Needles Eye Tunnel (Custer State Park)

Needles Eye Tunnel

When we left off in our last post, we’d just arrived at the Needles Eye Tunnel after exploring The Cathedral Spires Trail.

The Needles Eye is a dauntingly small, manmade tunnel, cut through granite cliffs. The tunnel provides automobile access between The Cathedral Spires and Sylvan Lake.

But the tunnel is small! We have no idea whether, or not, our Toyota Sequoia can pass through, unscathed.

And, to boot, there’s a herd of mountain goats coming through it from the other side.

Lots of Wildlife (including Mountain Goats) in Custer State Park

And when I say, “a herd,” I mean a herd! Easily a couple dozen goats of all ages. The Black Hills and Custer State Park provide all sorts of awesome wildlife encounters.

Rule one for safe and exciting wildlife encounters is, “Don’t approach wildlife.”
Cars stopped, about a dozen deep, on both sides of the tunnel to allow the goats their berth. However, this didn’t prevent folks from walking dangerously close to the goats to get that perfect shot.

The youngsters below wrestled like wild children for 10 minutes straight, circling and spinning, all while standing on an elevated rock surface.

There were so many goats! And they weren’t in much of a rush. A constant half dozen remained in the tunnel for the entire half-hour we waited.

Threading the Needles Eye Tunnel

Eventually, a less patient tourist driving his Winnebago decided that driving through the tunnel would be a good way to let the goats know they needed to get a move-on!

The tunnel was now clear of mountain goats. But we decided to hang back and enjoy the goat show for a little while longer. Eventually, it was our turn. We could only go forward!

Turns out, the tunnel wasn’t as claustrophobic as we thought.
So, we made it! #ghostface

“ Needles Eye” or “ Eye of the Needle?“

Interesting thing about the Needles Eye tunnel. Just outside the west entrance of the tunnel stands the Eye of the Needle rock formation. It’s just an amazing example of the beauty Mother Nature creates through wind and water wear.

As always, we recommend taking a slow approach to enjoying your parks and recreation. Custer State Park is no exception.

South Dakota Scenic Byways

Needles Highway is part of the larger Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, which you could easily spend multiple days exploring.

However, if you are pressed for time and looking to combine a few choice spots in Custer State Park for maximum enjoyment, you can totally get this done. Within a single day, you’ll be able to swim at Sylvan Lake, hike the Cathedral Spires Trail, and enjoy the drive along this section of the Needles Highway.