This is another ride I got from my trusty copy of the Horning and Marriott’s “Mountain Bikers Guide to the Black Hills.” I headed down to Custer Park for a short ride, hoping to have enough time to add a quick trip to the nearby 7,000’ peak I had recently discovered. (Sylvan Peak Link)
I
started the ride about 10AM at its alternate trailhead at the Black Hills
Playhouse Road (BHNF 753), in the northern part of Custer Park. I rode the loop
counterclockwise, so the first couple miles were on the gravel Playhouse Road,
and then the paved road through the Center Lake Campground Area. Then I rode
down the old two track road that is the Grace Coolidge Walk-in fishing area
trail. This area is now a hiking trail, but was open to mountain bikes in 1991.
The Grace Coolidge Trail has 14 shallow unbridged creek crossings, none of
which were a problem in the dry September weather. Tracks here included both
bikes and elk.
Grace Coolidge Creek in 2023.
By
11 AM I was at the picnic area on US 16A at the south end of the Grace Coolidge
Trail, ready to begin the challenging east half of the loop. While the first
half of the ride had been on roads and easy two track, the east half of the
loop would go through little used backcountry in Custer Park. This was also
just three years after the Galena Fire which had burned through much of the
park, incinerating or killing huge swaths of the Custer forests.
USGS Galena Fire Map.
The
route started up an old jeep road, and was immediately in the Galena Burn.
About a half mile in there is an old substation at a powerline crossing. The
route description mentioned fences beyond this point, but I did not see them.
Potentially these were burned in the fire. Beyond a small saddle with a cement
foundation, the route was clogged with downed trees from the fire.
Approaching
Bear Gulch, the guidebook route veers out of the small draw to go north over
saddle 4,443’. But despite a warning in the guidebook, I missed this turn,
pushing my mileage total for the day to 12.6. I stayed along the floor of the
gulch until the intersection with Bear Gulch, then turned north upstream to
return to the guidebook route near the junctions of the north and south forks.
I was then able to follow the jeep trail all the way back to my truck parked on
the Playhouse Road. The 6.8 miles of the east half of the ride took about 3
hours. Not bad, for hiking pace. I saw one bison along the way. I really liked
the ride, but made a note to stay out of the burn on future rides. The complete
area was mapped as 100% timber kill by the USGS.
The
jeep trails were washed out in the upper part of Bear Gulch, presumably one of
the aftereffects of the Galena Fire. But this area was really pretty, with lots
of granite pinnacles, and the leaves just starting to change color. This is one
of those rides where I wish I’d kept more detailed notes, rather than just
riding the loop.
Much of the park has healed in the 30 years
since the fire, and the forest should once again be ready to explore. The east
half of the loop would certainly warrant a visit on foot, and there seems great
potential for off-trail hiking loops, including going from Center Lake east
across the South Fork of Bear Gulch. 
1991Ride Map.
