It's part of the former railroad right-of-way but not officially part of the Hiawatha Trail. Fun day. I ended up in Wallace, ID. Started the day in ID, crossed into MT riding through the long tunnel at the east end of the trail, rode the NorPac Trail up to Lookout Pass at the border of MT and ID, where there are services, and then descended I-90 to Mullan to pick up the Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes, which I rode 7 miles to Wallace. So I went from ID, into MT and then back into ID in one day. The time zone line in that part of the country is at the MT-ID border. A maintenance worker at Lookout Pass pointed out a tree that the line passes through. He told me they keep the clocks set to ID time. If your bike computer clock is set for mountain time you have to remember that you gain an hour when you cross into the pacific time zone. When I left Wallace the next day I went back into MT, so I didn't bother to reset it for just one evening/night.

The longest tunnel is 1.66 miles and completely unlit.

prj71

What size tires were you using? We'll be on 700 x 38 and 29 x 2"

indyfabz

700x37c while loaded (minus cooking gear).

You will be fine with those tires.

Hopefully there won't be any trail damage. 2015 was a really wet spring. Maybe eight days before I flew out on June 14th or so Custer got several inches of snow, but it melted quickly. A local I spoke with in the city park there said usually the grass was all brown by that time of year. The southern part of the state into Nebraska was getting lots of rain. On the last segment of the trail, between the final trailhead and the terminus in Edgemont, there were a couple of washes in the area of a descent that I had to skateboard through, but nothing really bad. In general, the trail was really well maintained. During a day ride from Custer to Hill City and back I saw who was probably a local farmer using a tractor with a rake attached to it grooming the trail. The water cisterns that they have at some of the shelters were always full of good tasting water.

Don't forget $$ for the trail passes.

And take my advice about rian/cold weather gear. During the aforementioned day ride a couple I had met in Custer that morning had arranged for a shuttle up north so they could ride back to Custer. I was taking shelter in Hill City after rain moved in. The temperature dropped some 15-20 degrees where I was. The couple came riding into Hill City, where the shuttle service was based. They had gotten caught in the storm at higher elevation. The problem was made worse by a heard of free range cattle that blocked the trail for a while. The wife had appropriate gear, including tights and long gloves. The husband was wearing basketball-type shorts and half finger gloves. His fingers were literally blue. He called the shuttle/bike shop and they got a ride back to Custer. Maybe it won't be so bad in July, but it's worth being prepared.

I was actually supposed to continue into Nebraska, but in Edgemont I met a guy from down that way who told me that there was a lot of flooding so I bagged that portion of the trip. I had been hoping to add Nebraska to the list of states I have ridden in.

indyfabz

Some photos from 2015.



Not sure where this was.

Lots of these in places

Near the southern end

In the Rochford area.

Souther of Custer

A bit north of Mystic

Shelter/water stop

tcs

Pics from 2017
Yours truly on the '82 Stumpjumper


Wife on Dahon folder


Everybody loves the tunnels


Rest break beside the trail, between Tunnel C and Rochford


Fun fact: north of Hill City, Adventure Cycling's long-distance Parks, Peaks and Prairies cycletouring route uses a section of the Mickelson. You might meet fully loaded cross-country cyclists there!

prj71

Thanks everyone!! I'm headed there this Saturday morning.

prj71

So off the Mickelson trail...how is the road riding through Spearfish Canyon or elsewhere?

indyfabz

See my post about the canyon above. Savoy to Cheyenne Jct. also wasn’t bad. There’s a store for Food and water there. Stiff climb east of there towards Englewood.

prj71

So made it back from my trip. Due to hot weather all week we only biked the Mickelson from Deadwood to Hill City (48 miles) and did about 40 miles out and back in Spearfish Canyon. The day on the Mickelson was a little brutal as the temperature in the sun hit 105 that afternoon. South of Hill City the trail becomes more out in the open so we decided not to ride it anymore due to the heat. So...Due to the heat we spent the rest of the time hiking around Custer Park and Spearfish Canyon, I did some trout fishing and we did some touring around in the vehicle with the A/C on.

indyfabz

Nice. I can imagine it being very hot in July. I was there in mid-June and it was warm in the sun. And you are right about the mileage below Hill City. Definitely more exposed.

Fun fact for today that learned from visiting the fish hatchery in Spearfish: There are no trout native to SD. Some government agency started stocking waters in the state to spur tourism. It even had a couple of rail cars built to haul trout fry around in metal cans so it could stock waters. IIRC, each car could transport up to 10,000 of them. The floors of the car had to be reinforced with steel to handle the weight of all those cans filled with fish and water. The railroads benefitted from the program because more tourists meant more paying passengers. None of the original cars could be located to put on display so historians and craftsmen collaborated to build the replica that you can tour at the Spearfish hatchery.