Motorcycle trip

United States

Everything starts from our Rapid City shop, on a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450. For a trip with hotels booked and a roadbook app, pick a self-guided tour: Black Hills Blast over a 3-day weekend, or Best of the Black Hills in 9 days, adding the Badlands and Devils Tower. For a single day on your own, rent a bike for one of our loops: The Southern Hills, The Badlands or The Northern Hills.

Self-guided tours run from $990 per rider for the Black Hills Blast weekend to $3,390 for the 9 days of Best of the Black Hills; a passenger pays $400 or $1,150. The bike, hotels and roadbook are included; gas, meals and travel to Rapid City are on you, plus a $41 registration fee on your first tour with us. Rentals start at $130 a day, plus South Dakota sales tax.

Our self-guided tours run from late April to September: Black Hills Blast leaves on weekends from May to early September, Best of the Black Hills from late April to September. Rentals run year-round, weather permitting, though the Needles Highway closes in winter. July and August are hot, with afternoon thunderstorms, and the Sturgis Rally packs roads and hotels in early August. May, June and September are quieter.

Both self-guided tours are rated Intermediate: the roads are paved and well kept, but nobody rides ahead of you, so you need to be a confident rider who can follow a route and handle tight curves alone. Best of the Black Hills also has an off-road version for riders used to dirt. Among the rental loops, the Northern Hills is the gentlest and the Southern Hills, with the Needles Highway, the most demanding.

A valid driver’s license with a motorcycle endorsement (Class M), and you must be 21 or older to ride. If you live outside the US, bring your motorcycle license plus an International Driving Permit, and check whether you need a visa or an ESTA before you fly. The full checklist is in Preparing your trip to the USA, in our help center.

Fly into Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), usually with one connection, or ride or drive in on Interstate 90, which runs through town. Our shop is about 14 miles from the airport, and every tour and rental starts there; you arrange your own flights and ground transfer. On a self-guided tour, you can leave your bags at the shop while you ride.

Yes, with care. The roads are well paved and traffic is light outside Rally week, but bison, deer and pronghorn often stand on the road in Custer State Park: slow down and give them room. Expect hairpins, single-lane tunnels on the scenic byways and fast-building summer storms. Roadside assistance and phone support run 24/7. Check road conditions and closures on SD511 before you set off; visitors from abroad should also read their own government’s travel advice.

Yes. The 2027 Rally runs from August 6 to 15, and our bikes are available that week at $200 a day, with a 3-day minimum. Motorcycles, hotels and campgrounds around Sturgis fill up months in advance, so book early. Expect heavy traffic on every road near town: ride the famous byways at first light, or head east to the Badlands, calmer during Rally week.