The Needles Highway was laid out in the 1920s by Peter Norbeck, governor of South Dakota and later senator, who scouted much of the route on foot and on horseback, and it threads between granite spires so close together that the road squeezes through a tunnel barely wider than a car. The Iron Mountain Road, the other half of the scenic byway that bears his name, has pigtail bridges, where the road loops over itself to gain height, and tunnels aligned to frame Mount Rushmore in the distance. Together they make one of the most remarkable rides in America.
This stop lies in the Black Hills, near Custer, a small town on the edge of Custer State Park, where herds of bison roam the grasslands, along with pronghorn, elk and the famous begging burros, descendants of pack animals that stop cars to beg for food. The bison are wild and dangerous; keep your distance.
Sylvan Lake, at the start of the Needles Highway, is a small lake surrounded by granite boulders, with a swimming area and a trail around the shore. It is a beautiful spot, especially in the early morning.
Crazy Horse Memorial, north of Custer, is a giant sculpture of the Lakota leader being carved out of a mountain, a project begun in 1948 and still far from finished. Mount Rushmore is a short ride further.
This is slow riding by design: tight bends, single-lane tunnels where you may wait your turn, and bison or burros standing in the road as if they own it, which they do. A park entrance fee applies. In early August the Sturgis rally brings hundreds of thousands of riders to the Black Hills, and the byway becomes a slow parade. Custer is the place for fuel and a motel bed, and its main street of old false-fronted buildings has a few decent diners.