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Mt Rushmore and Badlands

Summary

From the Badlands to Mt. Rushmore - a bike tour through time. Seven days biking, hiking and soaking in hot springs and history. From a road they said couldn't be built to Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, this amazing tour is crammed full of amazing history, amazing stories and great big views. Visit more National Parks and Historic Sites than most other tours. Ride to Crazy Horse Memorial and Deadwood, home of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Explore one of the world's largest caves. Ride to Devils Tower in Wyoming, famous for its role in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Spring tour date bonuses: glorious wildflowers, plus sightings of buffalo calves, pronghorn kids and white-tail and mule deer fawns

Road bike

7 days

310 km / 193 mi

$ 3,598.-

Badlands National Park
Mt. Rushmore National Park
Wind Cave National Park |
Devils Tower National Monument

Deposit for this tour is 25%

Gallery

Details

Type

Road bike

Duration

7 days

Level

Moderate

Support

Guided

Daily distance

60-80 km / 37-50 mi

Total distance

310 km / 193 mi

Climbing

7400 m / 24278 ft

Lodging

Deluxe, full board

Luggage transport

Daily luggage transfers

Bicycle

Included

Dates

08 May 2022 - 14 May 2022
15 May 2022 - 21 May 2022
22 May 2022 - 28 May 2022
29 May 2022 - 05 Jun 2022
21 Aug 2022 - 27 Aug 2022
28 Aug 2022 - 03 Sep 2022
04 Sep 2022 - 10 Sep 2022
11 Sep 2022 - 17 Sep 2022
19 Sep 2022 - 25 Sep 2022

2022 tour price: $3598.- pp

Start

Rapid City (7:30 a.m.)

Finish

Rapid City (4 - 7 p.m.)

Transfer

Rapid City, South Dakota, 7:30 a.m.

Airport at start

Rapid City Regional Airport

Airport at finish

Rapid City Regional Airport

Prices

Price per person

The tour price per person

$ 3,598.-

high performance road bike

Orbea Avant M20D Carbon

$ 300.-

Optional

E-Bike

Electric bike (e-bike): zoom up the hills for $200 USD for the tour
We request at least 60 days advance notice for one of these below.

$ 200.-

Optional

E-bike high end

Orbea Avant M20D high-end carbon fiber bike with compact Ultegra gearing.
We request at least 60 days advance notice for one of these below.

$ 300.-

Optional

Single supplement

If you travel alone a single supplement is charged. With some group tours you can avoid a single supplement by sharing a room with another rider.

$ 971.-

Itinerary

Included / Not Included – lodging

Day 1

Ride the haunting, ruggedly beautiful Badlands, where saber-tooth tiger once roamed.

The Badlands are a stunningly beautiful 244,000-acre preserve of mixed-grass prairie surrounding needled buttes, pinnacles and spires. Once blanketed by a warm, shallow sea, it contains one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here; today it's home to bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferret. Bicycle through its haunting beauty and spend tonight at the Red Rock River Resort.
Meals: L D Distance: 45 miles Elevation +1886 ft / -2274 ft

Day 2

Bison, burros and bluebirds. And a doozie of a cave.
This morning, visit the active dig at Mammoth Hot Springs Site of South Dakota. This is the largest number of mammoth remains in the world! Keeping to the “largest in the World” theme, ride onward to explore one of the worlds largest caves: Wind Cave, famous for its unusual 'boxwork' and 'frostwork' formations. In the afternoon, head to Custer State Park, where unique and very scenic loop roads wind through its 71,000 acres. Today, pedal the Wildlife Loop Road in the southern section of the park. Prairie and Ponderosa pine-studded hills host some 1,300 bison, as well as pronghorn antelope, mountain goat, deer, elk, wild turkey and a band of friendly burros. Plan to explore the famous northern loop tomorrow.
Meals: B L D Distance 32 miles elevation +2598 ft / -2532 ft

Day 3

Ride the Iron Mountain Road and into the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial - the northern half of Custer State Park.

In 1922, South Dakota's Governor Peter Norbeck marked out these amazing roads on foot and on horseback. Carving through pine and spruce forests, bicycle through meadows surrounded by birch, aspen and rugged granite mountains and needle-like granite formations. Ride through 11 tunnels in all today, right up to stunning Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. Said Governor Norbeck about these roads: "To do the scenery...full justice, you should simply get out and walk." (We think a bike is a pretty good alternative.)
Meals: B D Distance 47 miles elevation +6296 / -4212 ft

Day 4

Hike Black Elk Peak, visit Crazy Horse, ride...or just relax.

Today: hike to Black Elk Peak, which at 7,200' of elevation is highest point east of the Rockies. Visit the Crazy Horse Memorial, world's largest sculpture-in-progress; ride to Hill City, a picturesque former mining town that is the oldest in Pennington County. Or just relax at the lake.
Meals: B L D

Day 5

Ride 50 miles to Deadwood and release your inner outlaw.

