A few of us are heading to Sturgis this year. We%26#39;ve been once before but this time must be amazing. I am taking my 79 year old father (yes, he still rides) and we are thinking that this will likely be the last motorcycle trip he takes.
First, I am a bit familiar with the great rides; Spearfish, Needles Pkwy, etc. but are there any lesser known gems that we could discover? Somewhere that there won%26#39;t be a million bikes in front of and behind us?
We%26#39;ve done the major sites; Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devil%26#39;s Tower, etc. I%26#39;d like to find the secret places; the ones that will make me feel like a traveler rather than a tourist. Any thoughts?
My dad was a private pilot and a bit of a car fanatic and I see there is both an aviation museum and an unusual car museum in the area. I also read about a restaurant that has a stocked trout pond and that you can fish for your dinner. These are the types of things I%26#39;m looking for but so far I%26#39;ve gone through 3 books and 2 videos from the library as well as spending countless hours online to find only three places I didn%26#39;t already know of.
We are staying near Sturgis at Shade Valley campground. Any help, ideas, thoughts, etc. are very welcome and appreciated. Thanks!
Need to make Sturgis the best trip ever.
This is a great post because we should get a lot of good opinions about off-the-beaten-path places.
The problem with a lot of the ';secret'; places in the Black Hills is that they%26#39;re on gravel roads which a lot of Harley riders don%26#39;t want to mess with. If you don%26#39;t mind trying some gravel, the Fort Meade Back Country Byway right by Sturgis is a great drive that gets over-looked all the time. It starts just east of Sturgis at the VA Hospital and goes south to I-90 Exit 34. It%26#39;s a pretty rough road, though, with lots of washboards.
One short little ride I%26#39;ve taken is the Crook City Road which goes out the south end of Whitewood and connects with US85 just south of I-90. This can be a fun little detour to get from Sturgis to Spearfish.
Take a ride to Hot Springs (1.5 hours south of Sturgis). A cruise through the downtown sandstone architecture is enjoyable.
You%26#39;re thinking of the Air and Space Museum at Ellsworth Air Force Base.
One thing your dad might really enjoy is a flight over the Rally. It%26#39;s really something to see from the air. Try contacting Eagle Aviation in Spearfish http://www.eagleaviationinc.com/ or C%26amp;B Aviation in Sturgis http://www.cbaviationofsturgis.com/index.html about an airplane ride.
Your dad might also like a ride to the some of the smaller airports around the area. The Spearfish Airport, the Custer State Park airport, the Custer County airport (just south of Custer) are mountain airports that are interesting to look at for pilots.
I%26#39;m not sure which auto museum you%26#39;re referring to--perhaps the Murdo museum. It%26#39;s quite a place--Murdo is a ways from Sturgis and I%26#39;d only stop on the way to or from Sturgis from the east.
A smaller museum he%26#39;ll enjoy is at A%26amp;A Auto Salvage in Rapid City. It%26#39;s a building in the middle of a junkyard with quite a few cars and other items--they do have a Stearman airplane. southdakotamagazine.com/articles/…
Need to make Sturgis the best trip ever.
From Sturgis you can go southeast to Rapid City on Vanocker Canyon Highway. It%26#39;s very nice and usually pretty quiet. You will connect up with Nemo Road which is a very pretty ride and goes East into Rapid City or West to 385. Hwy 44 is nice. You can take Boulder Canyon from Sturgis and take 385 out of Deadwood to 44 and go east through Rapid City and continuing on 44 go to the Badlands (If the weather is hot go early in the day). Or you can go Boulder Canyon to Deadwood and take 85 out of Deadwood through Newcastle, Wyoming and West out of Newcastle through Moorcroft heading back to Sturgis on 90 or continue on past Devil%26#39;s Tower and Hulett, Belle Fourche (where there is a plaque or something because it is the East/West center of the US. You can download some decent maps, picking out the ones you want on: http://blackhillsnewsbureau.com Also just about anyplace you stop you can can a nice, free one-page map of the Black Hills showing all the highways and roads. Some good restaurants are the Colonial Inn on 16 in Rapid City on the southern end of town, and there%26#39;s a Mexican restaurant just out of Spearfish left at the junction of 90 and 85 almost next door to the KOA campground (sorry, I forget the name). There are a number of interesting stops on 385 between Deadwood and Custer. If you haven%26#39;t done the wildlife loop yet, be sure to do that. Have a great time.
Beyond Hot Springs the road over to Edgemont and into Wyoming, up to newcastle then 85 back to Deadwood %26amp; Sturgis would be interesting. The area around Minnekahta to Edgemont is drop dead gorgeous with nice vistas and lush valley views...then wide open and dry near Mule Creek Jct... and up to Newcastle. Real old west range and grassland. All nice road and a bit off the beaten path so might be less crowded.
