Needles Highway Scenic Drive - Custer State Park - South Dakota
Needles Highway Scenic Drive, a part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, is one of South Dakota's Best Scenic / Fall Drives.
Scenic U.S. Route 16A to Mt Rushmore
U.S. Route 16A is a scenic United States highway, which divides from U.S. Route 16 in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The highway's western terminus is a junction with US 16 and US 385 in Custer, South Dakota. The eastern terminus is at an interchange with US 16 called the Keystone Wye south of Rapid City, South Dakota.
The route passes through Keystone, South Dakota; Norbeck Wildlife Refuge; Mount Rushmore National Memorial; and Custer State Park (including State Game Lodge and Legion Lake); before rejoining the parent highway.
Pigtail bridge at the exit of the same tunnel
US 16A is famous for its scenic, one-lane tunnels aligned to frame the faces on Mount Rushmore, its pigtail bridges, and its sections of divided highway but with single (and narrow) lanes on each roadway. It is the only route which can be used to drive through Custer State Park without having to pay an entrance fee for the park, provided the traveler does not stop in the Park.
Portions of US 16A are known as the Iron Mountain Road. The route includes most of the tunnels on the South Dakota state highway system, including the only four-lane tunnel in the state, just north of Keystone. Part of the highway is also a boundary of the Black Elk Wilderness. The Iron Mountain portion of the road is not maintained in the winter. The road, like several other scenic roads in the Black Hills, was originally laid out by Governor Peter Norbeck, specifically to create a very scenic, slow-speed road for tourists. The section of US 16A from SD 89 to SD 244 is known as the Peter Norbeck Memorial Byway in honor of the governor.[2] At the highest point of the byway, on the summit of Iron Mountain, there is a small memorial to Governor Norbeck.
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Camera Stuff
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Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway Pigtail Bridges
The pigtail bridges were developed of necessity because of the extreme terrain through which this byway passes. The concept was new at the time and judged by the establishment as impossible. Built in 1932, we're still using them!
While it does not show in this video, as you emerge from the tunnel your view through the trees is the Mt. Rushmore Monument!
Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway - Sturgis 2015
This was a road trip we took while in Sturgis SD 2015, It is very much condensed as the scenic byway is about a 2 hour drive, and the whole day was about an 8 hour drive. We made our way through a number of national parks including, the Custer National Park, as well as the Black Hills National Forest. This was the day we were in Custer for lunch.
Needles Highway
Recorded July 16, 2014
After splitting from US 16A, the route is known as the Needles Highway. This segment is 14 miles long and is part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. 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. The highway passes through two tunnels blasted through sheer granite walls—Iron Creek Tunnel at mile 25, and Needles Eye Tunnel at mile 31. 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.
From:
Needles Highway Drive Thru - Custer State Park SD
A short drive-thru of Needles Highway, located in Custer State Park, in the Black Hills. South Dakota. Very scenic! At about 2:00 there is the Eye of the Needle, one of the rock formations that the Needles Highway derives it's name from.. You can also hike here and there is a lake west as you are leaving.
From wikipedia...
South Dakota Highway 87 is a highway running through the Black Hills of the U.S. state of South Dakota. The road's northern terminus is U.S. Route 16 and U.S. Route 385 about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Hill City. The road's southern terminus is U.S. Route 385 about 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Pringle, South Dakota, or 14 miles (23 km) north of Hot Springs.
The highway passes through Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park. The northern 14 miles (23 km) of the highway is also known as the Needles Highway. The Needles Highway, along with the US 16A concurrency, are also part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. Portions of the highway are also a section of Custer State Park's Wildlife Loop.
Musis is Royalty Free Music and it's called Deliberate Thought by Kevin MacLeod
Deliberate Thought by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a CC Attribution 3.0.
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Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway / Iron Mountain Road
Needles Highway (South Dakota) - In Another Minute (Week 252)
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Needles Highway is the most impressive road that I have driven on - so far. Located in Custer State Park, along South Dakota Highway 87, Needles Highway is part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway.
The name of the highway, built in 1922, is inspired by the granite spires that the highway winds around. Highlights include the Cathedral Spires (a Registered Natural Landmark), the Needle Eye Tunnel and the Needle Eye itself. The wildlife we saw along the way, like mountain goats and chipmunks, I put into the accompanying video Custer State Park (South Dakota) - In Another Minute (Week 251), which I published last week.
You may notice that this video shows more photographs than actual video footage. That's because I wasn't all that satisfied with the material from my old Lumix now that I have the Sony RX-100... The photos were taken with a Canon 60D.
This will be the last video from our Black Hills road trip, which Scott, Whiskey and I took in September 2014. We are already planning to go back to Custer State Park and revisit Needles Highway and Sylvan Lake. I can't wait to hike around those granite Needles!
If you'd like, check out the other videos I made in the Black Hills.
Devils Tower aka Bear Lodge (Wyoming) – In Another Minute (Week 228)
Spearfish Canyon (South Dakota) – In Another Minute (Week 229)
Mount Rushmore (South Dakota) – In Another Minute (Week 246)
Crazy Horse Memorial (South Dakota) – In Another Minute (Week 247)
Custer State Park (South Dakota) - In Another Minute (Week 251)
The song in this video is the instrumental version of “I'll Be Right Behind You, Josephine” by Josh Woodward. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Thank you for all your great music, Josh!
