[old mad max]

Hi all... My wife and I are planning a trip to the bad lands this year.. Just wondering if any one has ridden on the back roads thru the park? We plan on trucking the bikes then every day unload and just putt along on as many gravel/back roads as possible. OMM.

 

[admiral]

I guess the problem of arriving in the bad lands at dusk is you don't get to see much of the surrounding area and back roads. Unfortunately, 2/3 of my side trip thru the bad lands on the loop road was during the hours of darkness, and we were in a hurry to see my folks in MN. I quite imagine this would be a fun area to explore on a TW, or any motorcycle for that matter. You'll have to let us know how your trip is once your done.



Have fun!

 

[truepath]

I've been there many times, but never on a MC. There are some potentially nice rides on the public roads, but because its a park, off road possibilities are not available. I have ridden a lot in the nearby South Dakota/Wyoming Black Hills. The riding opportunities there are awesome. There are very few restrictions on where you can ride and most of the hills are public lands that allow boondocks camping pretty much anywhere.

 

[biglefti]

Which badlands are you planning to visit? I've ridden the badlands in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Arizona. All three are awesome, but believe it or not, AZ's are the most colorful, ND's the greenest, and SD's the most rugged. I was on touring bikes for all of those trips, so I wasn't looking for any off road opportunities. Lots of buffalo in ND's.

 

[truepath]

I don't know why I assumed OMM was talking about the SD badlands. I guess that's what comes to mind to me when I think badlands. I've never been to the AZ badlands, but I have spent a lot of time in the ND ones and they are awesome. Last summer I explored with the motorcycle around Medora, went up to Theodore Roosevelt's ranch on the Little Missouri River (not much there, but a foundation)and in general just rode the gravel roads in the area. Many of the roads are primitive. Nice time. There is one of the best trails anywhere from the South to the North unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP, about 90 miles through totally awesome country. Unfortunately it is not open to motorized vehicles, but the parts that are not in the park are open to mountain bikes.

 

[old mad max]

Thanks for all the replies............ It's SD for the most part. My wife is a camera freak... So the rugged hills are our goal.. We sent for some imfo so that will help. We plan on moving from south to north with the truck/bikes for a week or so.. How far is MT. rushmoore from the SD bad lands?.. If all goes well I'll post photos and tell my story later this summer... . (o; OMM.

 

[truepath]

Mt. Rushmore is less than 75 miles from the badlands. You can take the back roads there through the very small town of Buffalo Gap, or I-90 for a faster trip. I strongly recommend riding your bikes around the wildlife loop in Custer State Park which you will go through on the way from the Badlands to Mt. Rushmore if you take the Buffalo Gap route. After leaving Custer State Park, take the Needles Highway to Mt. Rushmore. It is an incredible ride.

 

[biglefti]

Thanks for all the replies............ It's SD for the most part. My wife is a camera freak... So the rugged hills are our goal.. We sent for some imfo so that will help. We plan on moving from south to north with the truck/bikes for a week or so.. How far is MT. rushmoore from the SD bad lands?.. If all goes well I'll post photos and tell my story later this summer... . (o; OMM.

Just a little friendly advice about photo oportunities on the way to Rushmoore. There are several short tunnels that when you look through them, you will see all of the heads on Rushmoore. I made the mistake of standing outside of the tunnel and trying to take a picture through them. The mountain was washed out in every one of them. I think you would get much better results if you can stand inside of the tunnel and just let it's exit frame you picture. Hopefully then the cameras light meter will measure off of the mountain instead of the dark tunnel.

 

[old mad max]

This sounds like a fun ride................. YeaHa. Should be verrrrrrrrrrrry fun. OMM.