The Family of BackBone Bikepacking Routes

Ooh, you're simply the best

Better than all the rest

Better than anyone

Anyone I've ever met

Simply The Best, Michael Donald Chapman & Holly Knight (1988) 

Black Hills BackBone roads - simply the best.

This time of year I regularly field questions from folks planning to explore the Black Hills by bicycle.

For bikepackers, here's the progression of my family of Black Hills BackBone bikepacking routes (90, 205, 424 and 902 miles), with links to posts with descriptions, images, and RideWithGPS files. For these rough road bikepacking loops, I would start and finish in Hill City, which is an easy half hour drive from Rapid City.

1. BackBone BreakOut (90 miles)

For a 2-3 day ride (at 30-45 miles/day), I suggest the BackBone Breakout, a 90 mile loop out of Hill City. A 2 day/45 mile per day rider can camp at USFS Black Fox Campground. A 3 day/30 mile per day rider can camp at USFS Castle Peak Campground and then USFS WhiteTail Campground at Deerfield Lake. Of course, the BreakOut is also a great one day, 90 mile ride on an unloaded bike. BackBone Breakout; BackBone Breakout - RideWithGPS file. 

2. BackBone Buffet (205 miles)

For a 4-5 day ride (at 40-50 miles/day), I suggest the BackBone Buffet, a 205 mile loop out of Hill City that follows the first 50 miles or so of the BackBone Breakout before venturing deeper into the Hills. Introducing The BackBone Buffet; BackBone Buffet Update - It Gets Better; BackBone Buffet Update v.2 - New Single Track; BackBone Buffet - RideWithGPS file.

3. BackBone Bonanza (a work in progress, currently 424 miles)

For an 8-10 day ride (at 40-50 miles/day) or a 6-7 day ride (at 60-75 miles/day), I am finalizing a new route to be called the BackBone Bonanza, a 424 loop out of Hill City that combines parts of the BreakOut, Buffet, Grande, and Double Grande with new connectors. The Bonanza follows the first bit of the Breakout and Buffet, bursts out of the Northern Black Hills on the Grande, sling-shots around and back into the Black Hills on the Double Grande, stretches further into the Southern Black Hills, and eventually climbs back to Hill City on the Grande and Buffet.  I'll post detailed information and maps as I confirm this route over the Summer.

4. BackBone Grande & Double Grande (902 miles)

For an 18-22 day ride (at 40-50 miles/day) or a 12-15 day ride (at 60-75 miles/day), I suggest the BackBone Grande/Double Grande, a 902 mile loop that combines the Grande (NE border to ND border) with the Double Grande (ND border to NE border). To make the start/finish of this loop more accessible than those remote border spots, I suggest starting from Hill City, ride northbound on the Grande to the ND border, connect to the Double Grande to ride southbound to the NE border, and then re-connect with the Grande to climb northbound back to Hill City. Of course, one could start from Custer or Spearfish, or even Edgemont or Buffalo, or anywhere else on the loop, for that matter.

The BackBone Grande/Double Grande is the granddaddy of them all. 

It's what I consider to be the best of the best of Black Hills rough road bikepacking. 

BackBone Grande & Double Grande Page; BackBone Grande & Double Grande + Alternative - RideWithGPS files.

The Black Hills BackBone family of bikepacking routes.
BackBone BreakOut, BackBone Buffet, BackBone Grande & Double Grande, and all their alternatives.
The BackBone Bonanza will be added later this year.

Simply The Best, Tina Turner (1989)

Simply The Best, Jimmy Barnes & Tina Turner (2013).

Resolute Memorial - Gettysburg Address 1863

If tomorrow all the things were gone, I'd worked for all my life

And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife

I'd thank my lucky stars, to be living here today

Cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can't take that away

And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free

And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me

And I'd gladly stand up next to you, and defend her still today

Cause there aint no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA

God Bless The USA, Lee Greenwood (1984) 

On Memorial Day, the exceptional nation that is America gratefully honors the men and women who have died protecting it. 

