Whether You Have A Day, An Hour, Or A Week, Biking The Mickelson Trail Is Worth It
Biking the 109 mile long Mickelson Trail has long been on my travel to do list as I love a bike-packing trip. Spending 3-4 days riding through the scenic Black Hills on a dedicated bike trail sounds like a fantastic vacation to me.
It didn’t quite turn out the way I envisioned on this trip to South Dakota because we were trying to squeeze so much in that I ended up with only one day on the trail. (I blame South Dakota- there is entirely too much fun stuff to do in this state.) But it was still absolutely worth it even if we only did part of the Mickelson Trail.
Since I am not quite in shape enough for 109 miles in one day, we only did about 17 miles of the trail as an out and back trip (so about 34 miles total), but it was some of my favorite miles ever done on a bike trail.
I think this is hands down one of the most scenic rails-to-trails in the USA I have ever ridden. I loved every bit of the Mickelson Trail, and my 13 year old nephew who rode with me is already planning our return trip to conquer the whole thing.
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What Is The Mickelson Trail?
A 109 mile long crushed gravel, mixed use trail between Deadwood and Edgemont, South Dakota
The Mickelson Trail is a rails to trails project, using an old train line that was originally built in 1888.
After the rail line was abandoned in the 1980s, enthusiasts in the area saw the potential and it was converted to a mixed-use trail in the 1990s. Runners, hikers, bikers, horseback riders, and even cross-country skiers in the winter now all enjoy this incredibly scenic trail.
There are more than 100 old rail bridges, 4 tunnels, and many signs pointing out historical landmarks along the trail. The rail line was built just after the gold rush of the 1870s saw thousands of people suddenly descend upon the Black Hills.
Many of the signs we saw pointed out old mining camps as well as former logging towns or even where General Custer shot a grizzly. (Yes, that Custer.)
Is The Mickelson Trail Free?
You do need a $4 day or $15 annual pass for the Mickelson Trail which you can purchase at a number of places in the Black Hills– basically at most of the bike shops in the area or at the Chambers of Commerce in Edegemont, Hill City, Custer, Lead, and Deadwood.
The annual pass also can be purchased online from the SD Dept of Game, Fish, and Parks.
Mickelson Trail Map
We Biked The Section Of The Mickelson Trail Around The Mystic Trailhead
Total trip mileage: 34 miles
The Mystic Trailhead (TH) is #7 on the map above. We biked 17 miles north from Mystic (MP 74.7 to MP 89) to almost the Dumont TH (#5 on the map).
We turned around at MP 89 and biked back past the Mystic TH South to MP 72 which is right at Tunnel A.
We biked this route because it incorporated all 4 of the old train tunnels on Mickelson– they are marked Tunnels, A, B, C, and D on the map above.
* Each mile on the Mickelson Trial is marked with a nice big stone plinth, and every landmark is marked by its mileage from Edgemont which is MP 0. (The MP stands for mile plaque I think.)
How long it took us: 4 hours 45 minutes
A decent amount of that 4 hrs 45 min (maybe 45 min or so) was not riding though, according to my Garmin.
We did stop for water and snack breaks frequently and I stopped to read all the historic signs because I am that person, which annoyed my 13 year old nephew to no end.
Our route: Mystic Trailhead > MP 89 > MP 72 > Mystic Trailhead
* Remember MP means mile plaque
We started at Mystic TH (MP 74.7, #7 on the map below) and rode 14.3 miles north to MP 89 (just south of Dumont TH, #5 on the map).
Then we turned around and rode south 17 miles to MP 72 which is just south of Tunnel A on the map below. We turned back north again for 2.7 miles to bring us back to Mystic TH.
Elevation change: +1251 ft in total gained
Mystic TH is near a low point so we gained 863 ft going north to MP 89 and we gained 388 ft going south to MP 72.
The red graph next to the map above shows the elevation changes on the trail. Lots of fun downhill after the turnarounds though!
Why We Decided On This Section Of The Mickelson Trail
It was all about the old train tunnels for me
Since we had only one day, we decided to aim for 20-30 miles of the most scenic section of the trail. This is by most accounts the section around the Mystic Trailhead.
Most of the trail north of Mystic follows a picturesque creek and all 4 of the train tunnels found on the Mickelson are in the sections just north and just south of the Mystic TH.
I really wanted to see the train tunnels. They are not something you find on every bike trail.
The Mystic Trailhead At MP 74.7
We started our ride at the Mystic TH at 9:45 am on a Sunday morning in early October.
