Black Hills Trails, Sturgis, continues to add scenic new trails in 2023

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B y T im P o TT s Black Hills Pioneer

STURGIS — More than 40 miles of scenic trails have been built in the Sturgis area in the past 10 years and Black Hills Trails (BHT), Sturgis Zone, has plans to continue expanding the trail system in 2023.

Samuel Greear, a board member of the group, said the trails are for the community.

“The really cool thing about our trail system, is it started within the community, we are at a point where it will take big investments in the infrastructure from the municipality to take the next steps, but for now what we have, has been built by the community for the community,” said Greear.

For 2023, there are a couple of projects that are approved and a couple of little connecter trails at various points throughout town that are planned for this year. The organization is also working with the city and the developer of the future site of the Sturgis Lakeside Adventure Park.

path. “Features made out of steel and wood that mimic what you would find on a trail, a little bit of a trail experience and a bike park experience, beginner and youth friendly.”

“To build modern, engineered, sustainable, single track through varying terrain, hiring a pro trail building firm would have cost $5 to $8 a foot. We have typically been able to do it for $2 to $3 a foot because of reduced labor costs as we have done it largely with a team of dedicated volunteers,” said Greear.

Bill Phillips, a volunteer for BHT an mountain bike enthusiast said it is truly unique and special about the Sturgis Trail System is you get to live in the middle of your playground. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast and you enjoy hiking, trail running, or mountain biking you don’t have to drive to a trailhead somewhere unless you want to. The trail system almost completely surrounds the community and has access points in every direction.

Fun from the ground floor up, the Midnight Star casino and restaurant complex, located at 677 Main Street, is home to Diamond Lil’s Bar & Grill and Jakes Fine Dining.

The Star Bar and Midnight Star’s casino slot gaming area are located on the first floor.

Table games featuring Black Jack, Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em are located on the mezzanine floor.

The third floor of the complex features Diamond Lil’s Bar & Grill, offering a unique menu in a casual, sports bar setting with plenty of 75-inch televisions.

Jakes Fine Dining is located on the 4th floor in the Midnight Star and features unique elegance and ambiance with a phenomenal menu consisting of one-of-a-kind entrees, breads, appetizers, and desserts created by our in-house team of culinary professionals.

“Our big interest there is that it will create an amazing corridor between the city bike path and existing trails on federal lands and could be one of the better connections in town,” said Greear.

The mission of Black Hills Trails is to connect communities with trail.

Greear said some new trails are on hold due to funding.

“We have a couple of projects approved right now and some prospective projects as well, but we currently lack the funding to do them.” What they would like to do alongside some bike paths throughout town, as they are an integral part of the trails, is to create a more cohesive in-town and out-of-town experience, and they have been working with the city to add some bike-specific equipment to the parks where there is other playground equipment and adjacent to the bike

“I feel pretty fortunate to be able to leave from my office on a mountain bike and within a couple minutes be on some great trail with amazing views and scenery, and I have the option to take a different route almost every day of the week! The trail system really has added a whole new dynamic to the community through quality of life of for the residents, added economic opportunity to the downtown through the Music on Main summer race series, along with becoming a destination for the outdoor enthusiast. Working in real estate I get to see firsthand the impact and attraction a trail system like this can have when it comes to individuals and families deciding where they want to live, and for some it’s the main reason they want to live in Sturgis,” said Phillips.

Jenn Bush, an area runner and mountain biker, and

High atop Deadwood, Jakes Fine Dining is located on the 4th floor in the Midnight Star. Jakes offers the same unbeatable elegance and ambiance patrons have grown to know and love over the years. Jakes phenomenal menu has been created by our own Chef Aaron and Chef Arthur. The menu features unique entrees with breads, appetizers and desserts designed and made in-house by Chef Aaron and his team of culinary professionals. Jakes entrees include: halibut, sea bass, yellowfin tuna, portabella wellington, Colorado lamb, trio of tenderloin, cold water lobster tails, ribeye, beef tenderloin, and, of course, the tomahawk. Appetizers include: escargot, peppedew shrimp, pumpkin soup, charcuterie board, and farm to forest. Desserts are made in house by Chef Aaron and his team. Reservations for Jakes can be made on-line at themidnightstar.com/jakes-fine-dining, or by using the Open Table app, or call 605.578.1555.

