Head northwest out of Rapid City and you're traveling in the beautiful Black Hills in just minutes. Nemo Road gently winds you through rugged canyons, rolling meadows,and delivers you deeper into hills on the way to your ultimate destinations.State Hwy 385 has just undergone a major rework, widening the road, and making it safer to ride and opening up the forest to see all of the beauty that lies within.

You'll pass right through the rough-and-tumble real western town of Deadwood, where gunfighters and cowboys (re-creators) still roam the streets just like they did back in the 1800s. There's so much history to explore, dinning to enjoy, and museums to experience that it be hard to pull yourself away to continue on to Deadwood's sister city, Lead, where the infamous Homestake gold mine produced more than 40 million troy ounces of gold during its lifetime.

Next on your route is Spearfish Canyon, where towering limestone cliffs rise a thousand feet on either side of the road. Waterfalls, a babbling creek, and sweeping curves combine to create a true rider's paradise. Bridal Veil Falls and Roughlock Falls are natural stopping points before the road carries you into the historic town of Spearfish and then on to the mecca of motorcycling—Sturgis.

Depending on the time of year you visit, Sturgis is either a sleepy western town, where you're just as likely to see a small herd of cattle being driven down Main Street by cowboys on horseback, or the destination for more than 500,000 like-minded motorcyclists who descend on this tiny community during the annual rally.

On the return to Rapid City, Vanocker Canyon Road winds through dense ponderosa pine forest with long sightlines and remarkably little traffic. Riders who are comfortable venturing off pavement can extend the journey on a network of unpaved roads, ranging from well-maintained gravel routes to single-track trails surrounding the old town of Galena, a mining district tucked into a narrow valley that most visitors never discover.