The George S. Mickelson Trail is a rail trail in the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...

region of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

. The main trail route extends , from Edgemont to Deadwood, with approximately nine miles of additional branch trails, including a three-mile (5 km) paved link from

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

to the

Custer State Park Custer State Park is a South Dakota State Park and wildlife reserve in the Black Hills, United States. The park is South Dakota's largest and first state park, named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. The park covers an area of over of v ...

completed in 2007. Intermediate points along the route include the towns of

and Hill City, and a short branch provides access to the city of

Lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

. Nearly all of the trail follows the route of an abandoned

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

constructed by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1890-91 and last operated by the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1986. The trail's route is mountainous, forested, and scenic, traversing the heart of the Black Hills and largely within the boundaries of the

Black Hills National Forest Black Hills National Forest is located in southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, United States. The forest has an area of over 1.25 million acres (5,066 km²) and is managed by the Forest Service. Forest headquarters are locate ...

, although there are parts of the trail that pass through privately owned land, where trail use is restricted to the trail only. The trail alignment includes four tunnels and more than 100 converted railroad bridges. There are fifteen established trailheads spaced along the route, all of which include vehicle parking, self-sale trail pass stations,

vault toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position pop ...

s, and tables. The trail surface is packed crushed limestone and gravel. The trail is maintained by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks. The first segment of the trail was opened in 1991, and the entire route was completed in 1998, and is the first

rails to trails A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

project in South Dakota. The trail is named after George S. Mickelson, the South Dakota governor who helped spearhead the project.

References

External links

Mickelson Trail websiteList of support servicesWebsite with interactive map and trip planning tools for Mickelson Trail
Rail trails in South Dakota State parks of South Dakota Black Hills Protected areas of Custer County, South Dakota Protected areas of Fall River County, South Dakota Protected areas of Lawrence County, South Dakota Protected areas of Pennington County, South Dakota Burlington Northern Railroad Long-distance trails in the United States National Recreation Trails in South Dakota Black Hills National Forest 1991 establishments in South Dakota {{US-trail-stub

See also

References

External links