Black Hills Multi-day Bike Tour

Where we go

Seven days, six nights through the Badlands, Black Hills, and up to Devil’s Tower! See it all on our feature multi-day bike tour!

The ride from Badlands National Park, through the Black Hills, and up to Devil’s Tower will take you through diverse and unique landscape that is rich in both Native American culture and iconic North American wildlife.

As the tour progresses, we will pedal our way through some of the largest herds of bison (American buffalo) in existence today.  Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park are also home to pronghorn antelope, elk, prairie dogs, deer, mountain lions and big horn sheep.  The area we ride through on this tour is also one of the most geologically unique and diverse areas in North America.  This also made it an ideal spot for the giant granite sculptures of Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore.   We will visit both on this tour.

Finally, towards the end of the tour, we ride across the Wyoming border and on up to Devil’s Tower National Monument, made famous from the film Close Encounter of the Third Kind.  

When the biking is finished for the day, we strive to make you feel on vacation.  Our vehicles are fully licensed to let you enjoy a beer on the way back to the lodging.  The lodges we chose are some of the nicest lodges in the Black Hills and are set in beautiful areas.  During the course of the week, we will visit some of our favorite restaurants in the Black Hills.  The lunch spots we have chosen on this tour are picturesque and the healthy meals with locally sourced ingredients.

Please Inquire for dates and for private group tours 

Itinerary:

Day 1

Arrive Rapid City in am.  Shuttle out to Badlands National Park.

Ride Badlands   ~35 miles

Ride through the other-worldly Badlands National Park for 35 mile ride through what feels like could be biking on Mars.  After the ride we go on to a couple of Native American art galleries in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and visit Wounded Knee Memorial.  See map here!

Lodging: State Game Lodge  Dinner: TBD

Day 2

Custer State Park Wildlife Loop and Wind Cave National Park       ~30 miles

On day 2 of this multi-day bike tour we ride from Custer State Park’s Wildlife loop down into Wind Cave National Park.  On this ride you’ll feel as though you are in the beating heart of the Black Hills, passing through herds of bison, prairie dog towns and herds of antelope!  This ride is full of wildlife.  You will love the rolling nature of these roads and the stunning scenery.   If you desire a little longer ride, it is quite simple to do a longer loop through the Fisherman Flats complex towards the end of the ride in Custer!  This loop is also possible- and highly recommended- on a gravel route.   Don’t think of the bumpiness of your road bike when you hear gravel, these gravel bikes have slightly larger tires and flex which makes for a much smoother ride. See a map of the paved route here! See a map of the gravel ride here! 

Lodging: State Game Lodge Dinner: On your own at the Lodge

Day 3

Mt. Rushmore, Iron Mt. Road, Needles Highway. ~35 miles

Today is the day of the play roads.  Two of the main roads today were built for the sole purpose of enjoyment.  We will start directly from our lodging, with a nice long descent down Needles Highway, through towering rock spires and panoramic views of the Cathedral Spires.  Then we take South Playhouse Rd over to Iron Mt. road and the Lakota Lake Picnic area for lunch.  Iron Mt. Road is home to the famed “pigtail bridges,” -log-built bridges that spiral down, multiple tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore and sections of rolling single lane pavement through the woods that’s sure to leave you grinning ear to ear.   From here you can ride or shuttle the steep hill up to Mount Rushmore.  There is the option on this day to ride a section before breakfast or to keep going after Mount Rushmore and ride back up to Sylvan Lake, making a full circumnavigation of Black Elk Peak- the highest peak in the Black Hills (44 miles total).  See a map of today’s route here.   Or the optional full circumnavigation here.

Lodging: Sylvan Lake Lodge   Dinner: Skogan Kitchen

Day 4

Michelson Rail-to-Trail, Hikes or Various other options

Today is a flexible day, with a morning tour to Crazy Horse Memorial.  For the remainder of the day you can choose to ride a portion of the 109-mile Michelson Trail down from Custer, do one of many hikes around Sylvan Lake and Black Elk Peak, or you can just relax and get a massage; the option is yours.  We are happy to do our best to accommodate everyone.  It’s also a great day for an early morning hot air balloon ride with our friends at Black Hills Balloons.

Lodging: Sylvan Lake Lodge    Dinner: Alpine Inn Hill City

Day 5

Mystic to Deadwood via Mickelson Trail   ~39 Miles

One of the premiere Rail-to-trails in the US, the Mickelson (or Mick as we call it) is a 109-mile trail that uses the old Black Hills Railroad line used to supply the Homestake Mine for many years.  This section of the trail includes numerous bridges and tunnels and runs through one of the most beautiful areas of the Black Hills.  This route can be very easily shortened as there are numerous trailheads you can start at along the route to Deadwood.   See a map of today’s route here.

Lodging: 1899 Bed and Breakfast  Dinner: On your own in Deadwood

Day 6

Devil’s Tower   ~40 miles

This is a beautiful day of riding through buttes and red sandstone cliffs up to the majestic Devil’s Tower National Monument.  See a map of the day’s ride here.

Lodging: Secret Garden Bed and Breakfast      Dinner: On your own in Spearfish

Day 7

Spearfish Canyon  ~15-25 miles

Ride up this beautiful canyon lined with huge sandstone cliffs, several waterfalls before we return to Rapid City.  See map here

Click here to see a gallery of our Black Hills and Badlands Scenic Tours

Southern Hills, Needles Hwy