Explore the best rated trails in South Dakota, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Ordway Trail (Aberdeen) and George S. Mickelson Trail. With more than 44 trails covering 275 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
This is one of the best trails ever! We stayed at a B & B, Bishop Mountain Rental, which is right off the trailhead in Hill City! Enjoyed the ride so much!
this is a very well maintained trail with the exception of the first few miles out of Deadwood. this section does not drain as well as the rest and has some rough spots. the scenery is unbeatable, following a small stream and lined by granite and trees. we took a shuttle from Hill City to Dumont and rode back to Hill City. the rest of our riding was out and back rides covering the rest of the trail south to Pringle. I highly recommend this trail!
We finally finished the whole trail this month and have done the sections from Deadwood to just outside of Hill City twice. This is a fantastic trail and I can’t recommend it enough. Yes there are hills but that makes the return more fun. And the hills are easily managed when you have an e-bike! I hadn’t read much positive feedback on the Edgewood to Minnekahta trailhead and I loved it! Beautiful scenery with canyon type views. Wonderful rest areas with clean bathrooms and fresh water. So much to write about this trail but it’s all been said. Ride it, you will be so glad you did!
This trail was beautiful. We rode about 10 miles one way. The bridges were cool. It was a little steep at places but nothing too terrible. The only complaint we had was the amount of cow dung on the trail. It was really bad in some places. Not blaming anyone but just be aware. Definitely would ride again. So beautiful
This trail was beautiful. We rode about 10 miles one way. The bridges were cool. It was a little steep at places but nothing too terrible. The only complaint we had was the amount of cow dung on the trail. It was really bad in some places. Not blaming anyone but just be aware. Definitely would ride again. So beautiful
I basically live on this trail.
I have the main 19+ mile loop essentially memorized at this stage.
I don't actually know this to be one of the absolute, ten best-overall urban trails in the Midwest...but I'd be shocked to learn it somehow was not.
I sometimes enjoy going up the hill, just north of Falls Park, but usually I do what most others are likely going to prefer as well ie. circumnavigating the loop in a clockwise direction.
Be careful when passing underneath the pedestrian bridge at Yankton Trail Park. Visibility at that spot is very poor; slow down!
This trail is AMAZING!
It's kinda short, and just far enough away to be a little inconvenient, so I took a long time to get out here...and I feel like a fool.
This is an EXCEPTIONALLY beautiful trail. Ordinarily, you'd have to go to a state park to see something this wondrous, and the fact this is an urban trail, kinda just blows me away. The part of Dell Rapids that one can see from the riverside trail, is more-or-less the cosmic epitome of what a picturesque Midwestern small town ought to look like.
If I lived in Dell Rapids, I'd be on this trail like every day.
Highly recommended!
This is a very pleasant trail, that affords one some fairly spectacular views of Lake Madison.
Two points of which to be aware: The situation where one must cross South Dakota Highwy 34, in orer to proceed from the pulic parking at 8th & Egan, leaves a lot to be desired. I might be inlined to recommend parking on Washington Avenue South, which is to say, on the southen side of highway 34. You lose almost none of the trail this way, and you avoid the stress of crossing the highway.
Additionally, the map is incomplete ie. the leg of the trail that follows alongside highway 19, actually turns east, and goes at least a mile or more farther than what is indicated here.
We rode the entire trail on our recent stay in Rapid City. There’s some construction and one detour the day we rode. Otherwise a fun easy ride. It mostly runs beside Rapid Creek and there are plenty of places to stop and enjoy the serenity of the creek. It runs through the city’s many parks.
The path(s) are intertwined more so than the existing map. Most areas have been upgraded and wind through parks and next to the creek. We really enjoyed the trail!
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