Mt Rushmore input....?

[Jon]

Planning 2 up ride for next year to see Mt Rushmore. Round trip looks like 3600 miles on the LT. Most of the ride will most likey be on the super slab. Hotel / Motel for sleep Anyone have input on the trip? Give up 10 nights for the round trip. Thanks

[nytrashman]

if you plan on slabbing it via I-90 then the best advise i can give you is to avoid Chicago at all costs. a couple of years ago i went from West. Co. NY to the national in Gillette WY and found getting through Chicago was the worst part of the trip.

[PGlaves]

Mt. Rushmore is just one of many delightful things in the Black Hills. Wind Cave National Park is a gem. For riding pleasure the "Wildlife Loop", Needles Highway, and Custer State Park are wonderful. The little towns - Hot Springs, Custer, Deadwood, etc can be touristy and nice at the same time. We like the southern end of the area better than the northern end.

[r11rs94]

Agree, Route 90, Plus all of what Paul said. Did this ride in reverse from Redmond last year. Also if you have time see the Arch and well as the MOA headquaters. Have a fun and safe trip.:thumb

[widebmw]

There are a couple of nice small motels in Keystone, SD that you can see the National Memorial from.

[Gizmo]

What others said plus do not miss the Crazy Horse monument which is even more impressive than Mt. Rushmore and still not finished.

[henzilla]

In the general area:



http://henzilla.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Day-trip-from-Sturgis/P1010113/321184432_DyA6t-M.jpg

CrazyHorse

http://henzilla.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Day-trip-from-Sturgis/P1010035/321178625_jVKku-M.jpg

Devil's Tower

http://henzilla.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Day-trip-from-Sturgis/P1010072/321180863_AHWPS-M.jpg

along US 14 or US 85 headed to Lead and Deadwood

[felaw]

+1 for Avoiding Chicago. The Lake Michigan Ferry from Luddington to Manitowac does that and give you a good chance for a little break, some rest and to drive some decent state roads in Michingan and Wisconsins before getting onto 90.

[advenbob]

Having Chicago as my home town, and living in So Cal for 30 yrs, I don't have too much of an issue dealing with the traffic when traversing the Chicago area. If you are coming from the east on I-80, stay on it heading west and then north on I-35 if you want to bypass the area. The big issue is you have multiple major highways all converging in the same general area around the Illinois/Indiana border and it seems to have been under construction for the last 40+ years:>

We like the Blackhills and have visted many times. The Crazy Horse monumnt is a must see. A lot of Souix Indian history at the visitors center. In the 1940's when construstion started, a couple of the Chiefs present were also present at the 1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn. Amazing to think of all the changes that took place from 1876 to the 1940's that they witnessed. The first full weekend in June there is a Volkswalk that will allow you to hike up to the outstreched arm. Two cans of food is the entry fee.

We motel it in Custer, and there is a good selection of establishments to choose from, all very fairly priced. Can't remember the name of the place we use, but can drive right to it every time.

Mt Rushmore is a zoo, especially since they built the parking garage. Extra fee for parking and is not part of your park pass if you have one. Be very carefull riding near Mt Rushmore.

A ride through Custer State Park is also a must. Make sure you have the camera at the ready.

When camping, we use Horse Thief campground. A beautiful tent area is availabe. Pool, showers, etc are available. Been using it since 1973.

There are many places to see and visit, and it looks like you will have about four days available, so do not try to do everything. Take your time and enjoy, leaving something for the next time.

Click on this link for ideas:
http://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/home/thingstodo

Head north to North Dakota and visit the town of Medora. The pitch fork BBQ is very good, followed by entertainment at the outdoor theather. One day up and one day back.

Have fun

bob

[advenbob]

Found it. The Chief Motel in Custer SD. Very friendly with some good deals.

bob

[Visian]

Wind Cave National Park is a gem. For riding pleasure the "Wildlife Loop", Needles Highway, and Custer State Park are wonderful.

dang, you beat me to it.

big thumbs up for the parks in the area *other* than Mt. Rushmore....

the view from my campsite in Wind Cave NP...

http://visian.smugmug.com/Tours/Oregon-Vacation/IMG1730/960441226_9WbdP-XL.jpg

and if you're comfortable with a hard-packed dirt road, there are miles and miles of no one else in Custer State Park....

http://visian.smugmug.com/Other/RandomStuff/i-NbFxbbV/0/XL/IMG1774JPG-XL.jpg

I'd also strongly recommend getting off the slab in South Dakota and taking US18 across....