Offering a unique menu in a casual, sports bar setting with plenty of 75-inch televisions, Diamond Lil’s Bar & Grill is located on the 3rd floor of the complex. Diamond Lil’s entrees include: Dakota steak tips, certified angus beef ribeye, grilled salmon, and chicken tenders. Burgers and sandwiches include: ½-lb. certified Angus beef burger and cod fillet sandwich. Salads include: chicken bacon ranch salad or Cajun chicken Caesar salad. Appetizers include: onion rings, chicken wings, cheese curds, jalapeno poppers, chicken poblano quesadilla, and a crowd pleaser combo. Kids’ and dessert menus are also available.

Midnight Star Features Four Floors of Food and Fun!

The Midnight Star casino and restaurant complex is home to Diamond Lil’s Bar & Grill and Jakes Fine Dining. Located on the first floor is the Star Bar and Midnight Star’s casino slot gaming area, while table games featuring Black Jack, Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em are located on the mezzanine floor.

677 MAIN STREET, DEADWOOD |

Black Hills Trails

a volunteer said the trail access is awesome.

“We have the advantage of being able to access a trailhead within one to two miles from almost any front door in Sturgis. There is no need to load bikes or drive somewhere to “get away” for a solid run or ride, you are already there,” said Bush. “After experiencing a good chunk of trails in the area, I can honestly say that, in my opinion, Sturgis trails are a bit more feral, and I like that.”

Ben Petrocco, an avid mountain biker that logged over 3,000 miles in 2022 said the scenery is incredible.

“Sturgis is a hub for over 200 miles of connecting single track with great easy access and incredible scenery and views. The area is also rich with western military history you can expect to encounter along some of the trails. You can find all different skill levels of trails from easy, mostly flat segments to leg burning, lung busting climbs that reward with fast flowing and rocky descents,” said Petrocco. “There are a lot of options for shorter loops and also several shuttle point to point options that offer a mostly downhill experience all within a 15 minute drive from downtown. Sturgis is truly one of the best kept secrets for trail lovers in the Black Hills.”

In the Sturgis zone, there is a 50mile system, with 40 miles newly constructed in the last decade.

“This is pretty cool as it means the system is really modern, built to modern design standards for biking, hiking, walking, bird watching, dog walking, and horses too, everything we design is for multiple use,” said Greear. “We have the rough dirt work complete on a new trail above the football fields in Sturgis, it is about one mile long, and we will be finishing the trail this year, with commemorative benches for Keith Smit and Bob Davis along it.” The benches will overlook the football field and track and the trail will be named in honor of Davis.

Contributions are always needed to improve the trail system and to donate you can go to – blackhillstrails.org and select the donate tab. Another way to help that is popular with the Sturgis trails are commemorative benches. Six have been purchased so far that are located along the trails or soon will be. The BHT organization, Sturgis Zone, has created an endowment that started in 2021 to make sure funds are available for maintenance of the trails in the future.

To date, the fund has $110,000 endowed for the long term with a goal of $250,000.

One of the biggest challenges BHT faces is that it has created in the last 10 or so years, a nearly $1 million-investment in the infrastructure of the Sturgis community, and when the group started, in terms of a letter grade, the trail system was a solid ‘F’.

“Right now our system could probably be graded ‘C+’, maybe a ‘B-’, or just slightly better than average compared to towns known as a destination trail town. We have done everything that is easy to do, a lot that isn’t so easy, and we have done that largely without spending any public dollars, 95% or more of the funding has come from private sources. To get to an “A” and really compete with other trail destinations, and see the economic benefits that go with that, it is going to take the city to recognize we have come a long way, but we still have a ways to go and we need to double down on what we have got,” said Greear.

If you wonder how to volunteer on the next trail build, you can talk with Greear, reach him at sjg@blackhillstrails.org, or watch on Facebook for announcements on the next builds.

Black Hills Trails organization has four area zones that are under their organizational umbrella, including Rapid City, Sturgis, Spearfish, and Hill City.

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