Compare A Cycling Journey: The Black Hills & the Mickelson Trail by Road Scholar

Day 1 Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner Rapid City, South Dakota

Lodge check-in from 4:00 p.m.

Program Registration. 4:15 p.m. After you have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table in the lobby to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing the up-to-date schedule that reflects any changes, other important information, and to confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. Remember to bring your name-tag (sent previously). Orientation 5:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. All lectures and field trips will be led by local experts; this includes our Group Leaders. Unless specified otherwise, transportation and luggage transportation will be provided via motorcoach, which will require going up/down a few steps when getting on/off. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

In one of the dining rooms at the hotel, we will have a buffet dinner with salad, vegetable, entrée, and dessert, plus coffee, tea (iced or hot), water; other beverages available for purchase.

Day 2 Bicycle Fitting, Ride Portion of the Mickelson, Mammoth Site Hot Springs

Getting on/off motorcoach; driving about 85 miles from Rapid City to Edgemont Trailhead; approximately 1.5 hours; short afternoon transfer. Biking about 16 miles; max of 4% grade and 500 feet in elevation gain; wide crushed gravel and limestone trail. There will be a sag wagon paralleling the trail for those who may need assistance during the ride. Walking up to 1 mile total throughout the day; moving though museum up to 1 hour.

We’ll kick off our week by traveling, via motorcoach, to the nearby town of Hill City where we’ll be expertly fitted for the bikes and helmets that we’ll use for the duration of the trail. Back on the motorcoach, we’ll travel to the beginning of our adventure on the Mickelson Trail. In the town of Edgemont stands mile marker 0. Here also stands over a century of history connected to railroads, mining, and ranching. Prior to riding, the Group Leader will discuss trail safety and section highlights, as well as "what to look for" along the trail. Riding with us every day will be a trail "sweep," or extra staff person riding behind the group to assist with any issues that may arise. Riding through the streets of Edgemont, we’ll pass historic buildings and remnants of a once bustling bygone era. We’ll ride 16.2 miles to the Minnekahta trailhead through the valley of the Cheyenne River. As the trail starts its gentle climb out of the valley, we’ll see outcrops of unique geologic formations as well as canyons complete with petroglyphs. The flora and fauna in this southern section of the trail is strongly influenced by several grassland and sagebrush steppe species. It also houses some deciduous and pine forest species.

Afterwards, we’ll board the motorcoach and travel to the nearby town of Hot Springs, South Dakota, where we’ll enjoy an expert-led visit to the Mammoth Site – an active paleontological and excavation site, which boasts the largest concentration of mammoth remains in the world! We'll travel back in time when Ice Age mammoths, camels, and giant short-faced bears roamed the Great Plains of North America. More than 26,000 years ago, a sinkhole collapsed and the warm spring percolating from the bottom filled it in to create an ideal watering hole for animals to quench their thirst. Unfortunately, the sinkhole proved to be too slippery and steep for the animals to retreat, thus creating a death trap for large Columbian and Woolly Mammoths. We’ll investigate this historic event by visiting the world's largest Columbian Mammoth exhibit and research center for Pleistocene studies. By going behind the scenes of the active Mammoth Site Laboratory for an on-site talk given by the museum's collector and lab curator, we’ll learn more about specific bones, fossils, and stories behind the Mammoths’ demise. After the Mammoth Site visit, we'll travel a short distance to our hotel, check-in, and freshen up for dinner.

We’ll then be joined by a local expert at the restaurant for a presentation about the history, creation, and development of the Mickelson Trail. Following the presentation, we'll board the motorcoach for a short ride back to the hotel. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

At the hotel, we’ll have hot breakfast buffet complete with oatmeal, omelets, biscuits and gravy, and assorted pastries, plus milk, juices, coffee, tea, water.

At the Minnekahta trailhead, we’ll have our pre-selected box lunches featuring a sandwich or wrap, chips, side, fruit, dessert, and bottle of water.

At Wooly's, a locally owned and operated restaurant, we’ll have a buffet meal featuring a choice of entrée, sides, salad, and dessert, plus coffee, tea, lemonade, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Day 3 Ride Portion of the Mickelson Trail, Crazy Horse Memorial The Black Hills

Getting on/off motorcoach; driving about 15 miles total throughout the day; less than 1/2 hour. Biking about 33.4 miles; max of 4% grade and 1,000 feet in elevation gain; wide trail of crushed gravel and limestone. There will be a sag wagon paralleling the trail for those who may need assistance during the ride. Walking up to 1 mile total throughout the day; moving though museum up to 1 hour.

Boarding the motorcoach, we’ll travel a short distance back to the Minnekahta Trailhead where we'll collect our assigned bicycles and prepare with another Group Leader safety and trail highlights brief. We’ll then ride from the Minnekahta Trailhead to the Mountain Trailhead, about 33.4 miles. Along the trail, we’ll pass through backcountry areas where Native Americans camped and made arrowheads, waiting for wildlife to come for water. These places were also ideal locations for soldiers to evacuate illegal miners and settlers. This area of the Mickelson is a mix of prairie grasslands and deciduous and pine forests. Several geological features are present, as well as unique early 20th century barns and old homesteads.

