Scenic route
Needles Highway
A serpentine drive through Custer State Park where the road threads between towering granite “needles” and squeezes through tunnels barely wider than your mirrors.
Why drive it
Granite spires and one-lane tunnels in the Black Hills.
Pair it with the Iron Mountain Road pigtail bridges and the wildlife loop — bison herds, the Needle’s Eye, and Sylvan Lake make this the heart of the Black Hills.
States on this route
The signature stops
What to pull over for.
01Sylvan Lakea granite-rimmed lake and trailhead for Black Elk PeakSD02Needle’s Eye Tunnelthe famous slot through a granite spireSD03Cathedral Spiresa cluster of soaring granite finsSD04Iron Mountain Roadpigtail bridges that frame Mount RushmoreSD05Wildlife Loop Roada near-guaranteed bison encounterSD
Plan the drive
Build your Needles Highway trip.
Roamward turns the route into a real itinerary — the scenic line, the gems worth a detour in every state, and where to stay. Join early access for the iOS beta.
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