Back in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln solemnly addressed a divided, weary nation on the grounds of the Battle of Gettysburg, paid homage to those who died there so that our nation might live, and encouraged Americans to continue to fight for the noble principles on which our nation was founded:

Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met at a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far beyond our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died on vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln

November 19, 1863

God Bless The USA (Rock Version), Lee Greenwood & Drew Jacobs (2024)

BackBone Buffet - Dive In

I'm diving in, I'm going deep, in over my head I want to be

Caught in the rush, lost in the flow, in over my head I want to go

The river's deep, the river's wide, the river's water is alive

So, sink or swim, I'm diving in (I'm diving in, I'm diving in, I'm diving in)

Dive, Steven Curtis Chapman (2011)

USFS Secondary Road 376 through Red Bird Canyon

The Black Hills BackBone Buffet.

A 200 mile rough road bikepacking loop out of Hill City.

When it's time to dive a little deeper into the Black Hills.

Getting out there on Gillette Canyon Road (USFS Secondary Road 296).

The BackBone Buffet cherry-picks the best rough roads found on the original BackBone, DoubleBackBone, BackBone Grande, BackBone DoubleGrande, and even some Bounty routes to showcase the best of the Central Black Hills in a memorable 200 mile loop.

If you're looking to bikepack more than an Overnighter, but less than a week, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, here's a 200 mile loop that samples a sweet smattering of each of those BackBone routes. At 40-50 miles/3,200'-4,000' gain per day, that's a tantalizing 4-5 day tour. Great all on its own, or a shake-down for something bigger.

Of course, one could more aggressively tackle the BackBone Buffet as an Overnighter of back-to-back centuries or even a through-ride of a double century. It's just a route, after all, not an event. You do you.

For the RideWithGPS file, go to Black Hills BackBone Buffet.

Here's an overview.

Start at Hill City riding north on the Mickelson Trail. Follow the BackBone Grande route north to Black Fox Campground (Gold Mountain, tunnels, Castle Peak, Moonshine Gulch). See, BackBone Grande Page.

Continue on the original BackBone up Black Fox Camp Road, over Flag Mountain (taking the spur to the lookout), down to Deerfield Lake (with a short stretch of single track Trail 40L), and down Williams Gulch Road. See, BackBone & DoubleBackBone Page.

Jog a bit west on the DoubleBackBone and some Bounty roads (Jasper fire area) to pick up the BackBone DoubleGrande over to and down Red Bird Canyon. See, Bounty Page and Red Bird Canyon.

Continue south on the BackBone DoubleGrande, veer off on Bounty roads to McKenna Springs (abandoned road), and pass Jewel Cave National Monument. See, Connecting.

Take more Bounty roads up Hell Canyon on Double Grande roads and trails and onto another part of the BackBone (overlook view of Crazy Horse Memorial) to drop into Custer. 

Finally, Custer to Hill City on the BackBone Grande Mt. Rushmore Alternative (Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Road, Mt. Rushmore). See, BackBone Grande - Mt. Rushmore Alternative.

Total = 202 miles/16,200' gain.

Here are a few approaches.

1. 4 day tour (average 50 miles/4,000' gain):  Day 1 = Hill City to USFS Whitetail Campground at Deerfield Lake (60 miles/5,300'); Day 2= Whitetail to McKenna Springs (62 miles/3,500'); Day 3 = McKenna Springs to Custer (38 miles/3,200'); Day 4 = Custer to Hill City via Mt. Rushmore (42 miles/4,600').

2. 5 day tour (average 40 miles/3,200' gain, for a Bounty-type experience): Day 1 = Hill City to USFS Black Fox Campground (40 miles/3,400'); Day 2 = Black Fox to disperse camp (40 miles/3,500'); Day 3 = disperse camp to McKenna Springs (42 miles/2,200'); Day 4 = McKenna Springs to Custer (38 miles/3,200'); Day 5 = Custer to Hill City via Mt. Rushmore (42 miles/4,600').

3. 2 day ride (100 miles/8,100' gain average, training for a Tour Divide-type racer): Day 1 = Hill City to McKenna Springs (122 miles/8,800'); Day 2 = McKenna Springs to Hill City (80 miles/7,800').

+. One also could add 50-60 miles by riding from Rapid City to Hill City to start the Buffet and then from Hill City back to Rapid City afterward.

With many miles of solid Black Hills National Forest Service roads, the BackBone Buffet route may seem pretty tame. While some miles roll fast, others do not. More than a few miles of Low Standard roads await, along with abandoned roads and some single track. Also, those 100 miles from Deerfield Lake (mile 60) to Custer (mile 160) offer no services and no resupply. Cell service is spotty or non-existent. On the other hand, there is some surface water, as well as a spring at McKenna Springs (mile 122) and Water Draw Springs (mile 134). So, it should be a nice bikepacking challenge, without being too much for most. When loaded for multi-day bikepacking, I prefer a mountain bike with 2.2 inch or wider tires for this route.

