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Centennial Trail Mountain Bike Trail
Sturgis, South Dakota
MTB TRAIL STATS
Avg Rating:   |
4 trail reviews |
| Status: |
Difficulty:  Intermediate |
| Length: 111 miles | Global Rank: #485 |
| Tread: Singletrack | Configuration: Other |
| Ridden: 20 | Wishlist: 23 |
| Avg. Speed: 4.33 mph | Avg. Time: 12hr 0min |
Directions
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Description: This incredible trail is singletrack heaven for those who like to abuse themselves on bikes. Stretching from Bear Butte in the North at Sturgis and winding through the center of the hills for over 111 miles until it reaches Wind Cave National Park, this trail gives you an excellent opportunity to enjoy the great rides at Custer State Park, as well as the fast singletrack near Sheridan Lake, Pactola Lake and near the Black Hills National Cemetery and Bear Butte volcano to the North in Sturgis.
With elevation changes from 3,200 feet to 5,600 feet, this trail consists of exceptional rollercoaster sections, rugged climbs with loose rock, difficult descents, stream crossings, tight switchbacks, and some smooth portions of low prairie singletrack as well ones that wind quickly through beautiful pine trees. Rocks sticking out of the ground on this trail will require you to keep your eyes open as you zip through it. It does gets well traveled by the end of the season, so you'll even find sections where there are sand traps as well. Watch out for buffalo and elk on the trail near Custer State Park.
added in 2003 by guest
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Description: This incredible trail is singletrack heaven for those who like to abuse themselves on bikes. Stretching from Bear Butte in the North at Sturgis and winding through the center of the hills for over 111 miles until it reaches Wind Cave National Park, this trail gives you an excellent opportunity to enjoy the great rides at Custer State Park, as well as the fast singletrack near Sheridan Lake, Pactola Lake and near the Black Hills National Cemetery and Bear Butte volcano to the North in Sturgis.
With elevation changes from 3,200 feet to 5,600 feet, this trail consists of exceptional rollercoaster sections, rugged climbs with loose rock, difficult descents, stream crossings, tight switchbacks, and some smooth portions of low prairie singletrack as well ones that wind quickly through beautiful pine trees. Rocks sticking out of the ground on this trail will require you to keep your eyes open as you zip through it. It does gets well traveled by the end of the season, so you'll even find sections where there are sand traps as well. Watch out for buffalo and elk on the trail near Custer State Park.
added in 2003 by guest 
TRAIL REVIEWS review this trail
reviewed by levidfranz on September 21, 2011
bulldog i believe is what the link is referring too and this trail is awesome. fast and fun. some descent sized rocks that make it fun. straight out of a bike magazine. the black hills are great. but don't tell CO, we don't need any of those yuppies crowding our trails.
reviewed by atomica67 on June 26, 2010
This GPX file shows the route from Alkali Horse camp to Elk Creek. This is a fun climb and a blast to bomb down back to the campground
reviewed by skibum on January 5, 2009
Over 100 miles (not counting the illegal portion that goes throught the national park) of top quality singletrack--what more could you want? Great variety--some goes through dense woods and some openings to superb vistas, much typically dry western mountain areas but also some lush areas, mostly buff singletrack but enough techncial spots to keep it entertaining. You can hit the deep woods in the middle of the hills or the easily accessible section right off the interstate. No matter what you do, it's all good. This is a gem with less traffic than you'd expect--highly recommended!
* Review edited 1/5/2009
Similar Trail: Little Spearfish and Rimrock are great.
reviewed by JJonas on July 1, 2005
SD isnít flat! 105 mi & 15,000 vert. ft. of climbing if you ride all that is open to bikes. I rode the whole trail last weekend in 36 hrs and it was an epic adventure! From the surprise encounters with buffalo in Custer State Park, to the first glimpse of Bear Butte from the top of Bulldog, itís an experience that Iíll never forget. Each segment (TH to TH) has a unique feel and difficulty level ranging from trials rider to beginner. The most difficult sections were French Creek TH to Badger Hole TH and Samelius TH to Flume TH. The easiest sections were Deer Creek TH to Pilot Knob TH and Fort Meade TH to Bear Butte TH. Having a support crew (my wife and daughter) waiting at each trailhead gave me a destination where I could rest and refuel. If you donít have a support crew, keep a good supply of water on you because thereís very few locations where surface water is even present (On a separate trip, I had to rescue some backpackers that had run out of water between Dalton Lake TH and Elk Creek TH). Watch out for buffalo in Custer State Park, they are wild and unpredictable (I saw two and both stood like sentinels guarding the trail forcing me to carry my bike up adjacent hillsides to get around them). Keep an eye out for ticks too (I got 12 ticks on this trail in late-June).
Similar Trail: Colorado Trail
