Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway, Harney Peak, & Custer State Park

The Black Hills are wonderful. Every curve in the road presented a new and exciting thing to watch and learn. It is a great place to explore.


We spent 2 nights in Custer State Park and traveled the loop of highways known as the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway.

Who is Peter Norbeck?

He served numerous political roles - South Dakota State Senator, Lt. Governor, South Dakota's 9th Governor (and first native Governor, by the way), and finally a U.S. Senator.

He founded Custer State Park and was the initiator of the Needles and Iron Mountain highways (which is why the collection of highways are named after him). He convinced Borglum to carve Mt. Rushmore, and was a key fundraiser for the project. He had a hand in preserving the Badlands National Park and other conservation projects.

The string of highways can be very confusing, unless you are a local or a guest with a good map. The locals weren't available because just about every place we stopped at was closed for the season... and the map(s) we found only caused more confusion. But we managed to find our way.


Iron Mountain Road (Highway 87):

• Designed by Cecil Clyde "C.C." Gideon
• 3 tunnels, each framing Mt. Rushmore
• 3 Pigtail Bridges
• Completed in 1933 by 16 men

Gideon needed a way to connect the 3 existing tunnels without leveling the steep terrain, so he built 3 structures called Pigtail Bridges.


The Pigtail Bridges historic marker reads:

In 1932, Cecil Clyde Gideon forged ahead with the design of the Pigtail Bridges when many felt it could not be done. C.C., as he was called, was a pioneer in the Black Hills, making his mark as a master builder, architect, craftsman, lawman, and highway designer. Riding horseback from his home at the Game Lodge, Gideon and Senator Norbeck spent long hours laying out the Iron Mountain Road, the tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore and these bridges. Norbeck wanted a rustic look but elevation drop presented complex engineering problems. These bridge surfaces are neither straight, level nor flat and rustic log work has great variation in quality. Logs were selected from nearby, cut to fit, seasoned, then put in place. With the completion of the bridges more scenic beauty of the Black Hills became available for all people to enjoy.

Needles Highway (State Highway 16A):

• Mapped in 1919
• 150,000 pounds of dynamite used
• Completed in 1922
• 14-miles long
  
• Due to its initial cost, locals referred to the roadway as the "Needless Highway"

We thought this was a funny site. A view finder post without the view finder.
And it still had the sign requesting 25 cents!

The Cathedral Spires
(Named for the towering peaks which appear like organ pipes.)

The Needles Eye

Both are made from granite, formed underground from magma that was pushed upward millions of years ago, and cooled very slowly. Rock climbers come from around the world to challenge themselves on these awesome formations. We saw 3 when we arrived at the Needles Eye.


A cute story from one of the road signs...

Norbeck was seeking national financial support for the Black Hills project, and invited numerous people with political connections. In 1927, Coolidge stayed at the State Game Lodge in Custer State Park. He took up fly fishing. The reader board said this of President Coolidge:

Little did he know that his fishing skills were greatly enhanced by the undercover work of the park officials. Chicken wire was stretched across the creek upstream and downstream from the President's quarters and large trout from a nearby fish hatchery were planted nightly. Coolidge couldn't help but fill his creel!

Our next stop was a 6-mile round trip to the highest point in South Dakota - Harney Peak at 7,242 feet!


It is the most popular hike in the area, and this day was no different. We followed a group of middle-schoolers to the half-way point. While they took advantage of a great group photo opportunity (and a much requested break), we continued the uphill hike.


It was fun to follow them as far as we did. They were a curious group with lots of questions. It was refreshing to see the 50+ students and chaperons in the great outdoors - and enjoying it!


The weather was, once again, spectacular. And the views were incredible. It reminded me of our Mt. Tamalpais hike in California, except there were no ocean views.


The sun would be setting soon, so we decided to take advantage of this ideal time to view wildlife on Custer State Park's 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road. We were not disappointed.


The most exciting and anxious moment for us was when we drove through the Buffalo Corrals. While these are fenced areas of the park, there are still bison in the road... slowly crossing the road.


At the end of September (the 26-28th to be exact), Custer State Park hosts The Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival. Craftsman and artists display their works, cowboys and cowgirls "roundup" the park's bison, visitors witness bison branding and vaccinations, and the park auctions about 400 bison. It is a big deal.


Some facts about Custer State Park:

• Named for George A. Custer (led army expedition into Black Hills in 1874 - found gold!)
• Started as a state game reserve
• Became a state park in 1919
• 71,000 acres
• 4 Lodges: State Game Lodge, Sylvan Lake Lodge, Blue Bell Lodge, and Legion Lake Lodge (all very expensive - starting at $130/night... eek!)
• 1,500 head of bison
• 1,000 elk
• And to our surprise, a small herd of "begging burros" that approached us when we arrived. We were lucky, but this car wasn't fast enough. As we passed, the couple inside was in hysterics, laughing.

And this little guy saw me sneak a picture. If swear if he could talk, he would have said "That picture will cost you a carrot, miss!"