Hiking the Needles Highway in Custer State Park in the wintertime
The Needles Highway starts near Sylvan Lake and ends up near Legion Lake, State Game Lodge, or Center Lake and is full of adventure and beautiful scenery whichever way you choose to go.
During the winter the road is closed and people walk the road or cross country ski it. It is just gorgeous and you can get up close with all the majestic spirals. This is one of our favorite trails to do in the winter. Be warned though the road is not plowed in the winter so walking it can be tricky if there has been a lot of snow. I recommend bringing poles.
We do this hike every year and usually we are pretty much alone on the trail. This year we saw about 50 people, 20 dogs, and 3 horses. If you walk to the Needle’s Eye and back it is around 2.5 miles round trip. We hiked to the Cathedral Spires Trailhead and back for a total trip around 4.5 miles.
We did this hike again on January 1, 2024 as part of the winter challenge for Custer State Park.
Today there looks to be a pretty good path which is good because we forgot our hiking poles.
Sylvan Lake Campground - looks sad in the winter.
First sight of some pretty cool rocks.
A couple of long stretches.
Another trail to hike - Little Devil’s Tower.
Getting close to the Needle’s Eye.
Needle’s Eye and picture taken for the winter challenge.
Walking through the Needle’s Eye Tunnel to continue our journey.
Looking back at the tunnel.
Looks like more people continued on the hike as well.
We are not alone.
Coming up on the Cathedral Spires Trail and parking lot.
We made it to the start of the Cathedral Spires Trail.
If you continue on down the road - doesn’t look like many did.
Walking back.
Saw some people on horseback.
Made it back to Sylvan Lake.
For more pictures or information go to our Custer State Park page on our website.