How to Plan a South Dakota Motorcycle Trip for First-Timers

We’re not lost. That’s the baseline my buddy, Keener, and I establish as we step off of our motorcycles and look at the GPS on my phone. We just don’t know where we are. There’s a big difference between those two situations.

We’re deep in the backcountry of South Dakota’s Black Hills National Forest and wondering why the dirt road we’re riding comes to a dead end at a stream in the real world but continues on the GPS app in my hand. It’s a glitch in the Matrix. A hiccup like this was bound to happen at some point during this weekend.

During the last three days, we’ve logged more than 300 miles on a pair of vintage-style adventure bikes (Royal Enfeld Himalayans)  through South Dakota’s incredibly varied terrain. We’ve hit 70mph through flat farmland, cruised through the other-worldly rock structures of Badlands National Park, gawked at massive buffalo and now, we’re contemplating the end of the road in the rugged Black Hills.

This is my first motorcycle adventure trip. Until a few months ago, I had never ridden a motorcycle in my life. And now I’m wondering how much speed I would need to clear the stream that stands between me and where we need to go. Dukes of Hazard style.

I recently turned 50 years old (if the white beard doesn’t give it away, the Dukes of Hazard reference definitely will) and this is what my mid-life crisis looks like.

Is it a cliche to start riding motorcycles when you realize half of your life is over? Absolutely. But when you consider some of the alternative mid-life cliches (hair plugs, mistress, spray tans…) and bikes that go vroom ain’t that bad.

But let me be clear: I’m not unhappy with the first half of my life. I just finally realized that I won’t live forever, so I’m trying to pack as much into the remaining years as I can. I want new experiences. I want to learn new skills.

Thus, the motorcycles.

I won’t deny there’s a romanticism surrounding motorcycles (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Easy Rider…), but I’d honestly never been interested in riding them before. I love human-powered adventures, especially mountain bike and gravel bike-driven excursions. I didn’t think a motorcycle would deliver the same sense of whimsy and challenge of a pedal bike. But a friend has been pushing for me to give motorcycles a try for years now, and it finally seemed like the right time to learn something new. And South Dakota seemed like the perfect destination.

Not only does this underrated mid-western state have incredibly diverse terrain, from Mars-like desert to lush mountains, all within a hundred-mile span, but it has the bike-friendly infrastructure that eases the logistics of a motorcycle trip. Thousands of bikers converge on South Dakota for the Sturgis Rally every summer, so motorcycle tourism is big business in the Mount Rushmore State. There are plenty of bike rental options and businesses that survive on catering to motorcyclists. Oh, and there are scenic paved and dirt roads galore, some of which are bucket-list rides for motorcyclists in the know. And all of that infrastructure, as well as the fact that the car traffic is used to sharing the road with motorcycles, has helped a new rider like me feel more at ease.

It was all too good to ignore, so I put the trip in motion. I signed up for a Motorcycle Safety Course (see below), learned how to ride a bike and got my license. After landing in Rapid City, we loaded our rental bikes with our gear and crisscrossed our way across the southwestern portion of the state, hitting some iconic highlights along the way.

Am I glad I did it? Absolutely. The motorcycle elevates the more mundane pieces of a road trip—the act of getting from point A to point B—into an adventure in its own right. It also captures some of the joy of riding pedal bikes—you’re out in the elements and feel like you’re engrossed in the landscape—but allows you to cover a lot more miles.

I didn’t love everything about riding bikes. We found ourselves on a couple of long stretches of straight highways with a 65 MPH speed limit, and high speeds on a bike are terrifying to me. I’m sure that I’ll get used to the higher speeds with more time on the bike, but I don’t see myself choosing to hop on an interstate anytime soon. And the safety gear you have to wear can be cumbersome, and limiting if you don’t plan ahead (more on that below).

I definitely made some mistakes along the way. Fortunately, trying to jump that stream wasn’t one of them, but I did fall and drop the bike a couple of times when I found myself on some technical double track that was too much for my limited skills. It’s a lot like a low-speed crash on a mountain bike, only the motorcycle weighs 400 pounds. I also should have packed better, and brought clothes I could change into during rest stops on each day so I could do more hikes and adventures off the bike.

I’m seeking out a lot of new experiences as I dig into the second half of my life, but learning to ride motorcycles and taking a trip across South Dakota is one of the best mid-life crisis adventures I’ve experienced so far. I got an introduction to a state that I didn’t know much about. I got to stare at George Washington’s granite face while riding through a tunnel carved out of a mountain. I rode deep into the Black Hills National Forest and hiked to a former mining site. I sat next to a beautiful backcountry pond and watched a hawk dive for fish. I got to give that cool guy wave that motorcyclists give each other when they pass on the road—the two fingers held down low with a casual nod.

And I get the hype now. Pulling on the throttle and leaning the bike as you exit a turn on a mountain road is exhilarating. It makes you feel alive. And that’s what this mid-life crisis is about, right?

