Dirt Bike Trails Near Buffalo Gap, South Dakota

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Custer Mountain Cutoff

This is a scenic trail winding through ponderosa pines and quaking aspens. There are gates to get through, so be sure to close them behind you. This trail skirts the edges of Custer State Park.
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Total Miles
6
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Foster's Gultch

This is a scenic trail meandering through ponderosa pine and quaking aspen trees. From the Rockerville Road entrance of this trail, is it a maintained gravel road that slowly gets narrower, but stays very easy…
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Total Miles
12.4
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Rocky Gulch

This trail is fun during all seasons of the year but is best enjoyed during the spring through fall months. During the winter months this rocky, and narrow trail can quickly become challenging to those…
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Total Miles
4.4
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa / Su

Bear Mountain Lookout to Pactola Reservoir

From Bear Mountain Lookout to Pactola Reservoir, this gravel road will show you the best the Black Hills National Forest offers. Take your time along the expansive alpine meadows & while driving along Lightening Creek,…
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Total Miles
59.9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Sp

Dugans Prospect

This is a mild rock crawling trail that is narrow and has some steep grades. 4wd is required for this trail. Armor is recommended but not needed if you are careful. You should have 33"…
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Total Miles
1.1
Tech Rating
4 Moderate
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

China Gulch - FSR #249

China Gulch takes you on a range of road types, from a two-vehicle wide gravel road near Hill City to a single vehicle road that travels adjacent to rock walls. The road at the north…
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Total Miles
12.1
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Bald Hills

This is a beautiful trail that is easy and scenic. You can expect to drive on gravel, dirt, and some small rocks. Twin Sisters is located at the top with some cool views. This area…
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Total Miles
5.7
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

FS 2A

This two-track dirt road leads to a dead end at a kelly hump/tank trap. There are some great camping spots along this road.
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Total Miles
1.5
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Windmill Draw to Hell Canyon to Alkali Ridge

Travel from Windmill Draw - (FSR 681) to Hell Canyon - (FSR 284.2L) to Alkali Ridge (FSR 284.2C). This 7.7-mile route, from Custer Limestone Road in the north to US Highway 16 in the south,…
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Total Miles
7.3
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

White House Gulch FS RD 477

This trail has some great views of the southern Black Hills. It is mainly a dirt two-track trail. It may be impassable when wet.
Learn more about White House Gulch FS RD 477
Total Miles
4.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Medicine Mountain Road

This is a road that starts out two-vehicles wide and narrows as it goes. Along the way there is a old corral and a one-lane bridge. Once you reach the intersection with FS301, it widens…
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Total Miles
6.8
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Bobcat Ridge

This single-lane gravel trail has some great views of Bobcat Ridge. It takes you from Medicine Mountain Road to Six Mile Road.
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Total Miles
4.9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Alkali Spring

This road is a good way to run North or South from Ditch Creek to Custer Limestone. This road runs along some private land and there is a cattle gate at the South end about…
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Total Miles
3.6
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Below Pactola Dam

This trail is nestled right below the Pactola Reservoir Dam. It's an easy trail to run with some cool sights to see. You will pass a homestead and some cabins, so remember to drive slowly…
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Total Miles
2.7
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa / Wi / Su

Flat Nastys

This an easier very scenic trail that takes you from Nemo Road over to Highway 44. Some smaller rock-rutted uneven road that can be messy in the rain. One major obstacle that has a steep…
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Total Miles
9.7
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Spaw Gulch - FSR#606

This road is an easy 4.6-mile one-way road that leads to a popular Black Hill spot, Flannigan's Cabin, aka Miner's Hotel. The road traverses through various terrain and is wider on the south end and…
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Total Miles
4.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Ditch Creek

While many people make Bear Mountain Lookout a destination, the overlook at the end of FS 291.3K is spectacular any time of the year and is definitely one not to miss. This route off Ditch…
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Total Miles
3.3
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

Mud Springs Road

Mud Springs Road is a scenic route that runs North/South from Custer Limestone road to US Highway 16 just West of Jewel Cave National Monument. This does take you through cattle grazing areas so expect…
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Total Miles
8.4
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

Ditch Creek Br & Long Canyon

This route runs from Six Mile (north end) along Odakota Mountain, through Long Draw, and down to Ditch Creek (south end). On the east side of the Ditch Creek trailhead lies one of the scenic…
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Total Miles
6.3
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

Flat Nastys 6.0

Moderate rock crawling trail for built vehicles. This trail is steep, dangerous and narrow. Vehicle damage is very possible and stock vehicles will not make it on this one. Armor, recovery gear, larger tires, roll…
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Total Miles
0.3
Tech Rating
6 Moderate
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Merritt Peak SE Leg

This is a dirt-bike-only route with lots of loose rock (rounded and shale-like), roots, and sharp rock stuck in the ground yet protruding out of the ground. There are some sharp rock climbs and descents…
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Total Miles
2.4
Tech Rating
4 Moderate
Best Time
Su / Sp / Fa

Bogus Jim (FS 201) and Duran (FS 679.1)

This route is a southern alternative to riding Merritt Estes Road and Nemo Road. Erskine Gulch Road is just north of where Duran meets with Nemo Road, so you can use this instead of riding…
Learn more about Bogus Jim (FS 201) and Duran (FS 679.1)
Total Miles
4.5
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Castle Creek

Castle Creek Forest Service road is very scenic and travels along Castle Creek which runs through a gulch in almost the middle of the Black Hills National Forest. There are several locations where you cross…
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Total Miles
11.3
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Merritt Peak Central Pass Through

This is a dirt bike only trail with nice views. There is typical loose rock, sticks, roots, and some sharp rock. Overall this was a smooth trail that winds through the forest. One region of…
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Total Miles
2.1
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Raspberry Ridge

Connecting to the "Cheerios" Bypass Raspberry Ridge is a narrow semi-rocky trail best enjoyed by those with high clearance vehicles. Steep and narrow descents and ascents are full of rocks and boulders making the trail…
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Total Miles
1.9
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su

Pony Gulch, Divide, & Bloody Gulch (FS 184.1)

This route is a more scenic route to go between the towns of Mystic/Rochford than traveling on Mystic Road and Rochford Road. The route is not a maintained road like Mystic/Rochford Road. Part of the…
Learn more about Pony Gulch, Divide, & Bloody Gulch (FS 184.1)
Total Miles
6.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Sp

Merritt Peak North Loop Return

This is a dirt bike only trail that concludes the loop that can be taken around Merritt Peak. There are a few tight switchbacks on this trail that hug the hill, multiple steep rocky inclines,…
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Total Miles
0.9
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Boodleman Forest Road

This typical forest road extends even longer than this recording. If you are attempting to take a forest road that runs parallel to 385, this forest road connects the bulk of the trails on the…
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Total Miles
2
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

East Gimlet Trail

This dirt road is a pretty typical unmaintained road for the black hills. Some surfaces are gravel while others can be a mixture of dirt. This does not require high clearance, most vehicles could easily…
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Total Miles
1.7
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Dirt Bike Friendly Highway 385

This dirt bike only trail has a few obstacles and an expansive trail. Parts of the highway can be seen from the trail throughout the ride. There are some mildly exciting rocky sections with some…
Learn more about Dirt Bike Friendly Highway 385
Total Miles
1.1
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa