Black Hills BackBone Cross-State Routes - How Are They Different?

Folks regularly ask about the differences between my Black Hills BackBone, DoubleBackBone, BackBone Grande, and Double Grande routes. Here's an overview that describes the genesis, formation, and development of these routes and how they differ.

My introduction of the Black Hills BackBone Grande route in 2023 prompted many questions about the differences from my older Black Hills BackBone and DoubleBackBone routes. More so with the addition of the Double Grande in 2026. Fair enough. 

BackBone & DoubleBackBone = designed for long gravel rides, but can bikepack it. 

The BackBone Grande & Double Grande = designed for multi-day bikepacking, but can continuous ride it.

Of course, there's much more to that story. The BackBone Grande draws from a deeper data base built from 10 additional years of back roads exploration in the Black Hills and the unforgettable experiences of multi-day and multi-week bikepacking rides across the Mountain West. It takes cyclists to more memorable places, both well-known and obscure, on a wider variety of challenging roads. It's a different beast. The BackBone Double Grande is yet another step into remoteness, with more logistical challenges. Not for the uninitiated. 

If you're looking for USFS Low Standard Roads, the Black Hills are full of them.

The Black Hills are beautiful. Most any combination of roads winding through the Black Hills will be a beautiful ride. But there is a difference between better and best. The BackBone routes cover what I consider to be the very best of our Black Hills and surrounding prairie.

USFS Secondary Road 189 southbound down Flag Mountain.
The signature image of the Black Hills BackBone.

Back in 2014, I created the BackBone as a solo, self-supported, light and fast gravel ride. At 310 miles and 19,700 feet of elevation gain, it certainly pushes the limits of a long, continuous ride for most cyclists. But with straight forward navigation, 200 miles of Primary Roads, and 35 miles of pavement, the BackBone rides relatively fast. Low Standard Roads, the rough ones that really take it out of you and take you further out there, account for just 7 miles, or about 2%, of the BackBone.

In 2017, I then created the DoubleBackBone as an opportunity to ride the BackBone southbound and then return to North Dakota on mostly different roads. The DoubleBackBone runs generally to the West of the BackBone, so it's a bit more remote, with less re-supply opportunities and less cell coverage.

The overall road makeup of the DoubleBackBone is much the same as the BackBone. At 330 miles and 17,900 feet of elevation gain, it similarly rides relatively fast, with straight forward navigation, 238 miles of Primary Roads, and 38 miles of pavement. Low Standard Roads are less than 16 miles, or about 6%, of the DoubleBackBone.

Mostly on well developed gravel roads, the BackBone and DoubleBackBone are certainly suitable for loaded touring, if that's your jam. That's just not why they were created.

USFS Low Standard Road 383 northbound to Gillette Canyon.
The signature image of the Black Hills DoubleBackBone.

After bikepacking throughout the Black Hills and across the Mountain West for several years, I decided to design a new route specifically for a Great Divide type of bikepacking experience. For me, that means 50-100 mile days on a loaded mountain bike over back roads with significant climbing, more navigational challenges, more miles of rougher roads, more little known and even abandoned roads, a mix of re-supply and sleeping options, more natural and human-made sightseeing, both well known and obscure, and a few fun Zero Day opportunities. A much different experience.

The BackBone Grande is my take on that type of bikepacking route, featuring many miles of rougher roads with popular sights and little known gems along the way. This route will take you to many places the BackBone and DoubleBackBone do not. Those that have ridden the Great Divide or my Black Hills Bounty routes will catch a similar vibe on the BackBone Grande.

Like the Great Divide, it's not all back country. For a short break during this relatively remote bikepacking ride, I added some pavement across the college town of Spearfish to pass both bike shops, an assortment of restaurant and re-supply options, and lodging, including the popular city campground. Likewise, I skirted Custer to provide easy access to that popular tourist town with similar amenities. From Custer and from Hill City, I also added optional, off-route, mostly paved loops to Mount Rushmore, Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway, and Iron Mountain Road for a scenic, more conventional tourist day. No sense rushing a vacation. 

