Needles Highway—The Governor’s Road

The Needles Highway covers the northern portion of SR 87 in southwestern South Dakota. This road is famous for offering some of the best riding and scenery in the state’s Black Hills region.

Officially, the Needles Highway carves through the mountains for 14 miles. Its length, however, depends on where you start counting from—beginning at the road’s intersection with US 385 and ending at that with US 16A puts its length at around 20 miles.

What this road lacks in excess length, it more than makes up with thrilling switchback and fabulous vistas. The stars of the show are (arguably) the needle-like granite formation reaching toward the sky that gives this road its name.