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Has anyone rode the black hills in South Dakota before. That is one of my bucket list of things to do. Just don't want to go when Sturgis is going on. What is the best time to go out there? End of summer or around the first part of fall after school starts back.
we went left Sept 5th 2016 and was perfect riding weather. Those open areas can get pretty windy too.
WE went early June and we there for a week. Stayed in Hill City and did day trips out of there. Then off the Devils tower and Cody, WY. Over 2500 miles and the 2014 RTS never skipped a beat.
Kaos
You could go to this:http://d3wr.com/
There's plenty of threads and posts on Black Hills riding. There's a 3-wheeler rally there each September I believe.
I think a great time would be for the 3 wheel Rally in Deadwood in July of 2018. There are a ton of places to stay in and around Deadwood and campgrounds if you like camping.
I was lucky enough to spend 5 months in Gillette WY. building a restaurant and rode most every weekend . We may make the Deadwood Rally this coming summer.
Well since I live here most of the year, my favorite time is after Labor Day, warm days cool nights ad lots less traffic. The only downside to that is they restart the road construction that they put on hold during the Rally.
I went the week after Sturgis and it was a wonderful experience. Sturgis, Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands it ws a blast.
I like going into the Black Hills late May/early June and after Labor Day. You miss most of the tourist crowds at that time--however--not everything is open.
We encountered snow in the Rapid City area on our last trip. It was not bad, but a bit on the cool side. Glad we decided not to rent the Spyders that we were intending to. :yes:
We were there for a weekend in early mid June. Weather was perfect wonderful ryding. We did not really have much traffic even going to Mt Rushmore on a Saturday Morning.
I have actually just gotten back from a 4000 mile trip to South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Two places that you should not miss are the loop through Badlands National Park and 16A (aka Needles Hwy) from Rushmore to Custer State Park. In fact, I rode 16A once and had such a great time that I turned around and rode it twice more! Just watch out for the mule deer, they will jump out right in front of you.
We spent 4 days there this past summer, the week before the Sturgis Rally. We stayed in Custer, so we were right in the middle of the touristy stuff. It was my first trip there so we went to all the touristy stuff, but didn't really spend any time at any of them due to crowds and heat. We saw Deadwood, Crazy Horse, Rushmore, Devils Tower, some of The Badlands, and a portion of the Wildlife Loop, and Needles Hwy. It was in the upper 90's when we were there. We wanna go back and spend more time at everything. Most anywhere you stop out there you'll be able to find a map of the main attractions and a lot of the awesome roads to ride. The Neeedles Hwy is pretty awesome, and make sure you take the southern route as well...(can't think of the name of it offhand) but I thought it was as good as if not better than Needles Hwy. Any road that has the word "Canyon" in it is a must to ride too.....Go!!!! You will not regret it.:clap:
Thanks to everyone. It is a lot of help. Maybe we can plan a trip to the three wheel rally. Sounds like a lot of fun. Driving a truck all your life you don't get to see much except what's out the front window. I turned 61 yesterday and I figure its time to Enjoy life more. Thanks again guys and gals. Happy Trails.
Parked the camper in a campground near Custer and did day trips from there. Spent 5 days riding the area. Found that Sturgis was pretty dead after the rally so we tended to go to Deadwood to eat at night.
Sturgis is always dead.....except for the Rally!:roflblack::roflblack: In fact it barely has a pulse!
We already made some reservations for the 3 wheel Rally for a few days at the Host Hotel, most of the time we camp out as I pull a Aspen pop up and the wife pulls a dog trailer. There is much to see in the Black Hills including the Badlands. Custer State Park and the Needles Hwy. is one of our favorite places in the area. If you have enough time try to go west across the Big Horns and drop down to Cody then up over Bear-tooth Hwy. into Red-lodge. Once you ride this country you can understand why the Indians fought so hard to hold on to it.
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Originally Posted by Pirate looks at --
BUT------ Sturgis does have a good motorcycle museum nojoke
Kaos
We encountered that. Loved not having to fight the rally crowd. We ate at one of the biker bars on the main drag--had a great time and enjoyed the ambiance. Spent a lot of time checking out the souvenier shops that were open also. :yes:Quote:
Originally Posted by kaos
Easy Super, Since it sounds like you've done it, are you talking about taking 120 North out of Cody, to 296 west up to Beartooth Hwy, then back east to Red Lodge? I'm making a bucket list of routes to Spyder on.Quote:
Originally Posted by easysuper
Another Yup! Any of those mountain pass rides are beautiful in the Black Hills area. :bowdown::bowdown:
That is correct, north on 120 out of Cody, then west on 296, then 212 over to Red Lodge, Bear-Tooth Pass is close to 11,000 feet and one of my all time favorite rides in the Lower 48, we are planing on doing it this coming summer again on our way to Deadwood 3 wheel Rally. There are some great places to stay in Cody and some great museums.Quote:
Originally Posted by DGoebel
Thanks!
we have been going to the Black Hills every summer for the past 5 summers. some of the greatest riding in America!! Our NISR (Nebraska Iowa Spyder Ryders) club caught the 3-wheel rally in Deadwood the past two summers -usually about mid July. We always go about a week or two ahead of the Sturgis crowd and find some of the vendors for Sturgis are already open.Quote:
Originally Posted by trucker1
Don't miss Iron Mountain Road and Devil's Highway along with Spearfish Canyon and a host of other super rides.
BIG F