In 2025, I added the Mount Rushmore Alternative route from Custer to Hill City for those not wanting a Zero Day. I also added a short bypass of the notorious Trail #1 in Custer State Park. All of these maps are available as RideWithGPS files at my BackBone Grande Collection.

Lame Johnny Road westbound into the Black Hills.
The signature image of the Black Hills BackBone Grande.
(image by Kevin Fox)

In 2026, I added the BackBone Double Grande, a 481 mile rough road bikepacking route that starts at the South Dakota/North Dakota border where the BackBone Grande ends, ventures further west to Devil's Tower National Monument, and then winds south through the Black Hills to finish at the South Dakota/Nebraska border where the BackBone Grande starts.

The Double Grande is even more remote and more rough, with even more logistical challenges than the Grande. Most every night will likely be dispersed camping. Not for the uninitiated. See, Introducing The BackBone Double Grande. 

Of course, the real magic appears when combining the Double Grande with the Grande to form a magnificent 902 mile loop for a remote, rough road bikepacking tour of the Black Hills and surrounding prairie.

USFS Low Standard Road 530.1A.
A piece of the 58 miles of Low Standard Roads on the BackBone Grande.

At a touring pace of 60-70 miles per day, a bikepacker will ride 6-7 days to complete the 421 mile BackBone Grande, plus another day for an optional Mount Rushmore loop. At that pace, a bikepacker will ride 7-8 days to complete the 481 mile Double Grande. That makes for 13-15 days for the big loop.

Some will certainly ride it faster. Others may even attempt to through-ride it, although I don't recommend it. This is one to soak in. Besides, who wants to T-bone a large mammal at night while settled in aerobars and staring bleary-eyed at a power meter.

The BackBone Grande and Double Grande are remote, rough road routes for self-sufficient, experienced bikepackers capable of successfully riding through sparsely populated backcountry with spotty, if any cell coverage. You're on your own out there. Enjoy.

BackBone Grande (blue) and BackBone Double Grande (red).

Here is an approximate breakdown of the roads on the BackBone, DoubleBackBone, BackBone Grande, and BackBone Double Grande.

BackBone - 310 miles/19,700 feet gain (BackBone Map)

65% - Primary (200 miles)

22% - Secondary (68 miles)

11% - Paved (35 miles)

2% - Low Standard (7 miles)

0% - Single Track (0 miles)

DoubleBackBone - 330 miles/17,900 feet gain (DoubleBackBone Map)

72% - Primary (238 miles)

11% - Secondary (38 miles)

11% - Paved (38 miles)

6% - Low Standard (16 miles)

0% - Single Track (0 miles)

BackBone Grande - 421 miles/23,800 feet gain (BackBone Grande Map)

49% - Primary (205 miles)

19% - Secondary (80 miles) 

11% - Paved (48 miles)

21% - Low Standard (87 miles)

< 1% - Single Track (1 mile)

BackBone Double Grande - 481 miles/29.800 feet gain (BackBone Double Grande Map)

50% - Primary (239 miles)

19% - Secondary (91 miles)

10% - Paved (48 miles)

20% - Low Standard (98 miles)

1% - Single Track (5 miles)

A simple comparison of these routes is the total miles of Low Standard roads. 

BackBone = 7 miles. 

DoubleBackBone = 16 miles. 

BackBone Grande = 87 miles. 

Double Grande = 98 miles.

Perhaps a better comparison adds the Low Standard roads, Secondary roads, and single track.

Backbone = 75 miles. 

DoubleBackBone = 44 miles. 

BackBone Grande = 168 miles. 

Double Grande = 194 miles. 

The BackBone and DoubleBackBone cover fun, scenic gravel roads.The BackBone Grande is a different beast. The Double Grande is its unruly progeny.

For a description of Primary, Secondary, and Low Standard roads in the Black Hills, go to my post. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.

For more information on each route and links to posts with images, ride reports, and stories, go to the Black Hills BackBone and DoubleBackBone Page and the BackBone Grande and Double Grande Page.

Happy trails.

BackBone Grande - Invitation & Offer

The BackBone Grande is a unique 421 mile bikepacking route across the State of South Dakota along the spine of the Black Hills. I designed this route specifically for a Great Divide type of bikepacking experience that showcases the best of our Black Hills and surrounding prairie. 

