A mountain biker descends one section of the new Rocker Trail above the
campus of South Dakota Mines.
Rapid City has a new outdoor opportunity in the Rocker Trail. The walking, running and biking
trail loops across the grass-covered hills above the South Dakota Mines campus,
providing wonderful views of Rapid City, the surrounding prairie and the Black
Hills. The university will host a ribbon cutting for the new Rocker Trail at
the northeast end of the O’Harra Stadium parking lot at 11 a.m. on Thursday,
Oct. 13. The media and members of the public are invited to attend and take a
walk on the trail.
“Rocker Trail is a fantastic addition to our campus.
It allows students a new place to enjoy some outdoor fun right out their back
door,” says Mines President Jim Rankin, Ph.D., P.E. “This trail is also open to
community members and its proximity to the bike path along Rapid Creek makes it
easy for everyone to access. The public is welcome to come see it first-hand,”
Rankin adds.
In total, the Rocker Trail is three miles long and
includes multiple access points that are marked with signs. One trailhead is just
to the east of the O’Harra Stadium parking lot near the sidewalk on St. Joseph
Street. Another is located on the tree-covered slope above Connolly Hall.
The trail includes education components. Faculty in
the civil engineering department are working on a land reclamation study along
the trail. They have also constructed a living
laboratory adjacent to the trail that is the center of ongoing research and
engineering education. Students in the industrial engineering department helped
design the signs along the trail and Mines students studying geological
engineering helped with the digital mapping for the project. The trail also has
historical significance, as the “Smelter Hill” area above O’Harra Stadium
processed gold and other metals during the early days of the school.
The Rocker Trail project was first conceptualized
about 14 years ago as the “Turbine Trail.” Its name refers to the wind turbine
that is perched above campus. Emeritus professor of civil engineering, M.R.
Hansen, Ph.D., and former dean of students, Patricia Mahon, Ph.D., were two of
those behind the original idea, among others on campus.
The project was
carried forward by Jon Kellar, Ph.D., a faculty member in the Department of Materials
and Metallurgical Engineering, and Jerilyn Roberts, associate
vice president for Facilities, Risk and Services. The first phase of
the renewed effort involved a senior design project by a team of civil
engineering students who developed the initial trail concept. South Dakota
Mines student volunteers, including 2020 graduate Fernando Vazquez, and Jaden
Deuter, a current student in mechanical engineering, led the trail-building
effort with numerous student groups from across campus. The project
received a major boost thanks to a
grant totaling $48,913 from the from the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks
Recreational Trails Program.