This afternoon, we’ll continue the ride to Mountain Trailhead at the base of Crazy Horse. Upon arrival, we’ll board the waiting motorcoach and travel through the entrance to meet a local expert staff member who will lead us around Crazy Horse's Museums while teaching us about its campus that serves as a repository for Native American artifacts, arts and crafts, and the Native American Educational & Cultural Center. Once complete, the memorial will be the largest outdoor sculpture in the world at 641 feet long and 563 feet high. Next, we’ll travel via motorcoach a short distance and check-in to our hotel. There will be time to freshen up prior to dinner.

At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.

At the hotel, we’ll have hot breakfast buffet complete with oatmeal, omelets, biscuits and gravy, and assorted pastries, plus milk, juices, coffee, tea, water.

At White Elephant Trailhead, we’ll have our boxed lunches.

At a local restaurant, we’ll enjoy a buffet dinner with several entrée selections, sides, desserts, and an assortment of beverages such as soft drinks, coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Day 4 Ride Portion of the Mickelson Trail, Mount Rushmore The Black Hills

Getting on/off motorcoach; driving about 30 miles total throughout the day; approximately 1 hour total. Biking about 25 miles; max of 4% grade and 500 feet in elevation gain; wide trail of crushed gravel and limestone. There will be a sag wagon paralleling the trail for those who may need assistance during the ride. Walking up to 1 mile total throughout the day; moving though museum up to 1 hour. Elective Presidential Trail is about 1/2 mile; some stairs.

Boarding the motorcoach, we’ll travel a short distance back to the Mountain Trailhead where we'll collect our assigned bicycles and prepare with another Group Leader safety and trail highlights brief. We'll ride from the Mountain Trailhead to the historic town of Mystic, which was named on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Once a bustling town visited by President Coolidge in the summer of 1927, it is now marked by the McCahan Chapel and a few other historic cabin buildings. The ride to Mystic is encompasses some of the most breathtaking scenery along the trial. Lush meadows, pine and evergreen forests, crystal stream waters and two of the three hard rock tunnels will greet us along the trail. For those who wish, there will be opportunity to stop and explore the quaint town of Hill City independently. Hill City offers a small town feel with big city talent. Local artist galleries, shops and museums, including the South Dakota Railroad Museum and the Black Hills Institute of Geologic Research are both housed in Hill City and are great side excursions from the trail.

Continuing via motorcoach, we'll travel to the town of Keystone. Under the guidance of our expert Group Leader, we’ll explore the United States’ Shrine of Democracy – Mount Rushmore. Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum, the creator of Mount Rushmore, wrote, “The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.” Borglum intended his monumental sculpture to be not only a memorial to four of our greatest Presidents, but a Shrine to Democracy. Why these four? Washington led the nascent United States to win independence from Great Britain. Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence. Roosevelt the “trust buster” ensured the rights of working people and was instrumental in building the Panama Canal. Lincoln led the country through the Civil War. Borglum began work in 1927 and continued until his death in 1941 when his son, Lincoln Borglum, took it on and ended work later that year. If you wish, feel free to expand your exploration of Mount Rushmore with an independent short walk on the Presidential Trail to Borglum’s studio. Interpretive signage along the way will illuminate more about the monument, its construction, and the artist whose vision produced one of America’s most iconic symbols. After our visit to Mount Rushmore we’ll travel a short distance via motorcoach and check into the hotel.

Arriving by motorcoach, we will attend the Lighting Ceremony at Mount Rushmore – a patriotic program presented by a park ranger in the open, outdoor auditorium.

At the hotel.

This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like in down town Hill City. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

In the dining facility at the lodge, we’ll have a buffet dinner with salad, vegetable, entrée, and dessert, plus coffee, tea (iced or hot), water; other beverages available for purchase.

Day 5 Ride Last Portion of the Mickelson, Completion Celebration Rapid City, South Dakota

Getting on/off motorcoach; driving about 67 miles total throughout the day; approximately 1.5 hours total; half in the morning and half in the afternoon. Biking about 31 miles; max of 4% grade and 1,000 feet in elevation gain; wide trail of crushed gravel and limestone. There will be a sag wagon paralleling the trail for those who may need assistance during the ride.

Traveling back to the Mystic Trailhead by motorcoach, we'll collect our assigned bicycles and prepare with another Group Leader safety and trail highlights brief. Then, we'll ride the last leg of the Mickelson from Mystic to the legendary town of Deadwood. The ride to Deadwood features unique geologic structures, old Stage Coach stops, Gold Mines, and breathtaking evergreen-clad mountains.

Deadwood was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 because of its significance in western history. Due to the number of booming mining camps, Deadwood became a magnet for legendary and notorious characters like Seth Bullock, Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. As the northern terminus of the Mickelson Trail, we’ll celebrate our completion of the full 108.8-mile trail in Deadwood. We’ll enjoy an end of the trail celebration before having time independently to explore some of the best Deadwood has to offer. Later in the afternoon, we’ll gather and transfer via motorcoach back to Rapid City to check into our hotel and prepare for our final evening together.

At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departures in the morning.

Hotel buffet.

At Dumont Trailhead, we’ll have our boxed lunches.

At the hotel, we’ll enjoy a casual evening of wine and our final plated dinner together, with coffee, tea, water, and 1 drink ticket; other beverages available for purchase.

Day 6 Program Concludes Rapid City, South Dakota

Hotel check-out by 11:00 a.m.

If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!

At the hotel, we’ll have hot breakfast buffet complete with oatmeal, omelets, biscuits and gravy, and assorted pastries, plus milk, juices, coffee, tea, water. This concludes our program.