The Rapid City bike path is an easy way to get some exercise any time of the day or year. The bike path begins near the Fish Hatchery on Jackson Blvd and ends near the Pennington County Fairgrounds. The path is used by hikers, joggers, runners, geo-cachers, fisherman, and bicyclists. The path goes through different types of scenery and follows Rapid Creek most of the way. Today my husband and I hiked from the Fish Hatchery to the entrance of Sioux Park near Sheridan Lake Rd. We started at Canyon Lake Park - hiked to the west going past the Fish Hatchery to Jackson Blvd and turned around. We then followed the path till it hit Sheridan Lake Rd and turned around again. This was about a 5.5 mile easy hike round trip. Most people park at Canyon Lake Park and start hiking east. I really recommend taking the little loop to the west and backtracking. There are less people on the path, and the path is also near the creek making it extra special.
Beginning of the bike path off of Jackson Blvd. If you go under the bridge it just goes to Cleghorn Canyon Rd.
Across the creek to the west is Braeburn Park where dogs can run around without a leash.
View to the north - beautiful.
Close to the creek - kids love this section since they can climb on the rocks.
Fisherman are usually in this area of the creek.
There is a side trail across from the bike path to the south. It ends up at this bench which is a pretty cool place to sit and reflect. To get to this side trail just cross the bridge on Chapel Lane Dr and take the trails immediately on your right through the trees to the west. They are not that long but kinda cool.
Another cool place to relax.
Entering Canyon Lake Park right past Chapel Lane Rd. If you want to take the side paths, cross the bridge on Chapel Lane and take the trails the run to the West through the trees.
Canyon Lake Park. If you want to take a side trail, take the foot path instead of the bike path, and that will take you across the bridge to the gazebo. I highly recommend this - It is very pretty. You then can come back and continue on the bike path.
The gazebo.
Another section of Canyon Lake Park that has picnic areas, small lakes, playgrounds, and more. There is a side trail that follows the lake. You can take that trail instead if you like and then hook back up again with the bike path on Park Dr - Just follow the park to the north and cross Park Dr on the crosswalk.
Places to relax and even play volleyball.
Neat canals throughout the park.
Meadowbrook Golf Course on the other side of the creek.
You pass lots of baseball fields on the bike path - during summer time, this place is hopping.
This bridge takes you over to another park.
During the winter, you can have a lot of this bike path to yourself.
Information about the 1972 flood.
Bridge that goes to Storybook Island.
Sheridan Lake Rd - Crosses into the Sioux Park area complex.
That was our hike for the day and it took around 2 hours. There are a lot of options for side trails and cool things to see along the way so you can adjust your hike however you want to. When we went hiking it was pretty cold and got a lot colder when the sun started to go down, so 2 hours was plenty.