Do you have any anxiety when passing through narrow tunnels?
We drove the Needles Highway during our summer visit to Custer State Park. It's a 14-mile
section of road in the northwestern part of the park. The tunnels on this highway are really
narrow plus they have low roofs as well. The Needles Eye Tunnel is only 8' wide and the roof of
the Hood Tunnel measures only 9' 8" from the ground. It's easy to understand why some people
might get anxious - and waiting your turn to get through may make it even worse.
Building the road in 1922 required 150,000 pounds of dynamite and 2 years of time. The
highway twists and turns as it winds past meadows and forests of pine to the namesake towering
granite peaks that resemble needles. We didn't have time to hike the Cathedral Spires Trail, but
we did score one of the coveted parking spaces near the trailhead. We walked just a short
distance to get a feel for the maze of huge granite spires that were actually the original
inspiration for what is now Mount Rushmore!
What are your biggest concerns when taking road trips?
#WordyExplorers #SouthDakota #custer #CusterSouthDakota #CusterStatePark
#NeedlesHighway #NeedlesEyeTunnel #CathedralSpires #MountRushmore #hiking #RoadTrip
We drove the Needles Highway during our summer visit to Custer State Park. It's a 14-mile section of road in the northwestern part of the park. The tunnels on this highway are really narrow plus they have low roofs as well. The Needles Eye Tunnel is only 8' wide and the roof of the Hood Tunnel measures only 9' 8" from the ground. It's easy to understand why some people might get anxious - and waiting your turn to get through may make it even worse.
Building the road in 1922 required 150,000 pounds of dynamite and 2 years of time. The highway twists and turns as it winds past meadows and forests of pine to the namesake towering granite peaks that resemble needles. We didn't have time to hike the Cathedral Spires Trail, but we did score one of the coveted parking spaces near the trailhead. We walked just a short distance to get a feel for the maze of huge granite spires that were actually the original inspiration for what is now Mount Rushmore!
What are your biggest concerns when taking road trips?
#WordyExplorers #SouthDakota #custer #CusterSouthDakota #CusterStatePark #NeedlesHighway #NeedlesEyeTunnel #CathedralSpires #MountRushmore #hiking #RoadTrip