Needles Highway
Everyone said this is a "must see" in the area and they were right! This very narrow road offers some fantastic sites and views. There are plenty of places to pull off so you can explore a little, or simply take pictures. We really enjoyed the several hours we took to travel this road and we highly recommend it. But keep in mind, if your vehicle is wide or tall, DO NOT attempt to travel on this road.After splitting from US 16A, the route is known as the Needles Highway. This segment is 14 miles long. Finished in 1922, the highway is named after the high granite "needles" it winds among. Access to the Needles Highway requires a Custer State Park entrance license, making that portion of SD 87 a toll road. Along this stretch lies the Black Hills Playhouse. The highway passes through two tunnels blasted through sheer granite walls, Iron Creek Tunnel and Needles Eye Tunnel. Owing to the narrow roadway, sharp turns, and low tunnels, the road has very little traffic. The vehicles that do travel this road are almost exclusively sightseers. Just after Needles Eye Tunnel, Highway 87 serves as the northern terminus of SD 89. After this junction, SD 87 has one more tunnel, Hood Tunnel. It then provides access to the Sylvan Lake Resort. The route finally ends at US 16/385 south of Hill City.
We visited here in 07/2014.