We had picked up the bikes the day before from South Dakota Outdoor Shop in Custer (more on that below under “Rentals”) so we were able to hit the ground running as soon as we finished breakfast at the hotel (the AmericInn by Wyndham Hill City Mt Rushmore which was great).
We drove to Mystic from Hill City, which took us 30 minutes even though it is only 14 miles because the last 7 miles or so is a packed gravel road. The road was in good condition though and I think any car could make it— but you can only go so fast on gravel, even on good gravel roads, so plan on it taking a bit.
The Mystic Trailhead was nice, with a big parking area, a vault toilet (not great but I have seen worse), a covered area with maps on a wall, a water pump, and a bike stand with air and a multi-tool.
If you are expecting an actual town in Mystic to get supplies though, you will be out of luck. There is nothing in Mystic besides some houses, a quaint historic church, and the Mickelson trailhead.
The Ride North From MP 74.7 To MP 89 On The Mickelson Trail
14.3 miles, 2.5 hours, +863 ft, 2 train tunnels (C & D)
Within 20 minutes of starting, we had already passed over our first train trestle and thru Tunnel C (MP 76.9) and I was in love. It was just so incredibly scenic and we saw no one else on the trail.
You start off along Castle Creek but it soon changes to Rapid Creek after you pass what looks like a small group of vacation houses just north of Mystic. This is the same Rapid Creek that runs through Rapid City which I found interesting since we had seen that creek in downtown Rapid City just a few days ago.
The trail was packed gravel and in good shape but it was a pretty steady gradual incline the whole way so we weren’t flying. We averaged about 6-7 mph and stopped for a lot of pictures.
Plus, you cross quite a few privately owned cow pastures so you need to stop to open and close the gates across the trail. And we had some cow encounters on the trail itself.
Sadly, that was the only wildlife we saw on the Mickelson Trail but it kept things interesting. You really needed to pay attention to dodging cow pats on the trail in some parts lest you end up with a pretty foul smelling bike.
Rochford Trailhead
We passed Rochford Trailhead at MP 82.6 which also had a covered pavilion, water pump, bike stand with air/multi-tool, and tiny vault toilet. I think this is standard for most of the trailheads on the Mickelson– it is really a well-funded and maintained trail.
You could ride 0.3 miles up the road into Rochford itself, a tiny town (population 8, in fact) of not much more than a crossroads. It does have two places to eat though- the Moonshine Gulch Tavern and the quirky Rochford Mall of which I had heard much about and was sad to see it closed the day we were there.
We really wanted to poke around this fun little general store that has personality in spades as well as ice cream and drinks. I couldn’t tell if it was just that day or I think the Rochford Mall might close all together in the offseason. The Moonshine Gulch was open but we didn’t want to stop for a sit-down meal. It looked nice though.
Tunnel D was at MP 85.3 and after that, the trail opened up into some wider pastures, making for some beautiful surroundings but also meant we could really feel a wicked headwind.
Originally, we planned on biking all the way to the Dumont TH (MP 92.6) but I was petering out by this point and the headwind was really sucking the fun out of it for me so we turned around at MP 89. Then life was good again as we barely pedaled all the way back to Mystic, reaping the rewards of all that uphill work.
The Bike Ride South From MP 89 To MP 72 On The Mickelson Trail
17 miles, -863 ft then +388 ft, just under 2 hours, 2 train tunnels (A & B)
It was a fantastic trip back to Mystic from MP 89 as we mostly coasted with some minor pedaling.
To compare our uphill versus downhill:
- The trip from Mystic to MP 89 took us 2 hours 30 min; we averaged about 6 mph; and it was mostly a long, slow incline.
- The trip from MP 89 back to Mystic took us a little over an hour; we averaged about 12 mph; and the trip was all downhill mostly
My batteries were recharged by the time we coasted back to Mystic and I was ready to tackle another bout of uphill so we could bag the last 2 train tunnels on the Mickelson Trail.
So we pedaled past our car at the Mystic TH and continued south for 2.7 miles. The trail started climbing again as soon as we passed Mystic and more steeply this time so my recharged batteries didn’t last long.
Luckily, it took us under 30 minutes to reach Tunnel B at MP 73 and then Tunnel A at MP 72.5.
The Ride North From MP 72 Back To Mystic TH At MP 74.7
2.7 miles, -388 ft, 10 min
After we bagged the last of the 4 tunnels on the Mickelson Trail and my thoughts were turning to a post- ride beer, we decided to turn around at MP 72.