Three years later, I added the BackBone Double Grande, a 481 mile bikepacking route that connects the northern terminus and the southern terminus of the Grande to create a grand 902 mile bikepacking loop.

For a series of posts introducing these routes, including digital maps, images, and a series of posts of the first through-ride of the Grande, go to the Black Hills Grande & Double Grande Page.

If you have any questions, ask. If you're thinking of venturing out here, let me know. I'm happy to help.

Here's an offer. Ride the BackBone Grande and/or the Double Grande, any or all of them, and send me a picture and story. I'll send you a BackBone Grande sticker.

As others have noted, it doesn't say "Black Hills," or anything about bikepacking, or even cycling.

Nope. If you know, you know.

BackBone Double Grande - Elk Mountain Bypass

The BackBone Grande has Trail #1 for its one insanely difficult, Great Divide worthy climb. See, Trail #1. The Elk Mountain Lookout climb is that for the BackBone Double Grande.

If you seek a Great Divide type of experience, or a preparing to ride the Great Divide, the Elk Mountain Lookout climb may be for you. Otherwise, bypass it.

You've been warned.

Bypass of Elk Mountain Lookout on Dewey Road (USFS Primary Road 769).
(image by Kevin Fox)

At about Mile 377 of the Double Grande, the climb to Elk Mountain Lookout starts on a decent gravel road that passes a few residences, but soon turns to an old USFS two track that is closed to motorized vehicles. From there it climbs steeply on loose, rocky two track, gaining 1,128' over 5.3 miles, with a max gradient of 19.6%, according to RideWithGPS. Count on some serious pushing.

The climb up Elk Mountain Lookout on an unnumbered two track.
(image by Brit Flinchbaugh)

The climb up Elk Mountain Lookout rewards with stunning, drop-off the earth views, especially from the Lookout Tower. The descent, while on a more civilized USFS Secondary Road, is steep and curvy before finally bottoming out at Dewey Road (USFS Primary Road 769). This stretch is challenging and demands attention, ability, and judgement. It's not for everyone.

To bypass this beast, do not turn off U.S. Highway 16 at Mile 377, but simply continue on Highway 16 another mile to Dewey Road. Ride south on Dewey Road for about 3 miles to reconnect with the BackBone Double Grande Main Route at its Mile 389. Easy-peasy.

BackBone Grande (green line) and the Elk Mountain Bypass (red line).

This 4 mile/260' gain bypass of the Elk Mountain Lookout adds a mile of highway pavement and 3 miles of USFS Primary gravel road, while subtracting about 12 miles/1,200' gain on USFS Low Standard and rougher roads. In other words, the bypass is a leisurely cruise on some pavement and good county gravel, instead of a beastly climb, crazy views, and a focused descent. 

The Main Route is a Great Divide worthy challenge for the experienced bikepacker. The Elk Mountain Bypass is a solid alternative.

Your call.

Dewey Road (USFS Primary Road 769).
(image by Kevin Fox)

Introducing The BackBone Double Grande

The Black Hills BackBone Double Grande.

A new rough road bikepacking route that winds from the North Dakota/South Dakota border to Camp Crook, cuts across the southeastern corner of Montana, and climbs into northeastern Wyoming to Devil's Tower National Monument. It then climbs higher into the Bear Lodge Mountains, drops into Sundance, re-enters the Black Hills zig-zagging along the barely populated Wyoming/South Dakota border, climbs to Lookout Towers atop Warren Peak, Cement Ridge, Flag Mountain, and Elk Mountain, dives into the canyons of the far southwestern reaches of the Black Hills, and descends onto grasslands streaking to the South Dakota/Nebraska border.

The BackBone Double Grande is 481 miles of remote, rough road bikepacking, with very few re-supply opportunities, limited water sources, and practically no cell service for many, many miles. The "roads" include USFS Primary, Secondary, and Low Standard Roads, roads closed to motorized traffic, abandoned roads, trails, and lesser paths. There's very little pavement. Note that there is almost 30,000' of elevation gain, mostly on rougher forest service roads. For me, this is a route for a mountain bike with mountain bike gearing and  2.2" or wider tires.

