The Mickelson Trail
Railbeds To Trailheads
Edgemont to Deadwood, South Dakota

The Burlington Northern Railroad abandoned the 'High Line' in 1983 which had been built in 1890 to service the gold mines and boom towns between Edgemont, South Dakota on the south end of the Black Hills and Deadwood on the north end. The abandoned line was converted to a 'rails to trails' and named in honor of former South Dakota governor George S. Mickelson who crusaded for the trail before his death in a plane crash in 1993. The trail opened in 1998 and we read a glowing article about it in the Fall 1998 Rails to Trails magazine. Thus our expectations were high, but we weren't disappointed in the least. The Mickelson Trail is a 110-mile limestone trail through the heart of the South Dakota Black Hills. There are more than 100 converted railroad bridges and four hardrock tunnels along the trail. The grades do not exceed four percent, although there are several stretches of long, and steady inclines. Riding our loaded hybrid bikes, we left Edgemont on Sunday morning and returned Friday afternoon, logging a total of 246 miles. We carried sleeping bags, camp pillows, snacks and clothes for the week in panniers and a borrowed BOB trailer. When we reached Custer, we took a day off and toured the nearby sights including Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Unknown to us, a forest fire had started west of Custer on the day we left Stillwater. Lightening started additional fires the night before we left Edgemont. Fortunately for us, the fires were a distance from the trail and all we encountered was smoke from time to time. The Black Hills, arrayed along the western border of South Dakota, is an oasis of forest, rocks and streams in an ocean of prairie.

Day 1: Edgemont to Custer: 49 miles
The trail started out with a climb into Chilson Canyon, an open range area. There were numerous gates to open and close, which gave us an even greater opportunity to admire the spacious views of the bluffs. Because there was no place to restock our supplies, we carried food and water for the 32-mile trip to Pringle. We ate our picnic lunch at the Minnekahta Trailhead, 16 miles north of Edgemont. Between Minnekahta Trailhead and Pringle, we observed smoke off to the northeast and saw helicopters and airplanes that were engaging in fire fighting. Near Pringle, we passed a reminder of the old west, the dilapidated Calico Mine, and then we rode on into Custer where we happened upon the "Dark Horse Food and Brew" which serves 100 kinds of beer and some pretty good food. After food and brew, we spent the night in a cabin at the Crazy Horse KOA a mile north of Custer. On day 1, we passed through a prairie dog village, saw a coyote, a flock of wild turkeys and several white-tailed deer. Our elevation gains totaled 2,100 ft.

Day 2: In and around Custer: 10 miles
We awoke to heavy smoke and our plans to take a hot-air balloon ride were dashed because the weather forecast had changed and too much wind was expected. So we opted for a guided van-tour of Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. In the park we saw Sylvan Lake with its huge rock formations and buffalo, longhorn sheep and more wild turkeys. Mount Rushmore was impressive and neat to see. We also toured Crazy Horse, a memorial to the Indian hero. The huge memorial is a work-in-progress.

Day 3: Custer to Rochford: 39.5 miles
We got a good view of Crazy Horse as we rode the trail on our way to Hill City. It was down hill from there to Hill City. An 1880 steam train, like to ones that originally rode the rails where the Mickelson Trail is today, is operated out of Hill City and makes daily trips from Hill City to Keystone. We pedaled on toward Rochford, through grassy meadows that gradually turned into mountains and corridors of Ponderosa pine. The town of Mystic, once a thriving mining town, is a ghost town along the crystal clear Castle Creek. This was the prettiest area of the trail, with many bridges and 3 tunnels cut though the rock. Some of the smoke from the forest fire to our west drifted into the canyon and made our eyes water and our noses run, but the smoke was tolerable by the time we reached Rochford. The Moonshine Gulch Saloon was open so we stopped for a burger and a brew. Our overnight stop was at the Silver Creek Bed and Breakfast, a lovely home, 2 (hilly) miles off the trail. The elevation gains totaled 1,700 ft today.

Day 4: Rochford to Deadwood and back to Rochford 62 miles
Leaving most of our gear at the B&B, we carried water and snacks on our ride to Deadwood. It was a steady climb for the first 10 miles until we reached Dumont, an area of big sky country where the valleys stretched out and long horn cattle grazed in the high mountain meadows. Dumont is at the highest elevation on the trail. We quickly descended into Deadwood, a well-preserved wild west town where Wild Bill Hickock met his demise. It took us four hours to get to Deadwood, so we did a quick look-see of the main street, ate lunch and started pedaling back. The climb out of the valley is the steepest part of the trail, but Oklahoma has steeper hills. The views were spectacular. Once we reached Dumont, it was an easy ride back into Rochford, where we paused for refreshments. The locals were nervous about some 'new smoke' that had just been spotted and the volunteer firemen were gathering to go check it out. Thank goodness, it wasn't anything serious. Our elevation gain was 800 ft getting to Deadwood and 1500 ft getting back to Rochford.

Day 5 Rochford to Custer 39.5 miles
On our return trip through Hill City, we parked our bikes and took the 1880 steam train to Keystone. The train started out by climbing 'Tin Mill Hill' and then went through an area with lots of abandoned mines, including the Bob Ingersoll Mine where they had mined 57 different minerals, feldspar, mica, beryl, tourmaline to name a few. Two of the passenger cars were old/restored passenger cars with windows that opened and stained glass near the ceiling. Back on the bikes, we had a 10-mile climb to Crazy Horse Mountain. All day we had a steady south wind that was very cool. The climb kept us warm, but we put our jackets on for the descent into Custer. The elevation gains were 1600 ft, against a brisk south wind!

Day 6 Custer to Edgemont 46 miles
Everyone said the ride from Custer to Edgemont was all downhill, but we remembered a downhill south of Pringle. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable ride and we experienced a different view of the scenery going south. The wild turkeys were in the same area as they were on Sunday and the prairie dogs hadn't moved either. More cattle were on the trail today, but they moved out of the way as we approached. The trail was rough in places where they had been. We were sad when the trip came to an end when we reached Edgemont. Elevation gains were 400 ft.

This is a trip we would do all over again. If you are looking for a chance to enjoy some colorful history and spectacular scenery, on a pleasant path that meanders through both wild wilderness and pretty little towns, then the Mickelson Trail is a perfect choice.

Arletta and Jim Webster
August 27, 2000 to September 1, 2000

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Oklahoma Bicycle Society: The Mickelson Trail 
created by John Wente
last modified: February 24, 2007
URL: http://www.OklahomaBicycleSociety.com