If you have fast internet consider ';flying'; some routes with GoogleEarth. I do this for most every trip previewing the views from the ground level using the 3-D terrain and horizon tilting. Turn on the Panaramio feature under Geographic Places and it will include photos people have submitted along the route.
Now that I think of it, there might be a small car (?)museum in Spearfish. It%26#39;s actually east of Spearfish on the south side of the freeway. I%26#39;ve never been in it, but I%26#39;ve seen it.
I would like to know what the ';wildlife loop'; is please. I%26#39;m organising a STURGIS trip for a group of Aussie bikers and they will be riding Salt Lake City to STURGIS via Cody one way and returning via Newcastle/Casper etc. Is this loop something they could do on their travels to or from STURGIS. Thanks
The Wildlife Loop is a great ride. It doesn%26#39;t take long even if you stop for photos. There is a variety of wildlife; deer, mountain goats, burros, and lots of buffalo. They wander around even on the highway sometimes. They get really quite close. It%26#39;s great. It%26#39;s best to do the ride early in the day if you have a ways to go after and also because it can be pretty hot later in the day.
From Sturgis, take 14A (Boulder Canyon) to Deadwood. At the south end of Deadwood, go left onto Hwy 385. It will be a beautiful ride going past lakes,through Hill City and past the Crazy Horse Memorial and into Custer. At the junction of 385 and 16/16A go left and take that to the entrance of the loop. The loop will bring you out to Hwy 87. Go right on 87 which will take you back to 16/16A. At 16 go left. That will take you to Newcastle. There is a nice map on www.blackhillsbadlands.com. Go into Maps, and choose the one you want (Black Hills Area Map with Detailed Enlargement is a good one) but there are several. You can order a Black Hills Vacation Guide or you can get a copy of the map in any rest stop, restaurant or gas station. Your motel or camp ground will have it also. Have a really great trip.
Thanks LollyMinneapolis. The lads are based in Sturgis for 9 days and leaving Sturgis via Newcastle but it seems from what you are saying that the wildlife loop is a nice day trip from Sturgis that they could do in the time they are at Sturgis (rather than try and do it on the way back to Salt Lake City?)
It is worth a day trip. There are so many beautiful rides to get there. One of my favorite loops is as follows: South out of Sturgis take Vanocker Canyon Road to Nemo Road. Go right on Nemo Road and take that to 385. Go left (south) on 385. There is a nice rest stop at Lake Pactola. Continue south on 385 through Hill City to just past Hwy 244. Go left on Hwy 87 to the Needles Hwy (very twisty and curvy). Continue on 87 to just past the Blue Bell Lodge where you will enter the Wildlife Loop on the left. You will come back out at Hwy 16A. Continue on 16A (Iron Mountain Road - again very twisty and curvy with gorgeous scenery). If you are experienced riders Needles Hwy and Iron Mtn Rd will be fun. It%26#39;s a slower ride, but worth it. When you leave Keystone you can go back to Sturgis several ways: back to 385 and back the way you came or through Deadwood and back to Sturgis on Boulder Canyon Rd(the long ways) or through Rapid City to the Freeway (90) or if you don%26#39;t want to go through Rapid City you can go around it back to Sturgis by taking a left off 16 on Catron Blvd and taking that to Sheridan Lake Rd. Go right on Sheridan Lake Rd and take that to West Main Street turning left and follow that to Sturgis Rd (right hand curve)taking that to Hwy 90. Another option is to take Sheridan to West Main St, go left on West Main, right onto Sturgis Rd and left on West Chicago St/Nemo Road. Take Nemo Rd to Vanocker Canyon Road and go right. That takes you right back into Sturgis.
Be sure to take a ride through Spearfish Canyon Road. If you do a day trip to Devil%26#39;s Tower in Wyoming you can take the freeway (90) west to Hwy 85 N, 85 N to 34, left on 34 through Aladdin to hwy 24 through Hulett to Devils Tower. When you come out of Devils Tower take a right and go to Sundance. Take 90 back to Spearfish and take 14A south out of Spearfish. You%26#39;ll come out at Cheyenne Crossing. Go left towards Terry Peak and continue on through Lead into Deadwood and back to Sturgis on Boulder Canyon.
If this is too much info, sorry. But if I can be of further assistance, let me know.
Wow LollyMinneapolis, so much info but terrific thanks. All those numbers for the roads are very confusing but I will take the advice of yourself and others to download some maps of the area. The lads have a week in Sturgis so hopefully they will have enough time to take some day trips (they tell me they are only going to Sturgis for the bikes - not the gals!). They are experienced bikers so I%26#39;m sure they will want to try out some of those roads.
It is a lot of info and #%26#39;s, but everything is clearly marked out there, people everywhere will help you out and maps will make everything clear. There are plenty of bikes and girls. You will find it a great area to visit. Also go out Hwy 34 east of Sturgis a few or so miles towards Bear Butte. There%26#39;s plenty to see. Have a great time and a safe trip.
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