I had biked the Buzzards Roost area a few times before but it had been several years, so I finally had a Saturday when I didn’t have anything to do around the house and decided to revisit the area. It wasn’t a perfect day, about 60 degrees a little windy and spitting a few drops of rain but, all in all, not too bad for a late October day in the Black Hills. Buzzards Roost is the name of a rocky outcropping that overlooks a canyon that was carved by Rapid Creek. It’s located about 5 or 6 miles west of Rapid City on highway 44. The parking lot is right off the highway, so access to the area is very easy. That being said, whether you’re hiking or biking, you’ll have about a 500 ft. climb from the parking lot to get to the “Roost”. There are a number trails, including several that go pretty much straight up to the Roost.
I chose the trail “Pretty Vulture” which veers off to the right as soon as you start. The first 1/4 miles is rated difficult with a lot of rocks and a good bit of climbing.
Once I got past the tough beginning it turned into fairly easy climbing with a lot of switchbacks until it flattened out at the top of the ridge. As I rode the flat trail on the ridge from east to west I had the option of continuing on the trail or taking the .3 mile side trail to the southwest that leads to the Roost. There are several side trails that lead to the Roost but because of trail work only one was open on this day.
I took the side trail to the Roost and I strongly suggest that if you have taken the time to get this far on the trail, you should take the side trail also. The views open up and you can see everything from Harney Peak to the Badlands off in the distance along along with the canyon that was carved out by Rapid Creek as it works it’s way towards Rapid City.
After visiting the peak, I continued on the trail to the east. Soon I came upon the option of continuing on the trail I was on or veering off to the right on the “South Canyon” Trail. I did not take the South Canyon trail this time but I have taken it before. The South Canyon Trail is rated difficult and follows the ridge line with sharp drop offs into the valley to your right for much of the trail. If you have the mountain biking skills or you are hiking, it’s a nice section worth doing. Once I finished the easy west to east section, I came across an intersection with 3 options; straight ahead to the severe “Jeremy”, the straight-to-the-trail head “Buzzards Loop” to the left (West), or the second and longer half of “Buzzards Loop” to the right. I choose the longer “Buzzards Loop” to the right. This section of the trail is mostly downhill but is still pretty rocky with a number of switchbacks which kept me from really being able to get a good flow for any length of time as I worked my way to the parking lot. It was still enjoyable, I just wasn’t able to bomb down the trail until the end. All in all, I rode a little over 5 miles with 790 feet of total ascent. Since it had been several months since I had ridden, there were a number of stops and some pushing, but it still was a good ride. Below is a link to a track of my ride.