ian

[kantuckid]

I'll be a spoil sport-my 2 cents: If I had never been to the Rockies, then the Black Hills would be really neat. But, I have and I find it way too touristy in many spots and lacking the level of grandiosity of the Rockies-which I admit, have their touristy areas as well. If you get off the beaten path both thin out quickly but one has 7k elv. , the other more than twice that and lots more trees,water,waterfalls,trout streams,etc.,etc.. So, for me it 's a "glad I went , never go back thing". :blah:blah:blah

[lilredroadster]

On the way to the Gillette rally, I stopped for 4 days in Rapid City. I stayed at the Days Inn on Rushmore Rd. They offer a discount to MOA members. It is not far from the attractions.
Don't miss Spearfish canyon........... .beautiful!
Also try a buffalo steak at on of the many decent eateries in the area. It was really good and a lot leaner than a regular steak.. Avoid Sturgis during the HD thing unless you are into traffic and crowds. Another tourist trap is Wall Drug in Wall SD.
Enjoy the trip!
When checking out Devils Tower, Keep an eye out for aliens! I did see a few, although, they were from Canada, Germany and Mexico....none were little green ones from space!

[moralem]

What others said plus do not miss the Crazy Horse monument which is even more impressive than Mt. Rushmore and still not finished.

X10 on Crazy Horse. If they have trips up to the top take it. And the helicopter ride in a small two seater is amazing. Make sure you give yourself enough time while there. The roads to Lead, Spearfish and Deadwood are amazing.

[jopars]

It depends on what you're looking for, I suppose, but you will probably wish to avoid the noise and bedlam that is Sturgis Bike Week. Always held the first full week (i.e. Sunday - Saturday) in August. :dunno

As far as caves, stay away from the "touristy" ones and stick with the National Parks/Monuments (Wind Cave & Jewel Cave). :thumb

JP

[rebake]

The koa campground is nice.They have cabins and a free shuttle bus to Rushmore at dusk so you go and sit in the dark and they throw all the floodlights on at once.Very impressive.Wildlife loop is a must do.watch for goats on the road.Ed

[criminaldesign]

Wonderful area, Vanocker Canyon Road was a gem of a ride that some locals pointed out to us. Sugar Shack has good burgers and area to kick back.

[TRJPG]

I am from the Black Hills and agree with most all of the prior posts ( this is the best part of SD). There are some other very nice two lane rides in between the major attractions in the hills that don't get much attention. The quickest way to get from eastern SD to the Hills is I-90 however Hwy 18 (crosses the southern part of SD and south of I-90) or Hwy 14 (crosses thru central SD North of I-90) both are pretty good roads and not much traffic. I did the BMW rally from here to PA trip this summer and agree that Chicago should be avoided if possible ( I came back from PA thru Chicago). Every road seemed to be under construction. Up to Luddington MI then on the ferry boat to Wisconsin will work, if you have time (the ferry ride is several hours so you lose a day). Go around lake Michigan to the north thru the upper penninsula and into northern Wisconsin to Minnesota on the way to Rushmore. That route would be my choice. Once in the Black Hills the needles highway is a must along with Spearfish Canyon. Plenty of motels usually available except during the Stugis Rally and a week or two on either side of the rally. A lot of rally goers like to come in before the rally to ride or just at the end of the rally. During the rally I wouldn't call walking your bike in tail pipe to front wheel traffic riding. So I don't recommend the rally time frame to visit if your goal is to ride. In advance welcome to S Dak. and enjoy

[MCMXCIVRS]

We were just in that area at the end of August for the first time and really enjoyed it. Lots of really neat roads for riding. Not for going fast though, but still very enjoyable on a bike. We camped just outside of Custer next to the KOA at Beaver Lake campground which was also very nice, clean and well maintained. I'll highly reccomend the bakery in Custer for breakfast.

.Wildlife loop is a must do.watch for goats on the road.

And watch out for buffalo and donkeys and wild turkeys. We had all of the above making themselves obstacles on the roads.

[wmubrown]

if you plan on slabbing it via I-90 then the best advise i can give you is to avoid Chicago at all costs. a couple of years ago i went from West. Co. NY to the national in Gillette WY and found getting through Chicago was the worst part of the trip.

The construction has been completed (not that Chicago is NEVER under construction) of the main thru-way around the I-80/I-294/I-94 interchanges which caused backups at the time of Gillette. Also, I-355, the west bypass (west of I-294) is complete up into Downer's Grove and connects up with I-290 around Bloomingdale giving a nice second option to I-294 Get thee an I-pass and you won't have any trouble zooming through the Chicago area.