More details ahead later this year, with section-by-section reports and images. For now, here's a digital map. BackBone Double Grande.

The BackBone Double Grande is for experienced, self-sufficient, well-prepared bikepackers. Not for the casual rider. Not for the toe-dipper. Not for the uninitiated.

The BackBone Double Grande drops into Red Bird Canyon on USFS Low Standard Road 376.

The real magic of the BackBone Double Grande emerges when connecting it to the BackBone Grande.

The Double Grande start at the North Dakota/South Dakota border is the northern terminus of the BackBone Grande. The Double Grande finish at the Nebraska/South Dakota border is the southern terminus of the BackBone Grande.

Combining the 481 mile BackBone Double Grande with the 421 mile BackBone Grande forms one big, bad, remote road bikepacking experience through the best of our Black Hills and surrounding prairie. Here's a Collection of digital maps for the BackBone Grande, Double Grande, and Alternatives. BackBone Grande & Double Grande + Alternatives.

This has been a long time coming.

 

I created my original BackBone Grande route specifically for bikepacking the best rough roads across the State of South Dakota along the spine of the Black Hills and across the surrounding prairie. See, Introducing the BackBone Grande. By its very nature, it was a point-to-point route, like its inspiration, the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. See, Yes, Point-to-Point.

Almost immediately after publishing the BackBone Grande in January 2023, however, I began receiving requests for a return route, i.e., to create a loop from the finish at the North Dakota border back to the start at the Nebraska border. But I just wanted to ride the route, not in bits and pieces over years, but as a through-ride accumulating miles, challenges, thoughts, and emotions as continuously presented. I needed a single, long through-ride to fully experience the BackBone Grande.

So, in June 2023, I rode the first through-ride of the BackBone Grande with bikepacking buddy Paul Brasby. See, BackBone Grande - The First Through-Ride. I loved it. Afterward, I tweaked a couple of stretches and later added more amazing tracks through Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. See, e.g., The Challenge of Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. Eventually, I created a Page compiling all my BackBone Grande posts to help others intrigued by the possibility of such an experience. BackBone Grande Page.

Abandoned two-track, now barely one-track, leading to Hell Canyon,
just north of Jewel Cave National Monument. Part of the BackBone Double Grande.

With the BackBone Grande completed in every way, I finally started to visualize a return route, which I decided to call the "BackBone Double Grande." Unlike the BackBone Grande, this return route would not be limited to the State of South Dakota, so I looked westward into a sliver of Montana and chunks of Wyoming. And I decided to amp up the logistical challenges by venturing more remote than the BackBone Grande. This would not be "more of the same," but a markedly different experience, not for the uninitiated. See, BackBone Double Grande - A Work In Progress.

Since late Summer of 2023, I researched possible routes by scouring digital and paper maps, reviewing reports and images of prior rides by myself and others, and, most importantly, physically scouting possibilities by Jeep and by Jones. The bikepacking options out here are an outright embarrassment of riches.

All that takes time. For example, just to drive highways to the Nebraska border near Ardmore is a solid 2 hours one-way from Rapid City. The North Dakota border start is about 3 hours one-way. Areas further west and more remote take longer.

But the real time sink is scouting as many roads and near-roads as possible to select and connect the very best for the intended route. With virtually unlimited mapped and unmapped tracks spider-webbing the public lands of the Black Hills National Forest, that can be a never-ending task. Out in the prairie, with a high percentage of land privately owned, the options of public roads and paths shrink dramatically. But it all still takes time.

So, since 2023, I have continued to piece together a BackBone Double Grande route. Sometimes, all roads that I follow lead to nothing particularly unique or even to dead-ends. Sometimes, scouting for other routes, like the new BackBone Buffet or the next Black Hills Bounty, leads me to roads and trails that I am compelled to include on the Double Grande. See, e.g., Red Bird Canyon. 

Looking back on USFS Low Standard Road 818.1A near the summit of Elk Mountain.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Now, three years after introducing the BackBone Grande bikepacking route, I'm finally introducing the BackBone Double Grande.

It's all out there.

Time for a through-ride.