Thanks, Tony - Since you gave me permission, I'm posting the msg you sent me for others on the forum to peruse. Lots of good info for anyone planning to be in the area.
Custer is great, Wranglers there is good breakfast. Custer St park and deff hit the wildlife loop but be cautious of bison. They are mean, stupid fast and don”t care for folks getting close. Give them some space and you’re golden. When you see Mt Rushmore you can go to Keystone for some cool shops and some chainsaw artistry. Hill City is a great short ride from Keystone via old hill city road. Alpine inn in Hill City for excellent German food. From Custer to Hermosa is a great short ride and you will run right into Lintz bros pizza immediately before 79, also excellent.
Needles highway amazing but many hairpins and early in the year patchas of sand may remain from winter so be mindful of this on all roads in the area.
14a between Deadwood and Sturgis, Nemo road to Norris peak road, 85 and 385 interconnect many of these towns and they are fun scenic roads. 44/Rimrock into Rapid is awesome and I live off this scenic route. Hot springs is nice ride but a little further, great jaunt from Hermosa and many great country roads stem from that whole area, I’ll think of others too. Spearfish is a little bigger town and pretty nice. Virtually every store in the area has a pad with free black hills maps, grab a couple of those and I’ll share with you some of my fav rides. Reptile gardens is worthwhile as are the crystal caves or wind caves near Custer. 1880 train in Keystone is cool. You can head into Newcastle from Custer, nice ride with some open road and twisties. Many of the attractions are tourist traps but the above are a good start.
Most of my touring was in WY,MT, ID,I really avoid cities and populated areas. Sounds like you have Yellowstone/Tetons covered. There are so many great tiny towns and roads. Most of my touring was on my 00 Triumph Sprint ST and lots on my KLR. I lived in Seattle for 15 years and the North cascades rocks, other than that not much of it is worth fighting traffic for and that’s why I’m here again in SD, it really is a great place to ride, esp for guys like me that have no real tolerance for traffic. SD and WY have less ppl/sq mi than other states, which is very imp to me and the way I love to ride. You or any other members should feel free to contact me when in or headed to the area. Although during tourist season I do as little drive/ride as possible on the off seasons I’m out all the time.
Lemme see... OH! WATCH OUT FOR DEER! Esp after dark, speed limit is too fast in the dark. Never ride beyond your line of sight! I know you know this but here it is important r/t wildlife hanging out on the road and sand, trees etc. I’m typing this on my phone with stupid thumbs so feel free to clean up any errors if you feel compelled and cut/paste to the forum for others that might be interested.
I hope this helps, keep my # and let me know when you’re close. Be safe and I look forward to meeting you.
Tony
