Needles — Local services in Custer

These memories are old but precious... It was 1989, both Dakotas were celebrating their centennial, and I was 12. As we drove, and hiked, through the park, we were blessed with beautiful weather (until at the very top of the Needles, but more on that in a minute), accommodating wildlife (plenty of buffalo, antelope, sheep, and we even had a burro shove its head through the car window in an attempt to steal a snack from me!), and one of the most intense thunderstorms I've witnessed. The wind, thunder, and especially the hail made it evident to the four of us that the windows were going to shatter from the hail, the doors were going to be rattled off by the thunder, and we were going ro be blown off the road onto the razor sharp shards of rock all around us! What an experience, not one I'd trade for anything! Oh yeah, we all (obviously) lived through the ordeal, none of our windows were damaged (we saw a handful of cars with busted sunroofs and with the hail ranging up to baseball size were surprised there wasn't more glass damage). Still, there was over $5 grand of damage to my grandfather's Honda! It will be 30 years ago this summer and I hope to return while doing the same route I did then, enjoying the sites of Western North and...

Hard to beat the Needles on The Needles Highway (Hwy 87) when exploring Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The name comes from the needle-like granite formations, which seem to pierce the horizon. While not RV-friendly, Needles offers wonderful vistas, climbing and hiking opportunities and is arguably the most easy-to-recognize road in the state. The Needles Highway is a spectacular drive through pine and spruce forests, meadows surrounded by birch and aspen, and rugged granite mountains. Definitely worth paying a visit....

One of the greatest roads ever made! 14 miles of narrow, windy road and spectacular view. There is many one way tunnels you have to pass going through. From some of them you can see in a distance Mountain Rushmore. You can't go fast so it will take you around an hour to go from one end to another. You have to pay $20 if you go through the entrance at Sylvan Lake. The road is closed in the...