The Adventure Cycling Association offers a 7-day Black Hills, South Dakota tour that starts and ends in Rapid City and includes Deadwood, Hill City, Hot Springs, Wind Cave National Park, and Custer State Park. There's a meetup day and six riding days. This is my third ACA tour and second inn-to-inn tour with them. We have two leaders, John and Denny, and 12 participants.
Palatine to Rapid City
Day -1. We drove from Palatine to Mitchell, SD. We arrived just after the Corn Palace closed. The Corn Palace seems like it might be worth a stop if it's convenient. We had dinner at the restaurant next door. It was very good. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, which was also very good.
Day 0: We drove through Badlands National Park. There's not a lot of food near the east entrance, so we planned ahead and stopped at Subway in Kadoka and brought lunch with us. We saw antelope, bison, and lots of prairie dogs. Highly recommended.
Then we stopped in Wall, SD. If you've never been there, it's probably worth seeing once. Very much a tourist trap, but also a very diverse collection of gifts and souvenirs. We enjoyed the pictures and paintings in one of the art stores.
We met up with our fellow riders and two tour leaders at 4 p.m. at the Comfort Inn in Rapid City. After introductions, a safety meeting, a map meeting, and lunch preparation for the next day, we left for the Firehouse Brewing Company for dinner. That was very good, and the hotel was also good.
Rapid City to Deadwood
Day 1: 48 miles, 4,200 feet of elevation gain. Everyone rides at their own pace. I got out early to make sure I had time to get to Deadwood before the afternoon rain started. That was a theme we followed throughout the week. Only the last two days didn't include a threat of afternoon thunderstorms.
Probably the most challenging traffic experience of the entire trip was the first couple of miles down to the center of Rapid City during the morning rush. There was a sidewalk available, but it was almost all downhill, so I just took my lane and went for it. Once you get to the park downtown, it's all bike trails up and out of town, and then back roads most of the way up to Deadwood.
It's mostly uphill all day, with occasional flat or downhill sections. I saw a lot of deer and one wild turkey. It's important to either carry extra water or a water filter. The first water I found was the stream at Steamboat Picnic Area around mile 21. There is a convenience store about 3.5 miles later in Nemo. After that, the only other stop before Deadwood is around mile 40. So carry extra water and stop where you can.
Weather can be very unpredictable. We got lucky and had a great week. Two weeks before our arrival they had a six-inch snowstorm. There was a small pile of snow still left beside the road north of Nemo.
The last 10 miles of the day are on Highway 385. It has a good shoulder, but is a high speed highway. It also has a 2-mile 6% climb. Coming from Illinois and after a full day of climbing, that was definitely a challenge. Fortunately, the last five miles are downhill and the last couple of miles into Deadwood are on the Mickelson Trail.
There are a lot of little shops and bars in Deadwood. We stopped in at Tootsies for a good microbrew experience. We stayed downtown at the Holiday Inn Express. I wasn't impressed. It's an older hotel, quite noisy, and the beds were well worn. The schedule for every evening is lunch preparations at 5 p.m., map meeting at 5:30, dinner at 6 p.m., and back in our rooms by 8 p.m. For dinner we walked to Legends Steakhouse and it was good.
Deadwood to Hill City
Day 2: 49 miles, 2,900 feet of elevation gain. The ride today is all on the Mickelson Trail. Effectively, it's only two hills. The first one is 15 miles, followed by 20 miles of downhill. The second hill is six miles, followed by eight miles of downhill. It's pretty much 3% grade either up or down all day.
That said, the Mickelson Trail is gorgeous. There are beautiful views all along the trail, and a nice, peaceful experience even when you don't have a view. There is also water and a pit toilet available at almost every trailhead, so there's plenty of water available on this part of the tour.
The only wildlife I saw today was a small snake on the trail and one hummingbird who dive bombed me while I was having a snack. They did warn us to watch for rattlesnakes everywhere off trail, but I didn't see any except perhaps one that was roadkill on the last day.
We stayed at the Best Western. It's a nice, big hotel with a grocery store nearby. We got in early and enjoyed the hot tub before our lunch preparation and map meeting. Dinner was at Mangiamo Wood Fired Pizza. The pizza was good, and they handled our large group very well.
Hill City to Hot Springs
Day 3: 58 miles, 1,900 feet of elevation gain. Our second day on the Mickelson Trail. It started with a 10-mile climb and then was mostly downhill after that. On the way up the hill, you can see the back side of Crazy Horse Monument. Just after the top of the hill is the monument and park entrance. Online I read that there is no benefit to going into the park unless you pay for the bus ride over to the monument itself. Otherwise, the views are just as good from the bike path or a side road just south of there.
The ride south on the Mickelson Trail goes from high in the Black Hills at Deadwood,
peaking around 6,200 feet, down to rolling prairie around 4,000 feet toward the end. The official route for the day
turns off the Mickelson Trail at Pringle and heads down to Hot Springs on gravel roads. They said the first two miles
were very rough gravel. The rest of the road was better, but also very much a roller coaster with steep climbs. There
was no water after Pringle, so fill up if you follow this path.
I chose an alternate route. I wanted to experience more of the Mickelson Trail and the transition from hills to
rolling prairie. So I rode 17 miles further down the trail to Minnekahta and then east on Route 18 to Hot Springs.
This route is longer, but it has more water, more flat / downhill sections, and the last 12 miles are paved with a
good shoulder. And, fortunately for today, it also had a strong tailwind. I averaged 20 miles an hour for that last 12
miles. If the conditions are good, I highly recommend this alternate route. It would not be good if you don't have
enough water, have strong headwinds, or any thunderstorms. There is nowhere to hide for almost the entire section.
Today had unusual animal encounters. A lone prairie dog ran across the trail right in front of me on a downhill, and as I was progressing down through the rolling prairie section I came across a cow in the middle of the trail. I looked up and said, "I don't think you're supposed to be here." Apparently, the cow agreed. It looked up and immediately turned and ran toward the fence and the other cows inside their pasture.
The hotel for the evening was the Hot Springs Hills Inn. It's a typical older motel, common on ACA inn-to-inn tours. It was my least favorite stay of the entire trip. The mattress needed to be replaced and the amenities were fair at best with just a continental breakfast. Dinner was at Whiskey River Bar and Grill and was very good.
Hot Springs to Custer State Park
Day 4: 45 miles, 4,000 feet of elevation gain. Today was effectively a 25-mile climb, a 15-mile descent, and then a 5-mile climb at the end. We started up Highway 385 in a light mist. Not quite enough for a rain jacket, but enough that my glasses were wet. The rain ended as we entered Wind Cave National Park. After the long climb, we descended into Custer State Park.
This was a big animal viewing day. I saw a coyote on Highway 385, and then bison, antelope, and prairie dogs in Wind Cave. There were rabbits, deer, mules, and more bison in Custer State Park. The bison encounters can be scary on a bicycle. Three of us passed one just 10 feet or so off the side of the road. We waited for a car to pass first, and then gave as wide a berth as possible.
One of my favorite animal experiences of the trip was riding solo or lead along both park roads and hearing the prairie dogs alert to my presence. They would stand up and bark, and sometimes fall over backwards telling all of their friends about the scary bike rider approaching.
On the other hand, Denny, one of our tour leaders, got surrounded by two groups of bison. Fortunately for her, there was a pickup truck in the group with her that allowed her to get in the back of the truck and be ferried to safety. Another rider had a bison running toward him that turned away because of a car horn. The park rangers said the bison were particularly ornery this year. They also told us the bison don't mind bicycles, but they really don't like motorcycles, and to be extra careful whenever motorcycles go by.
There were only two good places to get water today. Both parks have a visitor's center with bathrooms and water available. The Bison Center in Custer State Park includes a little museum and store with food and beverages as well. Carry extra water and fill up when you get the chance.
The hotel for the evening was the State Game Lodge. It was the best hotel of the trip, very modern while maintaining a rustic lodge look and feel. Dinner was just okay due to a tour bus having stopped there and the restaurant being a little under staffed for the bus tour and hotel guests combined.
Custer State Park to Hill City
Day 5: 31 miles, 3,600 feet of elevation gain. There were two route options available today, plus a side trip to Mt. Rushmore. I took the Iron Mountain Road. It's a 12-mile climb, but very much worth the effort. There are beautiful views of Mt. Rushmore along the way, as well as three road pigtails where the road descends below itself as an alternative to a switchback.
The hills today are the steepest of the trip. This was a challenge both uphill and downhill. One of our members had under-inflated tires and the bead on the front tire broke on a fast downhill turn. He crashed and got scrapes on both elbows. He realized after the adrenaline rush wore off that he also hurt his wrist and a few miles later he had to end his trip.
There were only two water opportunities today, one just after leaving Custer State Park and one in Keystone. It's worth carrying extra water again today, particularly if it's going to be a hot climb. We stopped for lunch at the top of Iron Mountain and then descended into Keystone. There are nice shops and food opportunities in Keystone before the climb back up to Hill City. I chose not to take the side trip up to Mount Rushmore. I've seen it before and I already had enough climbing for the day.
The hotel for the evening was a return to the Best Western. Dinner was at the Alpine Inn. It's a very good traditional German restaurant and very reasonably priced. But there are only two options on the dinner menu: beef filet and spaetzle. Both are good.
Hill City to Rapid City
Day 6: 25 miles, 1,300 feet of elevation gain. Our last day. We had breakfast and said our goodbyes. The ride was mostly downhill, but with four climbs, the last one long and steep. Crosswinds were a problem. I actually got knocked over by the wind on the final climb. Others said they walked for a while to avoid the same fate.
We were fortunate that this part of the trip fell on a Saturday morning. Traffic was very light. There were shoulders or bike paths most of the way. But in multiple locations wherever there is a guardrail, they put the guardrail in the shoulder rather than beside the shoulder, leaving insufficient space for a bicycle. I recommend riding this part early in the day as much as possible.
Epilogue
6 days, 257 miles, and more than 3 miles of elevation gain. This was my most extensive climbing trip so far, and my highest riding altitude at above 6,200 feet. I enjoyed the Mickelson Trail. I liked Wind Cave and Custer State Park even better. And the views on and from Iron Mountain are spectacular.
If I were designing the trip myself, I would consider skipping Rapid City. The ride up to Deadwood is a good warmup for the week to come. The ride down is just road cycling with a few hills to deal with. But neither of those days compare to the beautiful views of the four days in between. Instead, I would make Hill City the central point and build the Needles highway into the trip.
From my experience, Adventure Cycling Association trips have been very consistent. The leaders are great and the
other participants are wonderful, highly experienced riders. The food is very good, and the accommodations are mostly
average. I'd like to see them charge a little more and select better hotels.
I should have trained for hills a bit more than I did. I was pretty done by the time I got to Deadwood on Day 1 and the lodge on Day 4. The other days didn't seem quite so bad. Iron Mountain is a real challenge, but it's a shorter day and a lot of beautiful downhill in the middle.
The bike was good. I had one flat tire due to the tubeless tape in the front wheel coming loose. The gearing is good to about 8%. After that, I have to do switchbacks to maintain uphill progress. I think this setup will be fine for most road trips. I probably need to drop the gearing by one or two gears if I ever decide to do the Great Divide or other mountain bike routes.
