Riding the Mickelson Trail in South Dakota's Black Hills

A couple weeks back my buddy Garrett and I drove up to the Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills of western South Dakota. I have a lot of history on this trail - some good, some bad. I ran the Mickelson Trail Marathon in 2010 (more on that later) and the following year felt inspired to ride the entire trail (109 miles long, one way) out and back with Garrett and his cousin Kyle. I put a rear rack on my old mountain bike, overloaded some panniers and off I went. I made it up to Deadwood in the first two days as planned but at the start of day 3 my bike practically exploded and that was the end of my trip. Fortunately there was an organized ride going on in town and I convinced someone to take me down to the other end of the trail. Long story short, that trip got the juices flowing for me on what bicycle touring could be like and had it not been for that trip (and realizing I needed some better equipment) I may not have had the adventures I've had on the bike in years following. Since then I've been up to the Mickelson to ride multiple times doing the trail out and back self-supported over four days (both with a friend and on my own) and doing a base-camp setup and doing out and backs each day with my buddy Dylan. This year, Garrett and I did the same daily rides Dylan and I did a couple years ago. Three days of riding around 50 miles a day. Each day had between 2,000 and 3,000 feet of climb so you definitely earned your beverage of choice at the end of the day.

We drove through Badlands National Park on the way up on the scenic loop and it's highly recommended. Such an incredible area.






























After driving through the Badlands we were off to our camping spot for the night.  We camped in Custer State Park at Sylvan Lake.  It's considered the crown jewel of the park and it's not hard to see why.







After we were packed up we took off down the Needles Highway thinking it would get us to Custer.  Whoops.  It's crazy scenic and winding but we went the wrong way and had to backtrack a bit.  There was a spot where we had to drive through a rock tunnel so felt it was an appropriate place to get a photo.



Finally, after backtracking, finding a place to eat breakfast (food truck breakfast burritos are delicious) we finally got to the trailhead and were ready to ride.  Here are photos from the day:







TMNT wood carvings are a totally normal sight, aren't they??  Next photo is of a very small homage to the railroad they put up since the trail is an old rail line.






That's the end of day one.  We rode from Custer to the White Elephant trailhead, back through Custer on the way to Hill City and then returned to Custer.  Day two was an out and back from Hill City to Rochford and back.



Action shot trying to read the map.



Mystic - the best trailhead on the Mickelson.  In my opinion the stretch from Mystic to Rochford is the most scenic part of the entire trail.









Beer stop.  Always reppin'...







The Moonshine Gulch is a century-plus old saloon in Rochford and is a pretty popular stopping place along the trail.  Can always find some interesting people from all over the country on a busy day!



Those are hats hung up on the ceiling of people that have come in there.  I need to bring an Asgrow hat sometime.



The water was cold...



There are four tunnels along the trail blasted through rock.  The first two are between Hill City and Mystic.  The third is between Mystic and Rochford with the last one north of Rochford.

That's the end of day two!  Day three, our last day of riding, took us from Deadwood to Rochford and back.  I had some mechanical issues on my bike but we got it fixed a few miles in and off we went.









Quite possibly the most confusing sign ever.







The Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon was the next day.  Throughout our day of riding we saw numerous volunteers putting up signs, delivering aid station supplies, setting up race tents, etc.  Of the ten marathons I did it was my favorite one and was jealous of the people running the next day!



This nondescript picture actually shows the highest point of the trail - about 6,300'.  After this, it was a nice, smooth cruise into Deadwood.



Earlier in the day, we ran into these two guys and their dog at the Englewood trailhead.  It turns out they're from Omaha and were hiking the trail from Deadwood to Custer.  Their names were Grant (Holly was his dog) and Shawn and we saw them again at the trail summit.  Not a bad way to spend a week during college break!





Finally, for your viewing pleasure, is some video of the trail.  We had great weather and great times...it never disappoints.  Thanks for the great time and riding, Garrett!  I'll be back!