9 Things South Dakotans Know About the Black Hills That Visitors Never See

Most visitors see the Black Hills from behind a windshield on the way to the big sights.

South Dakotans who know the area may point you somewhere quieter, if you’ve got the time.

Here’s what locals know about the Black Hills that visitors tend to miss.

1. Needles Highway

Needles Highway is a 14-mile drive through Custer State Park, in the Black Hills.

State tourism says you can find some of the state’s best rock climbing on the granite pinnacles around Sylvan Lake.

Then you reach the tunnel.

The Needles Eye Tunnel is 8 feet 9 inches wide and 9 feet 8 inches high.

Family vehicles and some specialized commercial buses squeeze through the opening.

2. Spearfish Canyon

On the northern edge of the Black Hills, Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway follows U.S. Highway 14A for 19 miles.

KOTA, a Rapid City station, reports that the trees you’ll see in the canyon include quaking aspen, birch, oak and ash.

Local tourism materials say the canyon commonly peaks in late September into early October.

Bridal Veil Falls is about 60 feet tall, visible directly from the highway.

You won’t need to hike.

Travel South Dakota calls Roughlock Falls the most famous waterfall in the canyon.

Filmmakers shot the final winter scene of the 1990 film Dances with Wolves in the canyon.

Posted signs along the byway mark a stretch where mountain goats are commonly seen.

3. Wind Cave

Established in 1903, Wind Cave in the Black Hills was the first national park dedicated to preserving a cave system, the National Park Service says.

Inside the cave, you’ll see boxwork, thin blades of calcite that project from the walls and ceilings in a honeycomb pattern.

Perhaps in no other cave in the world is boxwork so well-formed and abundant.

The park’s main page calls Wind Cave one of the longest and most complex caves in the world.

The surface is prairie.

Elk, bison and other wildlife roam the rolling grasslands and forested hillsides above.

4. Mickelson Trail

Starting in Edgemont and ending in Deadwood, the Mickelson Trail covers 109 miles of the Black Hills.

Game, Fish and Parks says the trail has more than 100 converted railroad bridges and four rock tunnels.

The trail was completed in September 1998.

You can start from any of about 15 trailheads.

All have parking.

The trail is open year-round for hiking, biking and horseback riding, and cross-country skiers and snowshoers use it in winter.

Pedal-assist e-bikes are allowed too.

State tourism lists Rabbit Bicycles and Black Hills Shuttle in Hill City for bicycle rentals and shuttles.

A majority of the trail stays at or under a 4 percent grade, Game, Fish and Parks says, though parts are strenuous.

5. Buffalo Roundup

Custer State Park held its 61st Buffalo Roundup, a Black Hills tradition, in late September 2026.

Game, Fish and Parks put the herd at approximately 1,300 bison.

State tourism says 60 cowboys and cowgirls saddle up to bring in the herd.

If you wanted to ride, positions were open to the general public through an application.

Every rider provided a horse.

You worked in a team and took orders from an assigned team leader.

The ride ran two days.

A required orientation ride came first on Thursday.

On Friday, riders drove the herd about 5 miles into the corrals.

6. Wildlife Loop Road

State tourism lists bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, elk, prairie dogs and wild burros among the animals you can see along the Black Hills' Wildlife Loop Road.

The road is an 18-mile, U-shaped drive inside Custer State Park.

Plan at least 1.5 to 2 hours for the standard route.

Wildlife stops add time.

A full-loop option adds 12 miles to the 18-mile route, for 30 miles in all.

7. Black Elk Peak

In the Black Hills, Black Elk Peak reaches 7,242 feet, the highest point in South Dakota.

The summit is also the highest elevation between the Rocky Mountains and the Pyrenees, state tourism says.

The peak was formerly called Harney Peak.

Its current name honors Nicholas Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota holy man.

The Civilian Conservation Corps built a stone fire tower on the summit in 1938.

The tower has been out of service since 1967.

More than a dozen routes lead to the summit, ranging from 2.7 to 14 miles round trip.

Sylvan Lake Trail No. 9 is the most traveled route.

It's 7 miles round trip.

If you take Trail No. 9, you pay Custer State Park entry first.

8. Jewel Cave

Jewel Cave National Monument, a Black Hills cave system, has mapped and surveyed more than 220 miles of passages, the National Park Service says.

You can only go underground on a guided tour.

Your choices include the Scenic, Discovery, Historic Lantern and Wild Cave tours, though offerings vary by season.

Advance reservations through recreation.gov are recommended.

Same-day tickets aren't guaranteed.

Outside the cave, the monument has easy-to-moderate hiking trails and wildlife such as bighorn sheep, red squirrels and bats.

9. Sanford Lab

Lead, a Black Hills town, is home to a science lab in a former gold mine.

A history note from KOTA dates the Sanford Underground Research Facility's dedication to 2009.

The lab says its research campus reaches about one mile underground, with more than 370 miles of tunnels.

The Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center in Lead is open seven days a week.

Visitor center entry is free.