The George S. Mickelson Trail

Fast, easy trail for all. If you are a singletrack rider who likes technical rides this may not be for you. It is a nice easy ride with some climbs.

Rode trail both Directions starting from Edgemont ending in Deadwood then rode back to Edgemont. Day 1 stopped in Custer and day 2 in Hill City. Day 3 Deadwood, day 4 Back to Hill City, day 5 Custer, then day 6 Back to Edgemont. Trail easier heading South.

We hit up 40 miles of the George S. Mickelson Trail on July 7th. Felt like the trail was in good shape and we enjoyed this section of the trail for sure. We based out of Hill City, SD, which is a great spot. We headed toward Mystic which gives you a 8 mile climb and them 7 down into Mystic with a couple quick tunnels which breaks up the ride. You are in some great parts of the Black Hills. They did a good job of maintaining parts of the trail that had received some water damage. The section from Crazy Horse Monument down into Hill City is a great down hill and was the perfect way to finish our ride that day.

Nicely maintained, crushed rock, old RR bed trail. This stated, the premise is to use existing property to create the path--nicely completed. The views in this area are amazing and for those with a "RAGBRAI-like" mindset, this is a must ride.

Road part of this trail during the Tatanka 100. It is nearly flat.
http://www.mtbepicrides.com/2013/07/tatanka-100.html

A friend and I just completed the entire trail a few days ago. We did the trail over 2 days, about 5.5 hours each day including time to eat and enjoy the scenery. We started in Deadwood, spent the night at a campground just south of Hill City and then finished the following day in Edgemont. The trail is usually about 8' wide and nothing technical about it. The challenging parts (depending on the section) are the climbs which in and of themselves aren't bad. The scenery is awesome, from rocky canyons to open meadows to creeks, bridges and tunnels, pine trees, spruce, ponds, deer, birds, etc.

This trail was worth the drive. It met our expectations for a beginners scenic off road tour. We did feel awfully slow for cyclists use to flat land at much lower elevation. Hill City is about 5,000 ft and we are from 600ft. Overall it was a great ride between Hill City and the Rochford area. We were able to ride through 3 of the tunnels and cross some very nice bridges. We were there during the first week of May and there was no water available on the trail and no town on that section, so be prepared with supplies.

The Mickelson Trail is a great rail trail that goes through some very nice country in the Black Hills. The trail is very well maintained with several excellent trail heads and shelters.

There is nothing technical or difficult about this trail, but there is just something about it that I love. My wife and I ride it several times a summer and we have never had a bad day riding it. We normally ride it on our singlespeeds but sometimes we use geared hardtails. You definitely don't need any suspension.

There is a century ride every year called the "Big Mick" that is a blast. My brother and I rode the full 109 miles this year in about 9 hours. Find the information here http://www.mickelsontrailaffiliates.com/big_mick.htm

Not technical, not singletrack, and not challenging other than a physical push to log a lot of miles if you want to, but a very nice trail and a fun relaxing ride.

* Review edited 11/9/2008

This is a nice rail-trail. Good scenery. I heard there is some singletrack in the loop a few miles south of Deadwood.

This is an awsome rail-to-trail trail. The trai in the north is hilly with 4 tunnels and in the south the trail is flat and open. A good all around trail, something for everyone.