The Needles Highway (SD-87) is a 14-mile scenic drive through some of the best scenery in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is also part of the larger double-loop Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. This is by no means an exhaustive guide to the road – just some photos I took during my adventure. Less pictures than my usual report as I was trying to just enjoy the day and live in the moment.
First Attempt East to West: Half Success
My first try was on Oct 8th and the intention was to run east to west to help avoid glare from the sun. I was able to start from the southeast where 16A intersects with SD-87 near Legion Lake and run smoothly to about the 1/3 point until a barrier closed the road. Due to other traffic from behind, I had to make a quick decision and just turn off.
Luckily the barrier is at the intersection with America Center road which is a two lane gravel road that runs back southwest to 16A. I took this back and headed west to downtown Custer where I had breakfast and found the road was closed for maintenance & safety assessments of the tunnels.
Second Attempt West to East: Success
Due to my foot pain from hiking Black Elk Peak, I chose to stick mostly to the blacktop for a couple days so I could heal. Making a second attempt across the Needles Highway on Oct 9th just seemed to fit the plan. This time I started from the west off 385 which for the time of day had some glare from the sun but not too much. First tunnel is the Iron Creek tunnel which measures 10’4″ high x 11’4″ wide – plenty of room to get most vehicles up to Sylvan Lake.
The next tunnel which is past Sylvan Lake is the Needles Eye Tunnel which measures 11’9″ high x 9′ wide. This one is definitely much tighter to your side mirrors. No problem for a Tacoma though.
Here’s the view looking back through the tunnel. Quite a bit of traffic on the day, it took me a while to wait for this photo with no cars going through.
I even played traffic conductor for a short time to help people avoid collisions while I played with the camera. Here’s a large travel van making it through with not much room to spare on the doors.
Another wider shot looking back to the tunnel with my truck off to the side. Notice the granite rock formations – these are starting to turn into the tall pointy shapes which are the reason they are called The Needles.
Same view with a bit more distance to give emphasis to the geology. The tunnel is still there in the middle but is just barely visible from only one bend up the road. Apparently these granite mountains are some of the oldest exposed rocks on the planet dating back to over 2 billion years old.
One of the other great views from a pullout along the highway is of the rows of Black Hills below. The sun is bright and the hazy low clouds almost look like fog hovering over waves on the ocean.
A bit further east on the road we get to look upwards to the towering castles of stone above. This one in particular, if I am not mistaken, is where you can find the Cathedral Spires formation and trails. I really wanted to do that one but my foot pain right now says ‘no’ so it will have to wait for another day.
The final tunnel heading west to east is the Iron Creek Tunnel which measures 12′ high x 10’4″ wide. That extra foot of width makes it smooth sailing by comparison. Much more fall foliage colors to be seen on the east side as I presume these valleys get much less sun and have colder temperatures. Also while there are some sharp turns on the west half, there are many more of them to the east.
Video: Not Found?
Somehow I have misplaced the memory card/action camera that was recording the drive across the Needles Highway. I’m leaving this note here as a monument to my shame, or in case I find the data I will upload it later.
Lat = 43.8211174 , Long = -103.4831619 -- Show at Google Maps