ATV / Offroad
South Dakota's Black Hills offer a vast area in which to enjoy off-road adventures. Nearly all of the 1.25 million acres of public land located in the Black Hills is open to off-roading of all types, including in the Black Hills National Forest.
The area is home to hundreds of abandoned mines and ghost towns. Traversing back and forth across the area are old mine trails. If you want, you can take the opportunity to visit the famed Homestake Mine. The Homestake Mine was the single largest producer of gold in the world during the past century. ATV's and motorcycles are also permitted on fire roads and logging trails.
In addition to ghost towns and mines, the Black Hills offers wonderful camping, fishing and hunting. Sheridan Lake, Deerfield Lake, and Pactola Reservoir are some of the more popular spots. Traveling to these interesting and historical areas can be part of the fun if you choose to go off-road via ATV, Jeep, SUV or some other form of 4x4.
The terrain in the Black Hills provides a diversity of off road travel. You can travel from the lonely, arid, barren Badlands, to the high rocky mountains which are covered with evergreen forests. The Badlands Boogie 4WD Trail is a great trail for the SUV. There are many little drops and climbs that make this trail fun, but not too challenging. There can sometimes be mud in the stream crossings, but taken at a leisurely pace so as to enjoy the scenery, this can be a very pleasurable ride.
Even without your own vehicle, you can have a great vacation here. There are several outstanding car rental agencies where you can rent 4x4's, pickups and sport utilities. Several touring agencies are available which can provide sightseeing tours, customized itineraries and informative guides.
One such adventure is taking a safari ride in jeeps in the Custer Game Preserve. As you travel in the back country of the park, you may see elk, whitetail deer, mule deer, pronghorn, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, red crossbills, bluebirds, golden eagles, falcons, mountain lions, and bobcats. But most people love to watch the majestic buffalo.
Amazingly, 60% of the Black Hills National Forest is open all year to off-road motorized travel. And nearly another 20% is open according to the season. Before starting out on any tour of the back country, it is wise to check the forest maps for open dates, locations of closed areas and any other necessary travel information.
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