Find the top rated running trails in Rapid Valley, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
We rode Hill City to Dumont one day and HillCity to Custer another with the Stockade Lake Spur. Beautiful sights. We chose to ride the fat tire bikes - a mistake on this trail. Inclined were tough with the wide tires.
Started the trail off In deadwood and was completely shocked at how steep of a climb it was. Being that we were more used to flatter rail trails, we ended up driving to a different part of the trail and riding from the Mystic to the Rockford trailhead and back. Don’t let the hill scare you away, just pay close attention to the gradient on the map. The trail surface worked great for our hybrid bikes. Saw beautiful nature and local cows. Lost cell reception at times.
Went with the family. Left car in Edgemont and got a shuttle to Deadwood to start. (Tried the other direction but it was harder we went in 23 miles it started to rain and we got stuck in the shelter over night, had to ride out through thick mud) anyway we went back shuttled to Deadwood and it was a bit easier. So much fun, and everyone is very accommodating to the bike crowd. We camped twice and stayed in a hotel once. We will do it again 👍 but go both ways to make it last longer😃
Our group of 4 had a wonderful time biking the Mickelson last week! It was a little cooler than we expected for June and we did ride in pouring rain on one day. But the scenery and the experience was well worth it!
The trail is very well maintained. It's probably the best non paved trail we have biked over the past 5 years. There are covered picnic tables to stop and rest as needed. There are restrooms and water at most of these stops.
We loved the little towns where we stayed the night. We plan to explore these more when we return hopefully next year. One of our favorites was the 1899 Inn in Deadwood. The Alex Johnson was also a neat place to stay as it is a historic hotel in Rapid City.
The Black Hills Touring Company planned and executed our tour making sure each one of us had everything we needed. Kevin, the owner, was very knowledgeable about the area and its vast history. He carted our luggage for Inn to Inn every day. Some of those days he carted our luggage, our bikes and us to the next destination. I highly recommend him and the Black Hills Touring Company!
There were some hills on the trail. They were long, but not steep. We rented e-bikes allowing us to climb the long hills without difficulty. I was very thankful for them this trip.
We had so much fun we are already planning our next trip to the Mickelson! So much to see and do!
I loved this trail. My wife, daughter, and I took a summer camping trip to Custer and the Black Hills.
I was very interested in the trail after watching videos, seeing pictures, and reading about it.
It was even better in person!
My wife was unable to ride bikes due to some injury so I studied the elevation chart and had her drop me off at the higher trail heads and pick me up at the low ones. If you are a wana-be bike rider that is all for the coasting and none of the labor of going up hill, I highly recommend this method - if you have someone that is not up for riding. OR like we did once my sister joined us, have two cars with one at each end. Then just coast from one to the other.
Some of the most beautiful scenery ever. Bison at a few points beside the trail and other wildlife to see.
There are several places the trail passes through ranches and sometimes there were cows on the trail. It was never a problem. The cows didn't pay much mind to us. There were gates to open and close, but again, not a problem.
Loads of history with nice trail heads and rest stops that give in-depth descriptions of the history.
It was almost enough to make me want to move to the Black Hills of South Dakota.
From Texas-Went to trail twice last summer- due to weather issues. Started at Edgemont the first time. Did not like the constant incline for 43 miles. So when we went back the seecond time, we left our car in Edgemont, bought a ride to Deadwood and started from there. It was 17 miles uphill to start but than a 10 mile decent. Up and down like this until last 43 miles where it mostly descends until one last big uphill at the 5-6 mile marker. I will go back again. Husband said he would love to get electric bikes and do it. Took our tent and camped were we could.
Skated from the Shopko in Custer to Custer State Park and back. $4 fee for the trail, there's a self-pay station at the trailhead in Custer State Park. The pavement is pretty rough most of the way, but since this is mostly used by cyclists it's probably fine for most users. The bridges are pretty bad too, several have big bumps on the transition from asphalt to wood and the parallel planks are sketchy. Views are pretty nice though, and Fort Custer is an interesting stop.
My wife and I along with my 80 year old father did trail in 3 days had a blast great trail will comeback and do it again
I went with a group from Road Scholar which provided a SAG van & divided the trail into 4 sections in 4 days. Overall it is very scenic . Be very careful heading south from Pringle to Edgemont as there is a lot of loose sand on the trail. There are some steep prolonged hills, I did 4 miles from Mystic south with the front sprocket in1 and the rear switching between 1 & 2,quite a hill for a 70 yr old guy from NJ. Dress in layers and drink plenty of water, refills are available from cisterns at trail heads. Be aware that parts of the trail are over 6000 ft, give yourself a day to adjust before doing the steep grades.
The tail is very well marked and easy to follow but that is about all that is easy, for a recumbent rider at least. I had some chain issues on the first day and thankfully we started in Deadwood. That meant the closest bike shop was 15 miles away in Spearfish, Rushmore Sports. The trip was delayed by a day and we started in Custer to Hot Springs. Mostly downhill but the trail material packed gravel and it is slow! Hot Springs required 11 miles on the highway with a good sized hill into town. Next we hired a shuttle to the Dumont trailhead. This section is by far the most scenic and 18 miles downhill to Hill City but there are 2 long (7 & 10 mile) slow climbs from there to Custer. Finally we drove to Edgemont and rode north to the HghWy 18 trailhead. Again it is a shallow grade hill but it is slow going. NOTE the trail has MANY washouts where it is deeply rutted across the path with deep, loose sand which make going up even slower and going down, at speed, really hairy.
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