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Any easy trails in southern Black Hills?

6K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  Fargo 
#1 ·
My in laws live in Hot Springs SD so I get down there with the Jeep on occasion. Its beautiful country and I've enjoyed a lot of hiking out there. But are there any decent trails to ride. I'm looking for something that isn't overly challenging but offers an enjoyable day of driving and offroad site seeing.
 
#2 ·
go to rapid go west on state hiway 44 to us385 go west on 385 like you are going to deadwood/lead past johnson siding watch the road signs you will pass a sign on the left for THE EXPERIMENTAL FORREST(it has good trails to a little spooky things just dont look right there) the next right can not remember the name i used to hunt up there when i lived in rapid trails are not to hard and not to far out some good trails out off of sheridan lake road the hills are full of trails you just have to get out and look around but dont do like some and just tear up the hills and be respectful of others that may be camping or hunting dont molest their good time
 
#3 ·
otej321 said:
go to rapid go west on state hiway 44 to us385 go west on 385 like you are going to deadwood/lead past johnson siding watch the road signs you will pass a sign on the left for THE EXPERIMENTAL FORREST(it has good trails to a little spooky things just dont look right there) the next right can not remember the name i used to hunt up there when i lived in rapid trails are not to hard and not to far out some good trails out off of sheridan lake road the hills are full of trails you just have to get out and look around but dont do like some and just tear up the hills and be respectful of others that may be camping or hunting dont molest their good time
Thanks, I'll see if I can find that the next time I have the Jeep out there. My wifes brother lives in lead so I may just make it. I appreciate the reminder to tread lightly. It really bothers me when I see people just out there tearing it up.

My first offroading experience was in the ND Badlands a few years back. There was about 7 of us in my group. One guy had a full size Chevy pickup. It was an early 80's model that was all beat up. The guy owned a wrecking yard and didn't care less what he did to his pickup. Well one of the obstacles on the trail had a very tight corner before the obstacle. The corner has a small tree (about 1"-2" diamer trunk) on the inside and a ridge on the outside. There was also had a drive around for those who couldn't make it. This guy wanted to do the obstacle but with the full size truck he couldn't make the corner between the tree and the side wall of a small ridge. But he tried and tried to make the corner. Every attempt he pushed on that little tree a little harder. First went his mirror, then the side of his door pushed in a little. Then after a dozen or so attempts he just pushed the tree over and went on to the obstacle. I didn't say anything but I was so mad that he just completely disregarded nature and tore everything up just so he could go and bang up his truck. After seeing that I can understand completely why environmentalist want to close everything down. Some offroad guys just have no respect for the beauty of the area they are driving in. All the want to do is tear things up. I've never forgotten that. I'm always very conscious about not damaging the environment.

I'm not and environmentalist wacko or anything. But I am an avid hiker and I enjoy backpacking and getting off the beaten path to enjoy the unspoiled beauty of nature. So I just take the skill I learned backpacking with me when I offroad. Someday I hope to find a nice trail I can camp on and combine my two outdoor recreations and have a small expedition with some mild offroading, over night camping and day hiking. That would be a dream trip for me.

OK sorry. Back on topic.
 
#4 ·
you can do all three at the place in sd saw your post about laramie mts you can do all three south of rawlins, wy at a place called mcarty canyon blm road 503 where blm road 401 meets 503 is where all the hunters and offroaders camp nice grassy spot out of the wind if you come this way send me a e-mail
 
#5 ·
otej321 said:
you can do all three at the place in sd saw your post about laramie mts you can do all three south of rawlins, wy at a place called mcarty canyon blm road 503 where blm road 401 meets 503 is where all the hunters and offroaders camp nice grassy spot out of the wind if you come this way send me a e-mail
Thanks, I'll do that. My wife is expecting our 2nd child in March so I don't know how much of that stuff we will get to do this summer. But next summer we will definetly be doing something like that. I'll bookmark this thread so I can find it.
 
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