[175887]

Spearfish, SD makes a good base for the area. Other folks have covered most of the local venues and sights. As far as the trip. Give yourself time to enjoy it along the way without making every day an Iron Butt run. Don't ask how I know.

[Jon]

Spearfish, SD makes a good base for the area. Other folks have covered most of the local venues and sights. As far as the trip. Give yourself time to enjoy it along the way without making every day an Iron Butt run. Don't ask how I know.

Good point thank you

[john1691]

I think Mt. Rushmore is totally over rated. Of course, the one time we were there, it was fogged in and I couldn't even see it. :banghead Probably won't drive back that way ever again, so I tell myself I didn't miss anything, it's just a couple dead guys carved from some rocks, right?

[Rob Nye]

10 nights = 12 days?

3600 / 12 is 300 per day. 300 on the interstate system is 4.5 to 5 hrs.

My advice would be to consider a 500 or even 600 for the first day, a bit less on the second and third, then use the banked time for some more riding on back roads and some sightseeing.

Plus out west you can make almost the same time on secondary roads as the slab.

[dude987]

There is a section of back road on the West side of I-90 between Sturgis and Rapid City named Vanocker Canyon Road that merges into Nemo Road. Between Needles Hwy, Iron Mountain Road, and Vanocker Canyon Road, they each have their own unique beauty and made for an eventful trip. Although on par, if I had to rank the rides, I would pick Vanocker Canyon Road as the most fun ride. The sweeping curves at high speeds was a blast and at times felt was I was on an autobahn. Actually I chewed up and spit our HD's like they were sitting ducks on this section of road. A couple HD's tried to keep up and it was a futile attempt. But that's really not the point here. The point is its a great place for a motorcycle trip and enjoy you time there. :brow

[Visian]

http://www.akademifantasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/back-of-rushmore.png

[Jon]

Here is a planning question for my ride NY to Rapid City. I am giving this two up ride a maximum of 13 nights on the road. Most to and from will be super slab I80 or I90. Does anyone have advice on going around Chicago. I want to avoid the congestion of that area. Glad to hear advice

[26667]

if you plan on slabbing it via I-90 then the best advise i can give you is to avoid Chicago at all costs. a couple of years ago i went from West. Co. NY to the national in Gillette WY and found getting through Chicago was the worst part of the trip.

Gotta disagree. Ok... if you want to simply blast thru at 75 mph at rush hour you're not gonna be a happy camper. But it's a great city, with loads of attractions; theatre, sports, architecture, motorcycles, museums, motorcyclists, music, pizza and lots more. If you insist on passing by w/o stopping, try the hours betwen 10:00 am and 2:00 pm or Saturday/ Sunday morning. But if you blow past Chicago, you'll miss the best of the midwest.

For my $, Mt. Rushmore was just about as good as a postcard.

[GeorgeK1200RS]

From Ohio, I travel to the north and northwest suburbs of Chicago to visit my kids on a regular basis. I agree that it can be problematic, but largely resolved by timing and and I-Pass or similar pass from another state.

10 AM to 2 PM is a great time to go through...also after 7 PM until the morning rush.

If you hate city driving and do not want to take the time and cost of a boat ride, drop down to US 24 in Indiana and stay on it until you come to I-39. Then blow north past Rockford.

I have found an I-Pass also works in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Florida, and may work in New York,,,can't remember on NY. You can get one on the internet.

Watch your speed in Illinois, including Interstates. I recently got nailed in what used to be an interstate construction zone near Springfield, IL in a camera trap. Had to hire an attorney to represent me or show up in court. There were 350 other people all scheduled for a 10 AM court appearance for a violation in the same speed trap. We all paid at least $400 and it had to be cash. People from all over the country were there that morning as well as locals who worked in the courthouse. The judge took care of all cases in less that 3 hours.

[Jon]

Thank you, In New York we have "EasyPass" is that the same as I Pass. If so I am sure it will help keep us moving.

[Clay]

Was just out there for Presidents Weekend to do some snowmobiling. Stopped in at Mt. Rushmore..

http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58864

..be advised parking is very expensive and will not accept the old Golden Pass..now America the Beautiful pass..

http://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm

Also highly recommend do the Bad Lands loop..and if you have time stop here..

http://www.npca.org/parks/minuteman-missile-national-historic-site.html

..what I did in another life.

