touring Sioux Falls by bike

 

Waterfalls of a Different Sort

It was a quick ride from our hotel parking lot to the Sioux Falls Greenway Trail, accomplished by maneuvering over the very short gravel segment connecting the two. Once on the paved trail, my husband and I made our way to Falls Park, the highlight of our ride.

The Big Sioux River tumbles over quartzite boulders creating a string of cascading waterfalls. With rain aplenty over the summer, the falls were high for late July, churning up foam and spraying mist on visitors standing on the viewing platforms within Falls Park.

 

About the Trail

The Greenway Trail, managed by Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation, loops around Sioux Falls with easy access to Falls Park. The majority of the trail follows the Big Sioux River and the Diversion Canal giving trail users a water view most of the time. Riding from the hotel, the extended loop of our ride took us along Skunk Creek until we hopped on the larger loop where Skunk Creek flows into the Big Sioux River.

The wide and well maintained trail is highly used by both pedestrians and cyclists as it winds its way past several beautiful parks. A 15 MPH speed limit keeps the ride relaxing for all users and during our ride we saw several groups of high school cross country runners enjoying an early morning run.

The bulk of the 36-mile long trail is open from 5 AM to 10 PM; however, a few sections closer to the falls are open until midnight.

 

Ride Overview
  • • Ride Name: 22-SiouxFallsLoop
  • • Ride with GPS: Link to turn-by-turn navigation cue sheet
  • • Location: Sioux Falls Greenway Trail
  • • Start/Finish: TownePlace Suites, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
  • • Course Type: loop
  • • Course Surface: paved (short gravel section from hotel)
  • • Bike: Salsa Warbird
  • • Distance: 23.03 miles
  • • Time: 1:42:18
  • • Average Speed: 13.5 MPH
  • • Maximum Speed: 21.3 MPH
  • • Elevation Gain: 348 feet
  • • Elevation Range: 1,315 to 1,428 feet
  • • Weather: 72° and partly cloudy, climbing to 80° (feels like 83°) and mostly sunny
  • • Date of ride: July 29, 2024
  • • Course Map:

 

Fun Pictures From Along the Way

I enjoyed riding through the quiet suburban areas and didn’t pull out my phone for any pictures until we arrived at the Downtown River Greenway and stopped to check out some of the interesting architectural features.

 

Signs on eight stone columns provide visitors with the following Sioux Falls information:

  • • Flooding
  • • Early Sioux Falls
  • • Urban Renewal
  • • Recreation
  • • Quarries
  • • Railways
  • • Industries
  • • Manchester Biscuit Company and Raven Industries

 

After a brief stop to read the signs and refuel, we resumed our ride…

 

Shortly after leaving the Downtown River Greenway and as we approached mile 10, we turned into Falls Park and got our first glimpse of the waterfalls. We pushed our bikes along the different viewing platforms, taking in the sight while capturing a variety of pictures.

 

And of course no visit is complete without a touristy pose!

 

Looking downstream…

 

After touring the falls, we stopped at the park restrooms, noting that there was also a restaurant, gift shop, and five-story tower with 360-degree views of the falls and city skyline for visitors to enjoy.

Back on the trail, we rode north toward the top of the loop which took us away from the Big Sioux River along the Diversion Canal.

 

The trail climbed with a couple of switchbacks to this point where we stopped for a picture (you can see the trial below. Water is spilling down from the Diversion Canal on its way back into the Big Sioux River.

 

As we rode north against the slow, stagnant flow of the Diversion Canal, the trail took us past Sioux Falls Regional Airport. Soon after passing the airport we saw the steadier flow of the Big Sioux River once again.

 

It was somewhere along this section of the trail that we saw a rather large guy wearing the teeniest tiniest monokini walking along the trail. You can thank me for not taking a picture. 😉

The trail turned much quieter as it had been earlier in the ride as we rode back toward the outskirts of Sioux Falls.

 

Garmin Stats

Post-ride Garmin…

 

Garmin map and elevation graph…

 

Final Thoughts on the Ride

Anytime I’m riding along water I’m happy, and for the most part, the Greenway Trail follows either the Big Sioux River, the Diversion Canal, or Skunk Creek. Sioux Falls was far different than what I’d expected prior to my research – I was expecting a steeper drop-off with a single falls. We lucked out with a beautiful day and a lightly populated trail since it was a Monday.

We enjoyed the ride so much that we did it again when we stopped in Sioux Falls eleven days later for a quick overnight as we made our way home from our three-week road trip.  The weather was 20° cooler, but we still enjoyed a quick trip around Sioux Falls.

A really funny side note was when we checked into the hotel on our first night, the doughy guy at the front desk told my husband that there was an elevator in case it would make it easier for the missus. I really wanted to challenge him to a bike ride, but kept my mouth shut. His comment has given my husband and me loads of good humored fun reusing that quote.

 

Questions:
  • • Have you been to South Dakota? ~ This was my first visit.
  • •  Do you have any waterfalls near where you live? ~ Great Falls Park is not too far from where we live, but we rarely visit.
  • • Do you stop and relax occasionally to fuel or take pictures, or barrel on through when on a long run or ride? ~ Pictures, always pictures, unless I’m racing!

 

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