We then enjoyed a very speedy 10 minute downhill ride back to Mystic, at one point hitting 22 mph according to my Garmin. I think this may have been my nephew’s favorite part of the trip although I was terrified he was going to hit something.
We finished up our day around 2:30 pm, approximately 5 hours after first pulling into the Mystic TH. We were tired but elated from such a great day riding.
Helpful Tips For Planning Your Own Bike Trip On The Mickelson Trail
A couple more bits of information that you might find useful when planning your own Mickelson Trail adventure.
Organizing A Shuttle In October Was Hard
This is why we ended up doing an out and back ride instead of a point to point ride.
When first planning, I really wanted to maximize the amount of the trail I could see in one day and so I was thinking we could do a one way trip from either the Dumont or Rochford trailheads to Hill City or Custer.
This would be a 30- 40 mile bike ride. We only had one rental car (and my fellow rider was 12) so we couldn’t do our own shuttle and would need to hire one.
We were visiting in early October which is a bit late in the season, meaning I had trouble booking a shuttle ride. There are a few companies that run shuttles in the area because biking the Mickelson Trail is very popular, but many of them were winding operations down by this point in the year.
And also, being that late in the season and saving the Mickelson for the end of our trip meant I was gambling a bit on the weather.
During our 8 days in the Dakotas it was mostly 80 and sunny, but it was 50 and rainy one day, and it snowed the day after we left so the weather gamble was real. I didn’t want to commit too much ahead of time because of this, also making organizing a shuttle ride harder.
So we decided to give ourselves two days at the end of the trip- one to bike and one to drive around the Black Hills and see some things we hadn’t gotten around to yet. We let the weather forecast decide which day was which.
That ended up being a good decision as it rained on one of the two days but was gorgeous the next day- perfect for a ride. We wouldn’t have had that flexibility if we had booked a shuttle so it was another reason to drive our own car to the trailhead and go for an out and back ride.
Bike Rentals For The Mickelson Trail
Finding bikes also turned out to be a little harder than I thought it would be because many of the shops had already closed for the season. I called every rental shop in Custer and Hill City that I could find on the internet ahead of time.
During the summer, you have lots of choices for bike rentals, including many pop-up stations but in October, not so much. I also was interested in trying an e-bike so I kept calling to find out about those too.
Bike Rentals In Custer
We ended up renting from the South Dakota Outdoor Shop, which is a good-sized outdoor gear shop in downtown Custer that stays open year-round. They were wonderful to rent from but unfortunately, they no longer rent bikes. They are referring business to Black Hills Power Bikes and they rent regular trail bikes as well as e-bikes (see more on that below).
Bike Rentals In Hill City
Bicycles & Boats is a bike rental (and boat rental!) place in nearby Hill City as is Rabbit Bicycle if you are looking to compare availability and prices.
We rented for 24 hours, picking up our bikes on Saturday afternoon and returning Sunday afternoon after our ride. If you are wondering how we did this in a rental car, it turns out you can put 2 full size bikes in the back of a Mitsubishi Eclipse if you put the all seats down and play some Tetris.
We really had to clean the cow dung off the bikes after our ride though, before putting them back in the car. We used the water pump at the trailhead and a lot of paper towels we happened to have in the car.
So you might want to think about that if you are planning on transporting your bikes in an SUV as well.
The E-Bike Question On The Mickelson Trail
I had really wanted to try an e-bike on the Mickelson for two main reasons. One, it is a great trail for an e-bike because it has lots of up and down so you can have the help on the hills when you need it and save the battery when you are coasting down.
And two, we wanted to maximize the amount of trail we could do in a day and an e-bike would obviously help my old, out of shape self do that.
We ended up not renting an e-bike because SD Outdoor Shop doesn’t let you transport their e-bikes with your own car, which makes sense as they are so expensive.
I did meet a lovely couple at the Mystic TH who were unloading their e-bikes and I pestered them with questions.
They were locals who took their bikes out on the trail once or twice a week and loved them. Said they usually did about 30 miles and had not run into any parts of the trail that their bikes couldn’t handle.
When we come back to do the Mickelson Trail in its entirety, I plan to rent e-bikes and ride over 3 days from Deadwood to Edgemont, staying in Hill City and Custer for my overnights. With carrying luggage, I am definitely going to want the help!