So motorcycles are awesome. You should ride them. You should ride them in South Dakota. Really. You don’t even need to be suffering from a mid-life crisis. Do it now, while you have plenty of time to enjoy it.

Here’s how you can take a badass motorcycle adventure across South Dakota.

Safety First 

The first thing you have to do is learn how to ride a bike. My buddy, Keener, offered to teach me, but I opted for professional help through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, which organizes bike education courses all across the country. They have programs for complete beginners like me and continuing education courses for experienced riders looking to level up. I went into the two-day course not even knowing how to start a bike, but came away with the skills and confidence to ride and pass the test for my motorcycle license. I highly recommend these courses.

Basecamp in Rapid City 

Rapid City sits in the heart of South Dakota’s prime motorcycle terrain, with Badlands National Park to the east, and Black Hills National Forest to the west. There’s a cool hotel downtown (Hotel Alex Johnson) that has a good ghost story and is within walking distance to the best cocktail bar I’ve ever been to, the Windsor Block Bar.

After getting settled in and renting your bikes (see below), plan on carrying your gear with you during each day’s ride so you don’t have to backtrack before dark. This will give you more time to explore on and off the bike each day.

Rent the Bikes 

There are a lot of motorcycle rental options in South Dakota, but I really like the setup at Vintage Rides, a small operation in Rapid City that has a fleet of Royal Enfeld Himalayans, a classic adventure bike that’s designed to handle road and dirt.

“These bikes are like Leatherman tools,” says Mike Crockett, owner of Vintage Rides. “They’re not the perfect tool for any one thing, but they’re really good at everything.”

Mike will load the bikes with hard-shelled panniers so you can carry gear and each rental comes with passes to Badlands National Park and Custer State Park, two key destinations on your itinerary. Mike will also help you dial in your routes and make sure you hit the best of the region.

The Must Rides in South Dakota

There is so much terrain to cover in this corner of South Dakota that it can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, you can cover a lot of ground on a motorcycle. My buddy and I rode almost 450 miles and split our time between scenic mountain roads and seemingly endless dirt, forest roads.

Badlands National Park

It’s not the most famous national park in the system, but Badlands is perfect for a moto trip. It protects a geologic wonder full of pinnacles and cliffs and narrow canyons that was once at the bottom of an ancient ocean. Make sure you enter the park via Sage Creek Road, a long gravel road that climbs onto a plateau with views into the grassy plains on one side and the wild badlands on the other. We saw buffalo just before entering the park. The Scenic Loop Road is paved and takes you through the heart of the tan cliffs and spires, but try to make time to hike the Notch Trail, a 1.4-mile out and back that winds through a canyon before delivering you to a wooden ladder that leads to a view of the White River Valley.

It’s about 50 miles of straight highway between Rapid City and Badlands without many chances for gas or food. Honestly, it’s boring riding but there’s a cool ghost town just off the highway ironically named “Scenic” that you should check out.

Iron Mountain Road

This is one of the coolest roads I’ve ever experienced. This 17-mile two-lane blacktop cuts through the Black Hills connecting Custer State Park with Mount Rushmore. It’s curvy and fun and has a few tunnels carved out of the mountain that beautifully frame the profiles of Mount Rushmore. This is a bucket list ride. Soak it up.

Custer State Park

Custer is like a highlight reel for the best terrain in the mid-west. Think rolling plains full of buffalo, towering cliffs and cold lakes. You’re going to ride the 18-mile Wildlife Loop, which will take you around the entire park and give you a chance to see the area’s signature locals, like buffalo and antelope. It’s awesome. But what’s even better are the smooth dirt roads that traverse the hills throughout the heart of the park. You can pick them up in a variety of spots off the Wildlife Loop. Take your time and explore. You won’t be sorry.

And if you’re visiting Custer State Park you have to check out Sylvan Lake, a 17-acre reservoir where the water meets tall, tan cliffs and outcroppings. Bring flip flops and a bathing suit and you can take a dip or rent a paddle board on the edge of the lake.

Black Hills National Forest 

The Black Hills National Forest is huge, roughly 1.25 million acres protecting South Dakota’s highest peaks and most pristine streams. There are hundreds of miles of dirt roads and dedicated OHV trails, as well as archeological sites, caves and the occasional ghost town. If you like exploring dirt, you could spend a week in this forest and never even scratch the surface. Instead of trying to cover too much ground, we picked a specific area near Pactola Lake and just started poking around dirt roads. We got over our heads a little bit, but it was easy to backtrack or find an easier way around any technical trouble. Pack a lunch, set aside a day and just explore. You won’t be sorry.

My last piece of advice for new riders: take it slow. Not just your actual speed, but just in general, slow down. Don’t try to cover too many miles. Take a lot of breaks. Explore dirt roads just for the hell of it. With the right approach, the motorcycle is the ideal adventure vehicle. I’m convinced. The only question on my mind now, is where I will ride next?

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Graham Averill is Outside magazine’s national parks columnist. He’s spent the last 25 years exploring the world on bicycles, but he’s thinking the next 25 years might involve more motorized bikes.