Needles Highway is a 14-mile stretch of South Dakota Highway 87 through Custer State Park in the Black Hills, named for the granite spires that pierce the skyline along the drive. Budget at least an hour for the drive itself, longer if you stop at the pullouts, and plan on closer to half a day if you add the hiking that branches off it.

Needles Highway is one of the three scenic drives we visited in Custer State Park and Black Hills National Forest outside Rapid City. All three are part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, named for the visionary senator and governor of South Dakota that conceived of and personally designed the scenic drives. The other two drives we visited are Wildlife Loop Road and Iron Mountain Road, which are covered in other posts. All three combined made a nice almost 50 mile figure eight drive through some of the most scenic country we’ve visited.

Trail and Drive Facts

• Length: 14 miles, part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway
• Built: completed in 1922; former South Dakota Governor Peter Norbeck personally scouted the route on foot and horseback before it was built
• Needles Eye Tunnel: 8′ 0″ wide × 9′ 9″ high
• Iron Creek Tunnel: 8′ 9″ wide × 10′ 10″ high
• Season: closes with the first snow, typically reopens April 1 or later depending on conditions; open to hikers, bikers, and cross-country skiers in winter
• Entrance fee: Custer State Park requires a park entrance license — $10/day (SD resident) or $15/day (nonresident) per vehicle, a 7-day license for $25, or an annual license for $40 (resident) / $60 (nonresident). Checked directly against South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks in August 2026; fees are worth a final check since they can change year to year.

Correcting the Record

Two things worth fixing from what’s out there, including our own earlier draft of this post: Needles Eye Tunnel is 8 feet 0 inches wide, not 8 feet 9 inches — we had it wrong, and the extra 9 inches matters if you’re doing the math on whether your vehicle fits. And this drive runs through Custer State Park and the surrounding Black Hills National Forest — there’s no “Black Hills National Park.” It’s an easy mix-up (the scenery earns the name), but the jurisdiction is state park plus national forest, not national park.

Is Needles Highway RV-Friendly? No.

With Needles Eye Tunnel measuring just 8 feet wide, this road is not RV- or trailer-friendly, full stop. We towed our travel trailer through plenty of the Black Hills, but not here — if you’re pulling anything wider than a standard passenger vehicle, or driving a full-size pickup with towing mirrors extended, take Iron Mountain Road or US-16A instead and save Needles Highway for a day trip in the tow vehicle alone.

Driving Needles Highway

Needles Highway climbs through ponderosa pine and Black Hills spruce before the granite needles start showing up on the skyline, dramatic enough that it’s worth slowing down for even if you’re not stopping. Needles Eye, a narrow window worn straight through a granite spire by wind and freeze-thaw cycles, is the signature stop — pull off, get out, and walk up to the unmarked overlook before it, rather than just slowing down through the tunnel below.

Sylvan Lake, near the highway’s western end, is worth the extra half hour for the granite-boulder shoreline alone.

If you want to get out of the car, the Little Devils Tower Trail branches off the highway as a roughly 3.6-mile out-and-back to a granite dome with panoramic Black Hills views from the top — steep and rocky in the last stretch, and a good half-day add-on if you have the time. Even if you don’t, it’s worth the time to hike the first 1/4 mile out to a scenic overlook just to get off the highway and see the views.

The other small space you’ll see on the Needles Highway is the Iron Creek tunnel. It’s another small space to get through at 8’9″ wide by 10’10” tall. This road is definitely not RV friendly!

Photography Notes

• Drive Needles Highway East-to-West in the morning. The sun ends up behind you rather than washing out the granite spires.
• Use the tunnels as a frame. A slice of forest or another car’s headlights through the far opening makes a strong compositional anchor.

Know Before You Go

• Entrance license required — see fees above; buy online in advance through South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks to skip the entrance-station line
• Not RV or trailer friendly — Needles Eye Tunnel is 8 feet wide; use Iron Mountain Road or US-16A instead if you’re towing
• Closes seasonally — first snowfall through roughly April 1
• Pairs naturally with the rest of this cluster — Hanson-Larsen Memorial Park / M Hill is about an hour north in Rapid City, and Spearfish Canyon is roughly 90 minutes further north

Is It Worth It?

Yes, unreservedly — this is one of the best short scenic drives in the country, and the granite scenery here doesn’t look like anywhere else in South Dakota. Just don’t try to bring the RV.

Current hours, fees, and closures: South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks – Custer State Park.