Deadwood, once a wild-and-wooly gold rush town that hosted the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, is the Lawrence County seat and a National Historic Landmark District. Stay at the historic Deadwood Mountain Grand tonight and tomorrow. Enjoy tonight's dinner at Kevin Costner's Midnight Star Restaurant on equally historic Main Street.
Meals: B L Distance 58 miles Elevation +2642 ft / -4376 ft

Day 6

Ride across state lines to Devils Tower National Monument. Spend one more night in Deadwood.

Ride across the state lines into Wyoming, to Devils Tower National Monument, made famous by the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Once you're sufficiently awed, we'll shuttle back to Deadwood for another night.
Meals: B L D Distance 44 miles Elevation +2377 ft / -2573 ft

Day 7

Ride Spearfish Canyon. Then we'll take you back to Rapid City.

Today's ride is nothing short of breathtaking. Be awed by the thousand-foot-high limestone palisades in shades of brown, pink and gray towering over Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. Cyclists love the wide shoulders and uniform 3% grade, and Bicycling Magazine named Spearfish Canyon one of the top 50 scenic bike paths in the country. After the ride, we'll shuttle back to Rapid City for your return trip home.
Meals: B L Distance 31 miles Elevation +1961 ft / -2827 ft

* This is a general itinerary. Tour itineraries are subject to change based on the group, available accommodations and other unforeseen circumstances such as the weather, local conditions, government intervention, that may affect the quality of the trip and/or safety of the participants. Please view this itinerary as an outline as to what to expect on this tour.

Included:

All meals included, except 2 lunches and 1 dinner.
Hotels on this tour.
Hot Springs
Luggage transfer.
Road / hybrid bike

Not included:

Night before and after the tour
Airline tickets
Gratuities guides

Lodging

Red Rock River Resort,
State Game Lodge,
Sylvan Lake Lodge,
Deadwood Mountain Grand
The hotels, Inns, and B&Bs we use are always among the finest the area has to offer. Our smaller group sizes(max. 13) allow us to stay at some award-winning places that can’t handle groups of 25 or more. We work closely with the innkeepers to make sure they understand your needs and ours, whether that is having a place to store your bike, an early morning breakfast or a convenient place to park the van, they are as committed to your vacation experience as we are.
Lodging is based upon two people to a room with a private bath. If you’re traveling solo on any of our trips, we’ll assign you a roommate of the same gender and often of the same age bracket. There is no extra charge if we can’t find you a roommate, even if you sign up the day before the trip starts. You can guarantee yourself a private room and bath if you pay the Single Room Fee. Occasionally a room with two beds consists of one bed plus a rollaway bed or sofa bed.

Map & Routes

Map

Satellite

Bicycle

A road or Hybrid bike is included in the price,

E-bikes

are available for an extra fee.

Giant Defy ADV 3

Choose the longer route. Climb higher mountains. This all-new endurance road bike is purpose-built to help you tackle long-distance road rides in all types of conditions. It’s smooth, it’s efficient, and it’s fast.
Ride farther and faster with an all-new composite frameset that’s engineered with endurance geometry and built-in compliance. Handcrafted with Advanced-grade composite material, it’s engineered with tube shapes that are optimized to absorb road shocks and vibrations. And the frame is still stiff in all the ways that matter—for pedaling efficiency as well as steering and cornering precision. It’s made with a specific carbon layup to give it just the right feel. And for added control, it features integrated disc brakes with flat mounts and 12mm thru-axles. The D-Fuse Seatpost and handlebar system also help reduce road vibrations, adding to its smooth, compliant feel on the road.
Components: Giant Conduct disc brakes, Shimano Tiagra groupset, 50/34 cranks, 11 x 34 cassette, Giant S-R2 tubeless wheelset 700x28c

Fastroad SL 1

So smooth, so efficient, it feels like flying. This lightweight flyer combines the sporty feel of a road bike with the added confidence and control of a flat handlebar.
The perfect balance of road bike speed and city bike versatility. Built on a lightweight ALUXX SL aluminum frameset, this new flat-bar road bike puts the rider in a comfortable position that’s smooth and efficient. The fast-rolling 700c wheels and vibration-absorbing composite D-Fuse Seatpost help smooth out rough roads. The fast-rolling 700c wheels can accommodate large tires up to 32c, perfect for tackling rough roads with confidence and control, while integrated ergo bar ends keep your hands comfortable on longer adventures. Powerful disc brakes give you added control in all types of weather, and easy-to-use rack mounts make FastRoad SL a smart choice for commuting, fitness riding, and weekend adventures.
Components: Advanced-Grade composite fork, TRP Flat mount disc brakes, Shimano Tiagra 2×10 with 11×34 cassette, Giant S-R2 tubeless, wheelset 700x28c