Riding next week

[Dratharr]

Hi,
I will be up from Wed afternoon(4th) till Sun this upcoming week, plan on hitting a lot of single track and would love some company if anyone wants to join me.

Thanks,
Matt

[kendall_smith]

My wife & I are in Custer on vacation right now. We're planning on doing some dual sporting in the area this week. Not sure about hitting all single track, but we might be up for it if it will be a mix of roads and trails. We're at the Big Pine campground.

[propwash1967]

Hey folks, my wife and I are here for the week, yesterday thru Friday, and would love to hook up and ride some trails, don't know the area, so don't count on us to lead...  Lol.

[propwash1967]

We are staying in Belle Fourche by the way.....

[Bogus Jim]

I'd come out and ride somewhere with you guys this week, but I'm working all week, plus waiting on a part for the bike.

I'm attaching tracks for a fun 150 mile loop around Custer that I rode a few weeks ago; maybe you'd like to try it. It's more of a scenic dual sport ride than a dirt bike ride. The loop starts just east of Custer and ends near the Big Pine campground.

Some highlights:
Cicero Peak trail (338), nice view at the top.
Bowman Ridge trail (382.1A, B, C)
S&G Canyon (275)
High ridge trail behind Jewel Cave (277.1C)
Gillette Canyon
Red Bird Canyon (376), beautiful, little-known canyon.
Roby Canyon (264)
Summit Ridge Lookout tower (265), another nice view.
Bear Mountain Lookout (299.1C/K)

It's hard to find the start of the first trail, even with the MVUM map on your GPS, so here's directions: head east out of Custer a mile or two on 16-ALT, turn south on Needles View Place (into Triple T Mobile Park), then take an immediate left. It looks like you're riding into somebody's front yard but once in the yard you should see the sign for Forest Road 341. If you ride into the mobile homes area, you missed the left turn. 

This is mostly an easy ride (depending on the pace) but since you might be riding with your wives and I don't know their skill level, I'll mention a few sections that might be difficult for beginners:

341 (the first trail). First 1/2 mile is rough, gets much easier after that though. Detour on 793 south to 336.
314.1H, east of S&G Canyon. Slightly rocky, some ruts. Nasty when wet. Detour by staying right on trail 309.
Redbank powerline trail, 3550. Eastern side definitely not suitable for beginners, unless you want to scare the bejesus out of them.    Detour on 294 or 301.
Deerfield ATV trails, 6062, 6031, 6020, 6021. Pretty rocky. Sometimes log crossings. Occasional tree stump that hates footpegs.
Bear Mountain, north side, 299.1C/K. Hill climb with switchbacks, probably a bit much for total beginners. South side of Bear Mountain is easy gravel road.



Also, since you are staying in Belle Fourche Scott, I'll mention there's a small OHV area east of Orman Dam. It's only a few minutes from Belle so if you haven't been there, it might be fun to ride over some evening. Maybe 30-45 minutes of trails, some goofy hill climbs, a trail that goes most of the way around the lake. There's no entrance fee on the east side, on the campground (west side) I think there's an entrance fee.

Wherever you end up riding -  have fun, ride safe!

[Dratharr]

Hey folks, my wife and I are here for the week, yesterday thru Friday, and would love to hook up and ride some trails, don't know the area, so don't count on us to lead...  Lol.

That sounds great my wife and I will be camped at Custer also, we will be at Custer Mountain, I probably won't be riding till Thursday afternoon, I would love to show you some trails, my bike is more on the dirt side of the Dual Sport it won't sustain Hwy speed for very long, but I can definitely show you around, there are some nice fire roads to the south and west of Custer. Most of the single track is now closed around Custer, the closest I have found is North of Sheridan Lake.

Thanks,
Matt

[kendall_smith]

Dratthar- I just google mapped your campground and you guys are going to be 3.8 miles from us, so we should definitely plan on riding together on Thursday. We're right there with you as far as your no highway policy- ideally we wouldn't ride pavement at all.

Bogusjim- thanks for that loop info. It looks like a great ride and we may check it out earlier in the week.  Too bad you can't join us. I'd say we could ride later, but we're only here until Sunday.

Prop wash- looks like Belle Fourche is about 2 hours north of Custer, but if you come down this way, we'd like to ride with you.

I won't be checking this forum a whole lot during the day, but if anyone is doing or wants to do some dual sporting around Custer you can call or text me at 785-410-7844.

Hope we can get something put together!

[propwash1967]

Hey Kendall, we are thinking about loading up the bikes Thursday and heading down your way ...  We are going to do the mickleson trail tomorrow, and probably spearfish canyon on Tuesday.  We have family commitments on Wednesday day, looks good for a Thursday ride down there.!  My number is 641-512-6862, if you venture up this way or want to ride the mickleson trail tomorrow, give me a call.