For introductions, ride reports, images, maps, and other details of the routes that contain most of the roads on this BackBone Buffet route, here are links to the Black Hills BackBone & DoubleBackBone Page, the Black Hills BackBone Grande Page, and the Black Hills Bounty Page.

Dive, Steven Curtis Chapman (2011)

BackBone Breakout - Get Out There

If you start me up

If you start me up, I'll never stop

If you start me up

If you start me up, I'll never stop

Start Me Up, Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (1981)

Castle Peak Road (USFS Low Standard 181).

The BackBone BreakOut.

A 90 mile rough road overnight bikepacking loop out of Hill City.

Nothing like an overnighter to get started.

Mickelson Trail tunnel.
(image by Paul Brasby)

From charming Hill City, the BackBone Overnighter explores about 80 miles of rough, remote USFS back roads and almost 10 miles of rails-to-trails Mickelson Trail for a two day tour showcasing the best of the Central Black Hills of South Dakota.

This forested, hilly loop passes a restored, abandoned gold mine, crosses over a trestle, eeks through old railroad tunnels, follows trout-filled streams, sidesteps to the iconic Moonshine Gulch Saloon, climbs along a beaver damned creek to an abandoned stone lookout, and meanders up and down back roads through prime elk country back to Hill City. An experiential Black Hills feast.

About 40 miles into the 90 mile loop awaits idyllic USFS Black Fox primitive campground, a sweet spot to spend the evening. Of course, one may choose to disperse camp throughout much of the Black Hills National Forest. In particular, one may wish to gradually climb another 12 miles past Black Fox to camp atop Flag Mountain by the lookout tower. 

Black Fox Camp Road (USFS Secondary 233).

This is a gravel and dirt road route, with about a mile of mellow single track, covering about 90 miles and 7,400 feet of elevation gain over 2 days. Several sections can be rocky, rutted, loose, and/or muddy, such as Horse Creek Road, Castle Peak Road, the spur up Flag Mountain, Williams Draw Road, and a few unnamed connectors. Stretches of this route have earned their way onto parts of the Black Hills BackBone, the Black Hills Bounty, the DED Dirt Ride, several Black Hills Gravel Series rides, and even the BackBone Grande. If you only have two days, here's a choice taste of bikepacking the Black Hills.

When loaded for an overnighter on this route, I prefer a bike with 2 inch or wider tires. When riding it on soft roads in late May a few years ago, I comfortably rode my loaded Jones 29+ with 2.35 inch Bontrager XR2 tires. If unloaded, narrower tires can be fun. I have ridden my single speed Black Mountain MonsterCross with 40 mm tires on an unloaded day ride of this route.

The out-of-service lookout atop Flag Mountain.

Potable water is available at the Mystic Trailhead of the Mickelson Trail (mile 16.5 of Day 1), at the Moonshine Gulch Saloon, the Rochford Small of America, and the Mickelson Trailhead in Rochford (mile 32.5 of Day 1), and at the USFS White Tail Campground (mile 19.2 of Day 2). The Moonshine Gulch Saloon also offers bar food and drinks, while the Rochford Mall sells light snacks.

Located an easy 26 miles from Rapid City, Hill City is a thriving tourist town of about 1,000 residents. It offers a variety of shops and art galleries, motels and campgrounds, and restaurants and bars. Hill City is also minutes away from Mt. Rushmore National Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial, and the granite towers of Cathedral Spires along Needles Highway.

Turning off Williams Draw Road (USFS Secondary 691) onto USFS Low Standard Road 301.1R.

For a longer experience with shorter riding days, one can make a 3 day/2 night trip by riding 26 miles to camp at USFS Castle Peak Campground on Day 1, ride 33 miles to camp at USFS White Tail Campground on Day 2, and ride 31 miles to finish on Day 3.

Of course, one could also go the other way, ditch the camping altogether, and ride the entire 90 miles loop in a single day. It's great fun on a stout gravel bike.

This route is publicly available on RideWithGPS at BackBone BreakOut - 2 day map and BackBone BreakOut - 1 day map. 

Start Me Up, Rolling Stones (1981)