Car Enters Iron Creek Tunnel, Custer State Park
Taken July 2019
Iron Creek Tunnel carries the Needles Highway through a granite outcrop in Custer State Park, South Dakota. The highway was built in the 1920s under the direction of Governor Peter Norbeck, who helped design the route himself to showcase the park's granite spires. Its narrow, low clearance tunnels, blasted by hand rather than heavy machinery, were intentionally sized to slow traffic and frame views of the surrounding rock formations. Custer State Park, established in 1919, spans more than 71,000 acres and is one of the largest state parks in the country.
Taken July 2019
More from
Custer State Park
Bison Cow and Calf Crossing Wildlife Loop Road, Custer State Park
Custer State Park's Wildlife Loop Road runs 18 miles through the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, cutting straight through…
Granite Outcrops Along Highway 87, Black Hills National Forest
Needles Highway cuts through granite spires in Custer State Park, part of South Dakota's Black Hills. The road was completed…
Abandoned Mine Entrance, Black Hills, South Dakota
This natural rock formation, resembling an abandoned mine entrance, is located in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. The…
The Needles at Sunset, Custer State Park, South Dakota
The Needles, a prominent geological formation within Custer State Park, South Dakota, are illuminated by evening light. These granite spires,…
American Bison Along Wildlife Loop Road, Custer State Park
The American bison grazing along Wildlife Loop Road belongs to one of the largest publicly held herds in the country,…
Needles Eye Tunnel Sign in Custer State Park South Dakota
Needles Eye Tunnel carries the Needles Highway through a narrow granite passage in Custer State Park, South Dakota. The tunnel…



