Living Well
In the Living Well After 50 hub.
Are E-Bikes Allowed on the Mickelson Trail? (2026 Rules)
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Yes, Class 1 only. South Dakota's own trail policy and its 2025 e-bike law agree: pedal-assist Class 1 bikes are allowed on the Mickelson Trail, and throttle-equipped Class 2 bikes are not. Ride a Class 2, or a Class 3 that keeps assisting past 20 mph, and you're breaking the rule, not finding a loophole in it. Here's what the state actually wrote down, what it costs to ride, and the gear that makes 109 miles through the Black Hills easier.
What South Dakota actually says
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, the agency that manages the trail, states it plainly on its own policy page: Class 1 e-bikes are allowed on the George S. Mickelson Trail. That's backed by state law now, agency policy alone doesn't carry that kind of weight in court. South Dakota's 2025 Senate Bill 79 added Class 1 e-bikes to the short list of motorized exceptions allowed on the trail, the same list that already covered wheelchairs and snowmobiles in winter. Riding a Class 2 there, the throttle kind, is a misdemeanor under that law. I checked this against GFP's live policy page and the signed bill text on Oct. 2, 2026, so if you're reading this later, click through and confirm nothing's changed since.
I'll say this plainly: I haven't ridden the Mickelson myself, and I'm not going to write this like I have. Everything above is desk research, GFP's own policy page and the 2025 legislative record, read straight, not a trip report.
Why the law caught up to the trail
This wasn't lawmakers getting ahead of a problem, it was them catching up to one. A South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks spokesperson told NewsCenter1 that e-bikes now make up roughly 60% of the riders on the Mickelson, a jump that turned a soft, agency-level rule into something that had to be written into state law before enforcement meant anything. When most of the trail's traffic is pedal-assist and throttle bikes mixed together, a policy note on a website isn't enough, you need a law a ranger can actually cite. That's the real story behind SB 79, and it's also why this rule is unlikely to loosen back up: the trail's usage pattern is what forced the clarity, not the other way around.
Class 1, 2, or 3: which one actually fits
| Class | How it works | Mickelson Trail status |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Pedal-assist only, no throttle, assist cuts off at 20 mph | Allowed, this is the trail's rule as written |
| Class 2 | Throttle-assisted up to 20 mph | Banned, and riding one is a misdemeanor under SB 79 |
| Class 3 | Pedal-assist to 28 mph, sometimes throttle to 20 | Not permitted, exceeds what the Class 1-only rule allows |
If you're shopping for a trail e-bike and this trail is on your list, buy Class 1. It's the simplest way to know you're compliant here and on most of the other rail-trails in this cluster.
If you already own a Class 2 or Class 3, you've got three honest options, not one. Leave it home and rent a Class 1 from one of the shops in Hill City or Deadwood for the day. Ship or trailer a Class 1 out instead of your usual bike. Or, if you ride rail-trails in more than one state regularly, buy a Class 1 once and use it everywhere, it clears the stricter rule here and still clears the looser rules most other trails run. What doesn't work is bringing the Class 2 or 3 you already own and hoping nobody checks. That's the misdemeanor SB 79 created, not a gray area you can argue your way out of at a trailhead.
Worth knowing if you ride more than one rail-trail: states don't agree on this. Missouri's Katy Trail runs on a different rule entirely, Missouri State Parks permits any e-bike whose electric assist tops out at 20 mph, throttle or pedal-assist, under state law (RSMo 307.194). That means a Class 2 bike that's banned on the Mickelson is fine on the Katy. South Dakota went the other direction and dropped throttle bikes altogether, pedal-assist only, no exceptions for speed. Same general idea, electric bikes are welcome, but two different states drew the line in two different places, and that's exactly the kind of detail that gets someone a ticket if they assume one trail's rule applies to the next. For a wider view, see which rail-trails around the country are actually worth riding on a Class 1 bike.
The trail pass, the cost, and what gets checked
The Mickelson runs 109 miles between Deadwood and Edgemont, with 14 trailheads, more than 100 converted railroad bridges, and 4 rock tunnels along the way. Every rider age 12 and up needs a trail pass, except inside city limits, GFP waives the pass there. Buy the annual pass online before you go, $20 and you skip the trailhead line, or grab a $5 day pass at the self-service stations GFP keeps at each of the 14 trailheads. Keep it on your person or your bike while you ride, staff and rangers do check, especially at the busier trailheads in summer, and not having one on you when asked gets you a fine. The Class 1-only rule gets enforced the same way: a visual check for a throttle or a moped-style e-bike that doesn't belong, not a speed trap out on the quiet stretches through the Black Hills.
The trail also closes overnight, and GFP is specific about it: closed a half hour after sunset, reopens a half hour before sunrise. That's tighter than a flat dusk-to-dawn rule, so check the actual sunset time for the week you're riding instead of guessing, and plan to be off the remote stretches well before that cutoff.
Yield and trail etiquette
You'll share the Mickelson with walkers, runners, and horses on parts of the route, and the rule is the same one that applies on most rail-trails: bikes yield to both. Call out before you pass instead of blowing by someone with headphones in, especially on the narrower cuts through rock and timber where sightlines are short. An e-bike closes distance faster than people expect, a Class 1 bike moving at 20 mph reaches a walker a lot quicker than a regular bike would, so give the warning earlier than feels necessary.
Inside the 4 tunnels, don't pass. GFP's rule there is simple: go single file, and if someone's already ahead of you, wait for them to clear it rather than trying to squeeze by in the dark on uneven footing.
Parts of the Mickelson cross open range, so you may meet cattle standing on or near the trail. GFP's guidance is to not spook them: keep your voice calm, slow down, and work around the herd rather than riding through it at speed. A startled cow on a narrow crushed-limestone trail is a worse delay than the thirty seconds you'd save pushing through.
Gear that actually helps here
Most riders don't try to cover all 109 miles in one day. They base out of a trailhead town like Deadwood, Hill City, or Custer and ride sections instead. A few things matter more on a trip like this than on a short local ride.
If you're hauling the bike behind an RV or truck, check that your hitch rack is actually rated for an e-bike's extra weight. Standard racks aren't always built for it. This is the category to look at.
Towns sit farther apart here than on flatter rail-trails, and the trail closes at night, so lights and a helmet aren't optional. A set of USB rechargeable bike lights and a MIPS-rated helmet are the two things I'd buy before anything else for a trip out here. A small USB-C power bank covers phone and accessory charging between trailheads, worth having when the next town is still 20 miles out.
Shop the gear in this article
Quick disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy or book through one, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
- Hauling the bike: Heavy-duty e-bike hitch rack
- Dawn / dusk rides: USB rechargeable bike lights
- Protecting your head: MIPS bike helmet
- Between trailheads: USB-C power bank
Full kit: My RV Setup.