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Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway - Spearfish to Savoy
A quick drive in late september 2010 from spearfish to savoy. Some still photos mixed in.
Music: Kevin MacLeod
Drivelapse - Blue Bell Campground, Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore
This drive follows US Highway 16 east to Iron Mountain Rd. in Custer State Park, SD then heads north to Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Music: Romeo (Monitor 66 Remix)
Artist: Tempogeist
Downloaded from
Peter Norbeck Visitor Center
Peter Norbeck visitor center, Custer State Park South Dakota
Deadwood to Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway
Deadwood to Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway
Mount Rushmore National Memorial - FULL VIDEO TOUR (Keystone, SD)
There isn't a while lot to do in South Dakota! Everything is kinda crammed into the bottom west corner, however, once you're in that bottom corner, there is a lot to see and do, including: Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug and Crazy Horse! The car park to the memorial is private, so they charge for this. We found free parking 0.5 miles away and had a nice stroll into the memorial area. There is also a mini loop which takes you closer to the memorial (inside the park). In the evening they run a free light show which is worth checking out!
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore, a granite batholith formation in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota, United States. Sculpted by Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km2)[3] and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.
South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. Robinson's initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles site because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from Native American groups. They settled on the Mount Rushmore location, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature western heroes like Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, and Buffalo Bill Cody, but Borglum decided the sculpture should have a more national focus and chose the four presidents whose likenesses would be carved into the mountain. After securing federal funding through the enthusiastic sponsorship of Mount Rushmore's great political patron, U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck, construction on the memorial began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon Borglum's death in March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over construction. Although the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in late October 1941.
Mount Rushmore has become an iconic symbol of the United States, and has appeared in works of fiction, and has been discussed or depicted in other popular works. It attracts over two million people annually.[1]
Video Title: Mount Rushmore National Memorial - FULL VIDEO TOUR (Keystone, SD)
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Needles Highway bus jumpers
Bus jumping
Black Hills, South Dakota - Custer State Park - Full Tour (2019)
Custer State Park is a South Dakota State Park and wildlife reserve in the Black Hills, United States. The park is South Dakota's largest and first state park, named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. The area originally started out as sixteen sections, but was later changed into one block of land because of the challenges of the terrain. The park began to grow rapidly in the 1920s and gained new land. During the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps built miles of roads, laid out parks and campgrounds, and built three dams that set up a future of water recreation at the park. In 1964 an additional 22,900 acres (93 km2) were added to the park. The park covers an area of over 71,000 acres (287 km2) of hilly terrain and is home to many wild animals.
The park is home to a famous herd of 1500 free roaming bison. Elk, coyotes, mule deer, white tailed deer, mountain goats, prairie dogs, bighorn sheep, river otters, pronghorn, cougars, and feral burros also inhabit the park. The park is famous for its scenery, its scenic drives (Needles Highway and the wildlife loop), with views of the bison herd and prairie dog towns. This park is easily accessible by road from Rapid City. Other nearby attractions are Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave National Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Badlands National Park.
Various movies have been filmed in Custer State Park, including The Last Hunt (1956), How the West Was Won (1962) and A Man Called Horse (1970).
South Dakota Highway 87 (SD 87) is a 37.894-mile-long (60.984 km) state highway in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of South Dakota. It travels through the Black Hills region. The highway's southern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 385 (US 385), about 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Pringle, within the southwestern part of Wind Cave National Park. Its northern terminus is at an intersection with US 16/US 385 about 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southwest of Hill City, within the east-central part of the Black Hills National Forest.
The highway travels through Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park. The northern 14 miles (23 km) of the highway is also known as the Needles Highway. The Needles Highway, along with the concurrency with US 16A, are also part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway. Portions of the highway are also a section of Custer State Park's Wildlife Loop.
After splitting from US 16A, the route is known as the Needles Highway. This segment is 14 miles (23 km) 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.
Cruising Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills of South Dakota
The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Highway has been described as follows: Thousand-foot-high limestone palisades in shades of brown, pink and gray tower to the right and left of Highway 14A as it twists through the 19-mile gorge. I would say that granite palisades more than limestone soar above the highway as it twists through the gorge. In any case, cruising the Spearfish Canyon was an experience not to be missed by a road tripper like myself. The soundtrack, Cruise Control by 3D Audio, accompanies my ride.
Peter Norbeck Overlook, Iron Mtn. Highway, Black Hills, SD
This is a short video postcard from but one stop along a gorgeous sightseeing road in the Black Hills, 16A. I arrived with the moon setting in the pre-dawn hours, and stayed a while while the sun painted the landscape. Mercy the wonder-pup enjoyed herself, too.
South Dakota Rides—Experience Pigtail Bridges on Iron Mountain Road (Part 2)
Iron Mountain Road is one of the more difficult routes throughout the Black Hills for motorcycle cruisers. Known for its pigtail bridges and tight, sharp corners, this route is 17 miles worth of looping bridges and tunnels great for experienced riders.
South Dakota Rides—Experience Pigtail Bridges on Iron Mountain Road (Part 1)
Iron Mountain Road is one of the more difficult routes throughout the Black Hills for motorcycle cruisers. Known for its pigtail bridges and tight, sharp corners, this route is 17 miles worth of looping bridges and tunnels great for experienced riders.
Mount Rushmore
A video from Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Also included is some pictures from the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway.