4 routes in the Black Hills

[baptistratz]

Guys,
I'm planning a four day ride in and around the Hills and I would appreciate your feedback on the route plans.  I'm new to dual sport.  I don't "know" the Hills, but I've spent a quite a bit of the off season looking at maps and GoogleEarth.  Given my limitations, I would appreciate your perspectives and opinions.  Portions of my routes have been influenced by other big projects like Dakal and CannonShot's ride.

I've mapped out four days of riding with each day being around 150 miles.  The routes are attached.
Day 1 is a loop from Spearfish to Devil's Tower and back with a stop at the Sundance Radar Station.
Day 2 goes down the western edge of the hills to Redbank camp with a stop at Flag Mountain.
Day 3 hooks the southern portions finishing at Blue Bell camp.  I have a separate route that adds on Ft Igloo.
Day 4 zig zags north through Needles Hwy, trails by Pactola, and finishes in Rapid.

To create these files I used geoplaner.com.  That cite was by far the easiest to use.  I found the satellite map to be essential.  My only complaint is that it uses waypoints instead of tracks.  Is there a way to convert waypoints to tracks?  Another software that I found helpful was TopoFusion.

I'm planning this trip with a friend from Montana for the last week of July.  Thanks for any feedback.

[Bogus Jim]

I converted the waypoints to tracks using WinGDB3, files are attached.

The routes look pretty nice. A few comments...

Day 2:
You are going down 6006. That could be sketchy with big bikes or new riders, otherwise OK.

Roby canyon (which you have in your route) instead of Boles Canyon is a good choice. More scenic. Lots of water holes if it's wet but they all have a hard bottom so no worries about trail damage or getting stuck.

Isabella's used to be a nice place to eat in downtown Newcastle but ownership changed and now it's just OK.

Day 3:
If you do not need gas in Edgemont then instead of going straight south to Edgemont I would consider going east on CR-12 to 89, then south on the old abandoned highway CR-185. It's a fun little stretch. You will still end up on Rocky Ford road.

On the other hand, if you are going to Ft. Igloo then you'll probably want to go through Edgemont. In that case I'd suggest trying TR 3100 about 8 miles north of Edgemont, a cool trail through a canyon. There's a switch back towards the end that is challenging on big bikes.

Check the Cheyenne water level when you go through Edgemont, if it's high (recent heavy rain) then you probably won't make the crossing at Rocky Ford.

Day 4:
Leaving Hill City, I would consider Ruby Gulch instead of China Gulch. It's more fun, you still exit on Horse Creek.

The 249 trail you are taking into Silver City is one of my favorites. It was closed all last year, hopefully it will be open this year.

It looks like you are taking TR 8239 east of Dalton Lake. This used to be a seasonal trail, open August through November. Not sure if it's still seasonal in 2016. If the gates are open, definitely take it, more fun than the gravel Forest Road.

[Robmicgrn]

Www.dualsporttravelbogusjim.com (or something like that)

If you build it, they will come 

Good job!

[Lonesome Dave]

Holy s......... he doesn't forget anything. 

[baptistratz]

From one detail oriented person to another - wow!

[Fletch]

that's why I like to ride with Jim

[Lonesome Dave]

Fletch, whats a deetail? 

Baptistratz, these routes are really pretty good and can be used for some of our future rallies.  We often will get too large of groups riding together, and these routes will help people who want to do there own thing.  LD

[advronski]

Just a quick note on Tr 249. It was open in September, there was a couple of big trees down that had been cut up just enough to squeeze around, but that is a fun ride.

[Lonesome Dave]

Just a quick note on Tr 249. It was open in September, there was a couple of big trees down that had been cut up just enough to squeeze around, but that is a fun ride.

Did you ride the entire 249?  Was it open around Slate Creek dam and towards Mystic road?  Did they fix the road wash out?

[advronski]

Dave, I just took 249 from Hill City to Silver City, pretty much like that part of the day 4 track. I did not take Horse Creek rd over to the dam or Mystic rd. I did have a heckuva time trying to locate the singletrack on the West side of Mystic rd, just north of where Horse Creek rd comes in. It seems to start off of someone's pasture on FR241, but I couldn't find it. I went south to FR242, and found it there, but it soon ended in a maze of downed trees, where I had to cross-country a bit out to McVey rd. It was an interesting challenge on the 950.

[Bogus Jim]

I did have a heckuva time trying to locate the singletrack on the West side of Mystic rd,

That one is definitely hard to find. It's been on the map for 2 years but I don't think there's even a trail marker on the north end.

The one south of the highway, 6936, would be handful on the 950. That's where Big Rob smashed his fork tube.