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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

$ 3,940.-

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

07 May 2023 - 13 May 2023
14 May 2023 - 20 May 2023
21 May 2023 - 27 May 2023
28 May 2023 - 03 Jun 2023
27 Aug 2023 - 02 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 - 09 Sep 2023
10 Sep 2023 - 16 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023 - 23 Sep 2023

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 Please note the prices are subject to change depending availability

Price per person / please note the prices are subject to change depending availability

The tour price per person

$ 3,940.-

E-Bike

E-bike Fastroad E+ EX Pro or E-bike THRIVE E+ EX Pro

$ 200.-

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.

$ 1,064.-

Itinerary

Included / Not Included – lodging

Day 1: Ride the haunting, ruggedly beautiful Badlands, where saber-tooth tiger once roamed.

Meet in Rapid City. Shuttle out to Badlands National Park – a stunning 244,000-acre preserve of mixed-grass prairie punctuated with enormous needled buttes, pinnacles and spires. Once blanketed by a warm, shallow sea, it boasts one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here. Today it’s home to bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, black-footed ferret and awe-inspiring bison. Bicycle through its haunting beauty and spend tonight at the Red Rock River Resort, which tops the list of ‘5 Best Spa Hotels in South Dakota.’ Take time for a soak before walking to Silk Road for a privately hosted al fresco dinner.
Meals: L D Distance: 45 miles Elevation +1886 ft / -2274 ft

Day 2: Mammoth, 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 lodging State Game lodge Distance 32 miles elevation +2598 ft / -2532 ft

Day 3: Ride Custer State Park to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.

Bicycle Custer State Park’s Northern Loop today. In 1922, South Dakota’s Governor Peter Norbeck marked out the Iron Mountain Road on foot and on horseback. With its wooden ‘pigtail’ bridges and one-lane tunnels, it’s an architectural marvel carving through pine and spruce forests, meadows surrounded by birch and aspen, rugged granite mountains and more needle-like granite formations. Ride through 11 tunnels in all today, right up to stunning Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. Back in 1922, Governor Norbeck advised, “To do the scenery…full justice, you should simply get out and walk.” But we think the bicycle is a great alternative. Lunch is on your own here, so spend as much time as you like. We spend the next two nights at Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Sylvan Lake Lodge – Custer State Park’s ‘Crown Jewel’.
Meals: B D Distance 47 miles elevation +6296 / -4212 ft

Day 4: Hike Black Elk Peak, visit Crazy Horse, ride...or just relax.

Today you have choices to make. In the morning, most folks join us for a hike to Black Elk Peak. At 7,200′ of elevation, it’s the highest point east of the Rockies, and the views are astounding. In the afternoon, visit Crazy Horse Memorial, the world’s largest sculpture-in-progress. This fascinating memorial has been under construction since 1948 and receives no government funding. It’s so large that if Mt. Rushmore could be moved, it would fit inside Crazy Horse’s shoulder! Or you can choose to take a ride to Hill City, a picturesque former mining town that is the oldest in Pennington County. Or just relax at the lake. Lunch is on your own.
Meals: B, D Lodging: Sylvan Lake Lodge

Day 5: Ride the Mickelson Trail 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. Ride here today on the famed Mickelson Trail and unleash your inner-outlaw! Dinner’s on your own tonight, with plenty of restaurants to choose from and plenty to explore before and after. Stay at the Holiday Inn Express Gold Dust in Deadwood tonight and tomorrow.
Meals: B L Holiday Inn Express Gold Dust Distance 58 miles Elevation +2642 ft / -4376 ft

Day 6: Ride Spearfish Canyon to Devils Tower National Monument. Spend another night in Deadwood.

Begin the day with a leisurely ride through Spearfish Canyon. Bicycling Magazine named Spearfish Canyon one of the country’s Top 50 Scenic Bike Paths. Older than the Grand Canyon, the spectacular 1000-foot walls and limestone palisades of this creek-carved gorge offer some of the most breathtaking scenery in the Black Hills. Visit the Vore Buffalo Jump before heading to Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Visit the iconic landmark held sacred by Native Americans and made famous by the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Ponder the various theories as to how it was formed while we load up bikes. Once you’re sufficiently awed, we will hop in the van to shuttle back to Deadwood.
Meals: B L D Lodging Holiday Inn Express Gold Dust Distance 57 miles Elevation +2,168 ft / -3,652 ft

Day 7: Ride Nemo Road back to Rapid City.

Known as one of the best-kept secrets in South Dakota, Nemo Road wends its way through lovely scenery with good shoulders and low traffic. Tie your bike to the hitching post outside the Guest Ranch Store in the town of Nemo for an historic photo opportunity. Finish the week on your bike (not in the van) riding the rest of the way back to Rapid City.
Meals: B L Distance 43 miles Elevation +2,605 ft / -3,776 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.
Luggage transfer.
Road / hybrid bike

Not included:

Night before and after the tour
Flights to and from the tour
Gratuities guides

Lodging

Red Rock River Resort,
State Game Lodge,
Sylvan Lake Lodge,
Holiday Inn Express Gold Dust
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

Vaccine or test: A negative Covid test will be required within 72 hours of departure for all non-fully vaccinated guests. or Proof of a completed Covid vaccination course can be used in lieu of a Covid test. A "completed Covid vaccination course" means that the guest has had 1 or 2 shots (depending on vaccine brand) and has completed the 2-week waiting period post final shot.
All of our guides are fully vaccinated.

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

E-Bike Thrive E+ EX PRO

With THRIVE E+ EX PRO, you get an all-access pass to speed no mater what your fitness level
Designed with Liv’s 3F Design Philosophy, Thrive E+ EX Pro is the first road E-bike built specifically for women. Get up to speed fast with the new SyncDrive Pro motor that provides a natural, yet powerful, E-bike experience. The new motor also features a Smart support mode that automatically adjusts the support level based on your ride. PedalPlus 6-Sensor Technology translates six measurements about your riding and adds the perfect amount of power at just the right time for a fast and fluid ride quality. The EnergyPak Smart 375 battery is so sleek, you’ll have your friends looking twice to know it’s an E-bike.