The scenery in the Black Hills of South Dakota is so truly awesome that it’s no wonder the tribes of the area have long considered it sacred ground. Sheer-sided river gorges, tall granite spires, spruce and pine forests, deep creek and river valleys, and lakes provide great biking, hiking, and sightseeing opportunities. A trip here three years ago with Lowry, Kyle, and Abby made us want to return. One day we hiked to Cathedral Spires, a cluster of tall, narrow granite towers, and then continued on to the summit of Harney Peak, which at 7,242 feet is the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and the Pyrenees in Europe.
The road to the trailhead passes through a one-way tunnel that seemed barely wide and tall enough for our car with the bikes on top. Afterward we cooled off in Sylvan Lake, nestled among yet more fantastical rock formations.
The next day we biked a section of the Mickelson rail trail, farther north than the section we biked in 2012. Our ride followed creek valleys cut steeply through slate so strongly folded that the layers are nearly vertical. We were well away from paved roads, rarely in sight of any buildings or even gravel roads. We passed through two tunnels, over several bridges, and through the town of Rochford, a thriving gold mining town for a very brief time in the late 1800s (virtually a ghost town three years after it was founded!).
