The wife and I are thinking of making a black hills run this summer. I know the area pretty well, as I've been there a number of times. but what I don't know is the seasons much. We're planning just a relaxing trip and are hoping to avoid the biggest tourism crowds. Not that there's really ever a 'down" time in the black hills in the summer but I'm sure some months are better than others.

Any thoughts?

 

I went the last week of June in 2017. Crowds and traffic didn't seem bad at all. Sturgis was practically empty. I was able to ride just about every recommended road in the area.

 

Early June is nice but can still get cold at night. We have woken up with snow on the ground before. We like the end of August when the kids are back in school.

 

Last week of June was beautiful last year, a few showers, wasn't crowded at all. I brought my daughter, trailered the bike, was worried about parking in Hill City, but there was plenty of room. Had a few hundred miles of cold rain both going and coming from there, was glad for the trailer. Then the battery died the last day, completely dead, really glad for the trailer. Hope I get back there before I get too old, that's coming a lot faster than I like.

 

We too are planning on the end of August and 10 days into September.

 

We went the last week in June last year. No issues getting rooms on the fly and the weather and crowds where both great.

 

End of June is what you want. Mostly families with kids doing the tourist stuff. Low volume bike traffic. And springs storms are mostly over. Also any time after the rally is over is great too.

 

My wife and I always arrive Labor Day and stay the week. We always rent a cabin and get a off season discount. All t shirts etc are at huge discounts. Not a lot of people especially in the morning The cabin allows us personal space, peace and quiet and not having to deal with others crap.

 

+1

 

The Hills are much more temperate than what we are used to, I was out in late Sept a few years back and the daytime highs were in the low 70's, 40's at night. I enjoyed it very much.

If it interests you, the first weekend of June and the last weekend of September, the Crazy Horse Memorial sponsors a Volksmarch, An opportunity to hike up to the top of Crazy Horse. You stand on his arm and are within 10' of his face. I thought it was an incredible experience, my grandaughter was 14 at the time and she still talks about it. In Sept is the buffalo round up at Custer Park, also an interesting experience with over 12,000 folks watching. I've done them both and would do it again, If you go to the Roundup get there early, it will be a 2-3 hour wait but there are plenty of folks to meet and talk with, food vendors and a fun atmosphere.


https://www.visitrapidcity.com/event...umn-volksmarch

https://gfp.sd.gov/pages/buffalo-rou...saaegksjpd_bwe