MotoRevRoute Twisty Staff Pick
Needles Highway
Sylvan Lake to Legion Lake
- Distance
- 14 mi
- Riding Time
- 38 min
- Climb
- 1,079 ft
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Surface
- Paved
- Character
- Twisty
- Saves
- 0
Ride This Route opens it in MotoRev on your phone, iPhone or Android, for turn by turn navigation. On a computer, scan the code with your phone. Save Route keeps it in your saved routes on the web and in the app.
Road Guide
- Best Season
- May to October.
- Closures
- Closed in winter, usually from late fall to spring. A Custer State Park entrance license is required. The tunnels are narrow and low.
- Fuel
- Fuel in Custer, Hill City and Keystone. None on the highway.
- Watch For
- One lane tunnels, tight hairpins, heavy summer traffic, bison and other wildlife.
Weather Along the Route
Forecast at the hour you reach each point, from the riding time. Leave Departure empty to leave now. Forecast from Open-Meteo.
The Needles Highway on South Dakota 87 runs through Custer State Park from Sylvan Lake past granite spires and through narrow one lane tunnels, including the Needles Eye Tunnel, before descending through forest to the Legion Lake area.
Stops
- StartSylvan Lake
- FinishLegion Lake
