Black Hills Forest Access from Sturgis

Total Miles
6.8

Elevation

1,458.35 ft

Duration

0.5 Hours

Technical Rating

2

Easy

Best Time

Spring, Summer, Fall

Trail Overview

Ride from downtown Sturgis, and within just 2 miles, you're on dirt. This is a fun hilly rocky trail that takes you into the Black Hills National Forest without having to travel busy Highway 14A. From this trail, which goes over Red Hill, you can access the Camp 5/Calamity Jane trails area or go to the south with a minimum of asphalt. Steep inclines, some loose rock, a rough cattle guard and some embedded rock make this just-under-7-mile track a fun one! When we rode it early in the morning, we saw lots of deer. This track ends at Galena Rd, which is a gravel road in this area.

Photos of Black Hills Forest Access from Sturgis

Black Hills Forest Access from Sturgis
Black Hills Forest Access from Sturgis

Difficulty

It's steep in places with loose rocks, the possibility for mud puddles and some embedded rocks, but nothing is difficult or technical. Our SXS is 75" wide roughly, and we had no problem fitting on this trail. South Dakota does enforce their permit requirement, and sometimes they're out measuring vehicles to make sure you are allowed to ride certain trails. If they're marked, "requires permit," the permit allows you to ride. If they're marked "62" or less" you can't ride them with anything wider, obviously.

Technical Rating

2

Status Reports

Greg & Tiffany Reimels
Sep 26, 2024
4x4
Open
Mild trail with great views of Sturgis. One spot may high center lower clearance vehicles at a cattle guard. Our gladiator made it, but could hear it make contact the skid plate. Completed trail in 2WD.
Kyle Hurt
Jul 28, 2024
2021 Jeep Wrangler
Open
Normal

Access Description

From our campground, we took Moose Dr, which is the frontage road that goes along the south side of I-90, and then wound our way south to the trail.

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