[Dratharr]

Hey Kendall, we are thinking about loading up the bikes Thursday and heading down your way ...  We are going to do the mickleson trail tomorrow, and probably spearfish canyon on Tuesday.  We have family commitments on Wednesday day, looks good for a Thursday ride down there.!  My number is 641-512-6862, if you venture up this way or want to ride the mickleson trail tomorrow, give me a call.

Hi All,
Count me in too, my ph number is 308-249-6791, I can't wait to hit some dirt!

Matt

[kendall_smith]

Sounds like Thursday will be the big day then.  We should pick a time and a place to meet up to start the ride. We are open on both, but fairly early would probably be best, that way we have plenty of time.  Maybe it would be best to let Matt pick since he will have the best idea of what ride he is going to lead us on.

I just uploaded Jim's .gpx route to my gps and I think my wife and I are going to do it on Wednesday- should be fun!

Scott, I'll put your number in my phone and send you a text or give you a call if anything changes.  Thanks for the offer to ride with you today.  We already had other plans or else we might have taken you up on it.  We are going to be on our street bike up north tomorrow and plan on going to Deadwood and Sturgis after starting the day at Mt. Rushmore.

[Dratharr]

I'd come out and ride somewhere with you guys this week, but I'm working all week, plus waiting on a part for the bike.

I'm attaching tracks for a fun 150 mile loop around Custer that I rode a few weeks ago; maybe you'd like to try it. It's more of a scenic dual sport ride than a dirt bike ride. The loop starts just east of Custer and ends near the Big Pine campground.

Some highlights:
Cicero Peak trail (338), nice view at the top.
Bowman Ridge trail (382.1A, B, C)
S&G Canyon (275)
High ridge trail behind Jewel Cave (277.1C)




Gillette Canyon
Red Bird Canyon (376), beautiful, little-known canyon.
Roby Canyon (264)
Summit Ridge Lookout tower (265), another nice view.
Bear Mountain Lookout (299.1C/K)

It's hard to find the start of the first trail, even with the MVUM map on your GPS, so here's directions: head east out of Custer a mile or two on 16-ALT, turn south on Needles View Place (into Triple T Mobile Park), then take an immediate left. It looks like you're riding into somebody's front yard but once in the yard you should see the sign for Forest Road 341. If you ride into the mobile homes area, you missed the left turn. 

This is mostly an easy ride (depending on the pace) but since you might be riding with your wives and I don't know their skill level, I'll mention a few sections that might be difficult for beginners:

341 (the first trail). First 1/2 mile is rough, gets much easier after that though. Detour on 793 south to 336.
314.1H, east of S&G Canyon. Slightly rocky, some ruts. Nasty when wet. Detour by staying right on trail 309.
Redbank powerline trail, 3550. Eastern side definitely not suitable for beginners, unless you want to scare the bejesus out of them.    Detour on 294 or 301.
Deerfield ATV trails, 6062, 6031, 6020, 6021. Pretty rocky. Sometimes log crossings. Occasional tree stump that hates footpegs.
Bear Mountain, north side, 299.1C/K. Hill climb with switchbacks, probably a bit much for total beginners. South side of Bear Mountain is easy gravel road.



Also, since you are staying in Belle Fourche Scott, I'll mention there's a small OHV area east of Orman Dam. It's only a few minutes from Belle so if you haven't been there, it might be fun to ride over some evening. Maybe 30-45 minutes of trails, some goofy hill climbs, a trail that goes most of the way around the lake. There's no entrance fee on the east side, on the campground (west side) I think there's an entrance fee.

Wherever you end up riding -  have fun, ride safe!

Hi Bogus Jim,

Does there happen to be any gas stops on this route?

Thanks,
Matt

[Bogus Jim]

Does there happen to be any gas stops on this route?

No, that is kind of a drawback to this route. The closest gas stops are at Deerfield (Mountain Meadow campground), and Newell (10 miles of pavement). My bike has about 110 mile range so I need to carry a gallon.

[Dratharr]

Does there happen to be any gas stops on this route?

No, that is kind of a drawback to this route. The closest gas stops are at Deerfield (Mountain Meadow campground), and Newell (10 miles of pavement). My bike has about 110 mile range so I need to carry a gallon.

Ok, thats what I was afraid of, mine has about a 60-75mi range and i didn't bring any provisions for carrying extra fuel. Thanks again for the response, as always your expertise is always very much appreciated. I might have to go out and back and head back up to sugar shack.

Thanks,
Matt