The Mickelson Trail

Nearly all of the trail follows the route of an abandoned railroad branch line constructed by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1890-91 and last operated by the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1983. The route was converted into a hiking and biking trail through the Rails-To-Trails program and was given it's name in honor of former SD governor George Mickelson who spearheaded the project but tragically died in a plane crash in 1993. The trail is 109 miles long and runs from Deadwood to Edgemont. The trail is crushed stone and although there are hills and valleys, the trail is easy for all ages. The trail has over 100 railroad bridges and 4 tunnels and certain sections of the trail are gorgeous. There are fourteen trail heads to access the trails - see map below.  Ride the whole trail in two to three days or do a section at a time.  There is a fee of 4 dollars a day as of 2024 or a season pass is optional. We rode the whole trail in 2 days and our blog is below. We have also done the trail in sections over the years.

Note - A majority of the trail does not exceed a 4% grade, but parts of the trail are considered strenuous. The longest incline is from Deadwood to Dumont which is a 19 mile stretch with the highest point being Dumont.