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Black Hills of South Dakota |
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Appalachian Highlands: |
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Dates: |
Assembly Point: |
Tour Cost: $1,795 (includes all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, van shuttle to and from Rapid City, support van, park entrance fees, leaders, tour maps & narratives) |
The Black Hills of South Dakota stand as sentinels announcing to westbound travelers that they at last have reached the threshold of the Great American West. The heavily forested, rugged hills present a dramatic contrast with the vast expanse of the plains to the east.
The story of settlement in the Black Hills is integral to the saga of the West. The land is rich in its Native American legacy—it is the land of Crazy Horse and the Lakota Sioux, but also the land of the sadness of Wounded Knee. Settlers poured into the Black Hills in the 1870’s, lured by the discovery of gold in Deadwood Gulch. The Black Hills gold rush was the last of its kind in North America and it generated its share of legendary figures of the frontier. Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are among those who lived and died in Deadwood Gulch.
The natural beauty of the Black Hills also is remarkable. Rugged mountains and shimmering high country lakes, Custer State Park with its enormous bison herd and famous wild burros, Needles Highway, Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial are only a few of the reasons why we are once again headed to the Black Hills of South Dakota in the season ahead.
Our 6-day adventure assembles in Deadwood (we’ll provide a mid-afternoon shuttle from Rapid City on assembly day) and we’ll head south through Deadwood Gulch and the legendary mining camps of Lead and Mystic on our way to Hill City. Much of this ride is planned for the Mickelson Trail, whose hard-packed crushed limestone surface provides a beautiful off-road experience totally appropriate for road-bike tires. Early morning of Day 2, we’re headed to Mt. Rushmore National Monument and then on to Custer State Park, where we’ll spend the evening at the State Game Lodge, a favorite summer retreat of former presidents Coolidge and Eisenhower.
We’ll continue our exploration of Custer Park throughout Day 3. We’ll cycle the Wildlife Loop, home to a free-ranging herd of bison as well as the surprising wild burros. Later in the day, we’ll ride awesome Needles Highway through its corridor of towering granite spires. We’re headed for the Sylvan Lake Resort on the shores of Sylvan Lake, where we’ll spend our next two nights. A layover day presents the opportunity to hike nearby Harney Peak in the Black Elk Wilderness. A beautiful 6-mile trail leads to Harney’s 7,242-foot summit, the highest peak east of the Rockies. Later that afternoon, we’ll visit the Crazy Horse Memorial, the massive granite sculpture still in progress that honors the great Lakota warrior.
We’ll ride from Sylvan Lake on Day 5 to Jewel Cave National Monument and explore this massive cavern in the context of a Ranger-led program. We’ll return to Custer for our final overnight and ride to Sheridan Lake the following morning before launching into an amazing descent from the Hills to Rapid City where our program concludes.
Total Cycling Mileage — 216
Total Hiking Mileage — 6
E-Mail: timber@earthnet.net
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