[Wind Cave National Park / Custer State Park, SD, Jun 18, 2025]

Today was the longest day on the trip so far but also my favorite!

We started out day in Wind Cave National Park. Our cave tour was at 10:40 a.m., but we entered early so we can squeeze in a hike. We stopped for a pic at the sign and saw a lone pronghorn crossing the field behind us.

We were the first car in the parking lot at Rankin Ridge Interpretive Trail. The mile-long loop starts out in the forest and leads to a53-foot fire tower. It was built in 1956 and staffed regularly during fire season until 1998. Now it’s only occasionally used during times of extreme fire danger or electrical storms.

From the top, we had gorgeous views east towards Buffalo Gap. This natural break in the hills was a route for buffalo migrating from the eastern plains into the interior of the Black Hills.

Next up was our Fairgrounds cave tour. Teddy Roosevelt established the park in 1903 to preserve the cave. It became the 6th national park and the first cave to be designated a national park anywhere in the world. Wind Cave is also one of the best known examples of a breathing cave (hence the name). It is a rare type of cave in which the atmospheric pressure difference between the inside and the outside cause air to flow in or out of the cave. This airflow is how white Americans discovered the cave in 1881. It would have been nearly impossible otherwise, as the natural entrance by the visitor center is only 10 inches wide!

The Lakota (Sioux), an indigenous people who live in the Black Hills region of South Dakota, spoke of the hole that blew air. They considered it sacred because they believed it was the site where they first emerged from the underworld where they had lived before the creation of the world.

The Fairgrounds tour lasted almost 2 hours and it lead us through some of the cave’s most impressive boxwork. Boxwork is a honeycomb-like structure of thin, intersecting blades of calcite that project from cave walls and ceilings. Wind cave contains about 95% of the world’s known boxwork. It was intermingled with other features in places such as frostwork and popcorn. I really enjoyed looking at this intricate feature throughout the cave.

It was only 1 pm when we were done, so we contemplated how to fill the afternoon. This was going to be the coolest day of the next 3, and we wanted to take advantage of that. So after some coffee and pastries at Baker’s Bakery & Cafe in Custer, we headed into Custer State Park to do a little hiking and a little scenic driving.

Needles Highway runs for 14 miles through Custer State Park, right through the famous granite formations of the park. The Needles were the original inspiration for Mt Rushmore but it was later discovered they would not be able to hold the massive presidential heads. South Dakota governor Peter Nobeck planned the route himself and marked it on foot and horseback. In fact, the Needles Highway is part of the larger 70-mile scenic drive that bears his name. The Needles Highway was completed in 1922.

The Needles Eye Tunnel is one of the highlights of this drive. This narrow tunnel goes right through the rock!

As much as we enjoyed that, the Cathedral Spires trail blew our minds. It’s less than 2 miles but the view of the granite spires are amazing. The rock scramble leading up to the spires is not exactly easy, but I wouldn’t call it strenuous either.

We then completed the rest of the Needles Highway before going back to our hotel for a short rest before dinner. We popped into the hot tub and struck up a conversation with a family there. They had just come back from Devil’s Tower, which we are doing in a couple of days. They recommended a scenic drive near Spearfish, SD – we will see if we can fit it in.

We had a really nice dinner at the fanciest place in town – Sage Creek Grille. The wine was great, the elk-stuffed mushrooms were delicious and our entrees were also really good. To top it off, we had ice cream at Horatio’s, in the historic 1881 First National Bank of Dakota Territory Building. What a fun-filled day!