Leave your watch at home, take plenty of patience and stay off the center line. Lots of wildlife out after dark, both 4 legged and 2 legged, so be extra careful when the sun goes down.

You're gonna have a blast! Take lots of pictures and share them with us when you get back.

 

Thanks to everyone that've posted so far and members please keep adding posts. Ill map the rides suggested by ih4x4 this week. Riding in hail sounds challenging!

 

Head out before daylight and beat most of the crowds.

Be prepared for any kind of weather. Every time we have been we have experienced everything from extreme heat in the badlands to freezing temps in the mountains. Rained on us every day but it usually doesn't last too long. Caught some hail and even a little snow. The only hairy time was heading up the switchbacks on Needles from the south in torrential rain with the water flowing down the road like a river. We were up the week prior that time and no traffic but it is hard to find a place to stop on those things.

Complete stops, two feet down in town.

Oh yeah Nemo rd is a fun ride and the breakfast at the firehouse in Nemo is great.

 

I am jealous. I myself have never been. Where does everyone stay?.. That is a lot of people, plus how do they handle the, Ahem.... "Other duties" for so many folks? Must be a whole lot of campgrounds or hotels

 

i try to do my rides in a clockwise direction. this will keep you making right hand turns. making a left turn you'll be waiting for a break in the traffic which makes for a long wait sometimes.

 

This is a killer insight. Thank you.

 

I've only been once but had a guide that had been there before. We had a good time at the small rally in Hulett Wyoming. You can drink a beer in the street there while you walk around. Can't do that in Sturgis. You can only have a beer in a bar. The riding is phenomenal and you can't go wrong with any of the rides listed. Needles, Rushmore, Spearfish. I loved the Badlands too. Deadwood is an awesome little town to walk around in as well. If you have been to a big rally, downtown isn't really any different. We started early, rode all day and saw the sights, back at the room by dark. Be prepared for the changes in weather. Saw it all while there, heat, rain, hail, cold, but the pop up storms past fast.

 

Bring money.

 

This is probably a stretch, but depending on how much time you have and if you're a history buff, ride out to the Little Big Horn National Battlefield in Crowe Agency, MT. It's definitely a day trip...about 3 1/2 hours or so on I-90 one way, or you can take a more scenic ride on Hwy 212. If not this trip, then a future one.

 

Eat early. A lot, if not most of the steak houses and restaurants close at 9-10 pm. Went to Rushmore on a monday and after finishing the visit a rainstorm broke out. Made it to the little town of Keystone nearby and went to take refuge in a restaurant with a group of other tourists. Much to our surprise they shut the doors on us saying they closed up at 4pm. I guess it's their prerogative to close when they please but to turn away good business for 2 weeks out of the year when the economy is otherwise dead seems a little foolish to me.