George S. Mickelson Trail

Elite '09

215

746

Jim W.

Chandler, AZ

7/15/2007 2 photos

This is a 109 mile multi-use (bike, horse, walking) trail through the Black Hills of South Dakota.  I have only had a chance to ride about 25 miles of it, but it was a real treat.

It takes you through the heart of the Black Hills.  If you have only driven by this area, passing through Rapid City on I-90 you have really missed something.
You really don't get a sense of The Black Hills until you venture deep into them.  It is easy to understand how Crazy Horse could just disappear into the hills.  One of my favorite things about the west and areas like this is how fresh history feels.  Towns like Deadwood and Hill City have a real sense of the wild west being just behind a veil.  The website has a decent map, and shows trailhead/parking areas.  In Hill City and a couple other towns you can actually find a hotel, leave your car, ride out for a day or two and come back.  Deadwood has casino's and other attractions if you're into that sort of thing.

The trail is converted from old railroad beds, so nothing overly steep-it's pretty much all graded pea gravel over hardpack.  For more hardcore Mountain Bikers, you will have to do a little research to find challenging trails that connect directly to the Mickelson.  

If you happen to ride north out of Hill City as I did one evening, you'll find that the trail rolls uphill at a grade of 2-4% for about 5 miles.  This made for a great ride back into Hill City as the sun was setting-nearly an uninterrupted 5 mile coast into town.  Nice way to finish a ride.

There are more challenging single track opportunities in The Black Hills in state parks.

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