Other Tips For The Mickelson Bike Trail
1. Bring water and sunscreen.
Most of the trail is not shaded and even in early October, it got hot. I can only imagine what it must be like in July. There are water pumps at the trailheads but they can be out of order and there is very little around otherwise, meaning no handy gas stations or stores to buy supplies.
2. Bring layers.
It was chilly when we started in the morning and hot when we finished in the afternoon. Rain can be sudden and unpredicable even in the summer. It can also be hyperlocal in the mountains- I read one account of a group of riders that were spread out over a mile and one rider had perfect weather, one was rained on, and one was dodging hail. Be prepared.
3. Bring a basic repair kit with you and know how to use it.
Even though the packed gravel trail was graded and in good shape, rocks happen and there were miles of nothing between some of the trailheads. And the trailheads weren’t exactly in major towns either. Our rental bikes came with a spare tube and tools to change a tire.
4. Cell service was spotty.
I could receive/send some text messages on our ride but no calls and definitely not internet. (I use Google Fi which uses both T Mobile and US Cellular towers.)
5. Trailhead amenities are limited in the winter.
The trail is open year-round but the water is shut off and bathrooms are closed from late fall until spring I believe.
Where We Stayed In The Black Hills
We spent the night before our bike adventure in Hill City at the AmericInn by Wyndham Hill City Mt Rushmore, and it was a fine hotel, exactly what you would expect from a standard hotel.
The hotel is about a block away from the trail as it cuts through Hill City so it’s very convenient.
It is also within walking distance of the cute downtown and its restaurants. The front desk people were super nice and let us leave our luggage with them while we rode so we didn’t have to leave it in our car at the trailhead.
After our ride, we drove to Rapid City and stayed in the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott by Interstate 90 because we were flying out the next day from Rapid City airport.
It was a good hotel, just a little too busy for me because it is attached to a large indoor waterpark so there were tons of families staying there. If the kids were younger or we had more time and could have actually visited the waterpark, this might have been a big bonus.
We also stayed at the Residence Inn Rapid City earlier in our South Dakota vacation. It is at the same exit as the Fairfield Inn & Suites, just about 10 min west of downtown Rapid City.
I actually liked the Residence Inn a little better as I thought the rooms were a little bigger and breakfast had a little more choice, plus, because it is not directly attached to the waterpark, it wasn’t quite as busy with children in bathing suits running around.
Vacation Rentals
I also thought about renting a house while we were in the Black Hills although it didn’t work out for our schedule this time, it is what I will probably do on our next visit.
You could rent in Hill City or Custer and organize shuttles to take you to different trailheads and just ride back to the house which would give you a lot of flexibility.
The Mickelson Trail passes right through both of those towns and there are lots of rental options, especially in the summer. But they book up fast so get looking!
Where We Ate Along The Mickelson Trail
*There were not nearly as many choices as there would be in the summer because several places had already closed for the offseason while we were there. I was surprised by just how quiet Hill City was on a Friday night for instance- there were basically only 2 restaurants open. Luckily they were both good.
In Hill City, we ate dinner one night at the Bumpin’ Buffalo Bar n Grill and enjoyed their signature buffalo burger. We also ate at the Mangiamo Pizzeria and thought it was good pizza and pasta.
In Custer, there were a few more choices than Hill City because it is a slightly bigger town. We had one of the best meals of our trip at The Custer Wolf and it had a nice little patio area for hanging out if the weather was nice.
After our Mickelson ride, we had amazingly huge and delicious ice cream cones at Horatio’s Homemade Ice Cream in Custer. 100% recommend this place– it had great ice cream, a cool vibe as it is in an old bank building and the ice cream is stored in the vault, and fun seasonal flavors like rhubarb. They even had homemade sherbets and sorbets if you don’t like ice cream.
In Rapid City, we loved Firehouse Brewing Company— again, great food, a cool backstory (it’s in an old fire station), and a menu big enough that adults and picky kids were all happy.
We also ate at Sabatino’s Italian Ristorante and while it was a more expensive and fancier meal than we usually go for on vacation, it was absolutely delicious and we all keep talking about it.Click on images below to enlarge
Final Thoughts
If you have a chance to bike the Mickelson Bike Trail while you are in this part of South Dakota, you should absolutely take it. Even if you just have an afternoon, head out for an hour or two and you won’t regret it.
Biking the Mickelson trail was one of the most scenic trails I have ever cycled and we can’t wait to go back and conquer the whole thing. Probably with an ebike for me so my slow self can keep up with the kiddos on those hills!
Happy Trails! – Amanda