Clay
(former Minuteman Missile Combat Crew- Ellsworth AFB,SD)

[ragtoplvr]

DO NOT MISS THE MT. RUSHMORE LIGHTING CEREMONY!

Get there about an hour before dusk, see the place, then sit in the arena for the ceremony.

Badlands, get out and walk some of the trails of this amazing ecosystem.

Spearfish canyon. Although that speed limit is way too low.

Devils tower.

Other than around rally time the motels are competitive.

Go to Sturgis when it is empty, and imagine it with 100K bikers, much more fun than when the bikers are there.

Rod

[dude987]

Make sure you have the appropriate weather proof gear. We drove through torrential rain storms virtually unscathed due to good gear. Quick overview;

1. Iron Mountain Road
2. Vanocker Canyon Rd to Nemo Rd between Sturgis and Rapid City SD. (Amazing)
3. Mt. Rushmore
4. Custar State Park
5. Black Hills
6. Needles Hwy
7. Badlands
8. Crazy Horse
9. Deadwood Town
10. Sturgis

Great trip. Won't regret it. Take lots of photos. Give yourselves enough time to enjoy your time there. Enjoy.

[Jon]

Another question; Can anyone tell me if the stretch of I90 between Sioux Falls to Rapid City is very barren? Lacking gas, food, stops etc. Glad to hear input

[Clay]

Another question; Can anyone tell me if the stretch of I90 between Sioux Falls to Rapid City is very barren? Lacking gas, food, stops etc. Glad to hear input
I wouldn't say it's "barren" ..you are in the heart of the Plains where grass is prominent and the wind blows constant and you only see willow and cotton trees lining the rivers and streams. There are stops along the way..may I suggest stopping at Wall Drug(bordering the Bad Lands) as one of your destination stops(equivalent to South of the Border on I-95).

http://www.walldrug.com/

http://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm

Regards,

Clay
(former Rapid City,SD resident)

p.s. watch out for Jack Rabbits

[ragtoplvr]

Another question; Can anyone tell me if the stretch of I90 between Sioux Falls to Rapid City is very barren? Lacking gas, food, stops etc. Glad to hear input

Plenty of fuel and other stops. If You see the sign drug stop ahead, be sure to take the next exit, stop before the cross road, get out your water, take a nice long drink. Clean your visor. Then suit back up and and get back on the interstate. They are looking for stupid drug traffickers, a motorcycle stopping for a drink and a visor wash gives them some excitement. I was watched very closely. Very, very closely. Er ahh, maybe you should not do that.

Depending on the time of year, in September the bugs were very very bad. I had to take almost every exit to wash the visor. My jacket is stained. I was a mess. When I stopped for the night, I took the bike to the car wash, and hung up my jacket and pants too, gave them all a wash.

Rod

[lilredroadster]

I guess you missed the Wyoming rally, but a trip to Devils Tower can be interesting, as well. Get a decent buffalo steak at a good place too!
You should have a blast!

[alzyck]

If you want a little more scenic route, grab US 20 West at Sioux City. It will take you through the heart of the Sand Hills. If you haven't seen the Sand Hills before, it's a unique kind of beauty.

You can take US 20 all the way to Chadron, then go North to the Black Hills. Or you can cut North at Merriman to US 18 West, stop at the Wounded Knee site, and cut North through the Pine Ridge to the Badlands.

The Sand Hills.
http://alzyck.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Forgotten-Highway-Trip/044-20091018/686949330_r9pKK-L.jpg


Scenic, SD in the Badlands
http://alzyck.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Forgotten-Highway-Trip/036-20091018-LonghornSaloon/686948998_FHCCG-L.jpg

[dude987]

Starting in Chicago, I spent the night in Sioux Falls, SD because it was about a days ride. Another factor was the the interstate between Sioux Falls and Rapid City was closed due to flooding. The next day I rode from Sioux Falls to Rapid City in about 4 to 5 hours if I recall correctly. The entire ride was through torrential down pour. I had cross winds blowing North to South at about 60 mph. No exaggeration, the bike was canted and swaying anywhere from 5 degrees to 20 degree off vertical. I drove 70 to 80 mph thinking I could blow through the storm. There was not blowing through as the storm was too big. Passing semi's I had to steer and angle the bike towards the front wheels of the truck because the cross winds would blow may clear across the occupied lane as I passed it. As I recall there really was not much between Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Open barren landscape. Just my experience.