My Day On the Mickelson Trail – From Mystic Trailhead
Hiking the George S. Mickelson Trail south from the Mystic Trailhead is a fantastic experience that offers beautiful scenery, tall granite mountains, long wooden bridges, and two amazing tunnels.
Although relatively easy to get to, the Mystic Trailhead is the most remote of the northern trailheads for the Mickelson Trail. There are a few different ways to reach it, depending on where you are coming from. You can travel north from Hill City on Mystic Road. Or take Rochford Road west from Highway 385. But no matter what route you take you will be driving several miles on gravel roads. And while the roads should be fine for most cars, they can get pretty bumpy in some spots.
Reaching Mystic, I found a nice shelter with picnic tables, a bike service station, self-service fee station, public toilet, and plenty of parking. I was surprised to see there were also several historic buildings in the area, including the McCahan Memorial Chapel. Mystic was originally a mining town founded in the 1880s, became an important stop on the railroad, and was a thriving community until as late as the 1950s. Now it is another piece of Black Hills history.
From Mystic, the next trailhead south is in Hill City, over 14 miles away. I originally planned to go about 5 miles down the trail, making this hike about 10 miles round trip. However, according to my GPS I ended up going a little further, turning this into an 11.5-mile trip that took about four hours to complete. It was a beautiful day and this was one of those trails where I wanted to keep going just a little further to see what was up ahead. Finally I had to turn around so that I could get back to my car before sunset.
According to the official map, there are four tunnels along the George S. Mickelson Trail. In my journey hiking south from each of the trailheads, I missed the first two because they were too far from my starting points. (However, you can more easily reach Tunnel D by hiking north from the Rochford Trailhead and Tunnel C by hiking north from the Mystic Trailhead.) So it wasn’t until this trip that I finally got to see two of the trail’s remarkable tunnels. I had no idea what to expect, and I was not prepared for how awesome they would be.
I reached Tunnel B about 1.7 miles from the Mystic Trailhead. I was walking along enjoying the scenery when the trail ahead started to bend to the left and then all of a sudden there was a giant hole in the side of the mountain. These tunnels were obviously built to be large enough for a train to pass through, but it wasn’t until I was standing at the entrance that I realized just how big they would be. It was a little surreal walking through that first tunnel. The tunnel is long enough that inside it is pitch black, but short and straight enough so that you can always see light from each end. So you are never completely in the dark, but it is black on all sides around you.
Tunnel A is about three-quarters of a mile past Tunnel B. Walking through it was a similar experience to the previous one, although this tunnel does curve slightly and is a little bit longer. On the far side of Tunnel A is an information sign about the railroad that reminds us to think about what it must have been like to blast and dig these tunnels in 1890. I still can’t even imagine working on that crew, especially considering how quickly the entire line of track was built.
In addition to its two tunnels, this section of trail also has two of the longest, and tallest, bridges I have seen on the Mickelson Trail so far. The first one is about a mile into the hike. Because it is so long and curves in the middle, you can barely see both ends at the same time while you are crossing it. The second bridge is known as Trekker’s Bridge and was my turnaround point a little more than 5 miles from Mystic. Standing on this tall bridge offered a spectacular view of the area around it and the creek below.
And on top of all this, there were also beautiful views of the surrounding areas, granite peaks towering over the trail, and winding creeks flowing nearby. As with many parts of the trail, there were lots of benches for anyone wanting to rest during their walk and even a couple of picnic tables to enjoy a snack if you brought one.
As I explore more of the George S. Mickelson Trail, it is becoming harder and harder to pick a favorite section to walk. Every portion has something unique to see and experience, from beautiful landscapes to fascinating pieces of history. But this part of the trail south of the Mystic Trailhead is currently at the top of my list.
