Yowza, Our Weather is Exciting! (Rapid City, Hot Springs: house, living in, deal)

[BucFan]

There are so many opportunities to use the bikes. I just came from Badlands National Park and rode the bike from the Interior gate (near the visitor's building) to the back gate headed to Minute Man Park. It was a steep climb (I feel like I'm in decent shape and handled it well). Not a good ride for anyone not in the best of shape. The cars seemed to give me a lot of space, too, which was nice. Most of their speed limits were very slow, which is nice for bike riders.

The George Mickelson Trail near Rushmore, Custer, and travels over 100 miles, I think, is a great idea - costs $4/person/day or $15/yr. Its gravel road, not very steep inclines and some short and long rides. I felt safe the whole time and once away from the town, the scenery was amazing.


I think the gravel trails will be good for any bike with thicker wheels, not the racing variety. I highly recommend the trail for anyone wanting to get a good view of nature and get away from driving around in a car.

Rode up to Coolidge Lookout today. Awesome view. If you can't ride, it'll make a very nice hike. About 3 miles roundtrip. Its located in the Custer State Park.

[Podo944]

Originally Posted by BucFan

There are so many opportunities to use the bikes. I just came from Badlands National Park and rode the bike from the Interior gate (near the visitor's building) to the back gate headed to Minute Man Park. It was a steep climb (I feel like I'm in decent shape and handled it well). Not a good ride for anyone not in the best of shape. The cars seemed to give me a lot of space, too, which was nice. Most of their speed limits were very slow, which is nice for bike riders.

The George Mickelson Trail near Rushmore, Custer, and travels over 100 miles, I think, is a great idea - costs $4/person/day or $15/yr. Its gravel road, not very steep inclines and some short and long rides. I felt safe the whole time and once away from the town, the scenery was amazing.


I think the gravel trails will be good for any bike with thicker wheels, not the racing variety. I highly recommend the trail for anyone wanting to get a good view of nature and get away from driving around in a car.

Rode up to Coolidge Lookout today. Awesome view. If you can't ride, it'll make a very nice hike. About 3 miles roundtrip. Its located in the Custer State Park.

Thanks for the info! We just may go ahead and bring them then.
Okay dumb question...any wildlife to worry about? Is bear spray recommended like in Yellowstone if doing any hiking? Clueless city girl nerves.

[SD4020]

No, bears are not concern.

Rattle snakes in the badlands and give the Buffalo plenty of space (in wind cave and Custer state park)

[BucFan]

There are a lot of buffalo....in the park they are grazing. I came across about 20 on the Mickelson trail near White Elephant but they were fenced. Tons of deer that you have to be cautious about when driving. Pronghorns and young elk were out there as well but scatter.

[Podo944]

Thanks for the info you guys, we're excited for our trip!
Yeah, planning on avoiding any nighttime driving and we'll looking out for wildlife on the roads any time of day. We were driving a few years ago up in northern Wisconsin and a huuuge bear ran across the road in front of us. Not even close to hitting it, slowed down when we spotted it, but boy that was surreal for us Southern Californians, lol!

Familiar with Rattlers a little and yeah, they can be unnerving. Are they "everywhere" on the main trails or mostly in the brush? We'll stick to the trails, but we've seen them on occasion We'll be bringing our rubber boots in case of rain and mud (I hear June you have to be ready for anything), they may come in handy for the snakes in Badlands, ha ha... unless they jump real high.

[uncleharley]

Rattlesnakes are not a big deal, they are just something to be aware of. If there is a morning with a heavy dew or light rain the night before, they will crawl out of the wet, cold grass onto a road or trail to sun themselves. Once everything dries off and warms up, they will disappear again.

uh

[SD4020]

The rattlesnakes or "shaky tails" not common in the higher elevations. They are more active out on the prairie and in the badlands. If there's a lot of activity they tend to bounce out.

Bull snakes tend to do a good job of keepin rattlesnakes away. A bull snake is bigger, longer and their head isn't diamond shaped. They are ornery but not venomous.

[uncleharley]

It's raining south of Hot Springs. It looks like we could get a soaker.

uh

[SD4020]

Originally Posted by uncleharley

It's raining south of Hot Springs. It looks like we could get a soaker.

uh

I think it's going to skirt around Rapid. It was dark to the south. There was tornado warning for Fall River county. East of Oelrichs. That was an hour ago.

It's a nice rain and some thunder in south Rapid.

[601halfdozen0theother]

Down in the Yankton/Vermillion area we got a lot of sound and fury last night (really beautiful to watch), but only a teedly bit of actual rain. We could sure use a good long soaker - farmers really need the moisture. I think most of the rain last night was in the NE part of the state.