Needles Hwy, Height Restriction.

[VanDiesel]

Tunnel width and height restrictions on Needles Highway, Black Hills South Dakota. I have read most of the posts here and on other web pages about width restrictions, but none really address the height restrictions completely.

There are a few web posts out there that say that they have made it through the Needles Tunnels with a Class C and claim the lowest tunnel height of 11' 3".

I have rode through the Black Hills on my Harley many many many times, but never in an RV. Those familiar with the Black Hills they give you a paper map as you enter them. This Map lists the lowest tunnel height as 9'8".

My Class B with all the stuff on top is 9'10".

I've seen the videos of the tour buses going through and called the companies and asked the height of their buses, but they haven't measured them and didn't know.

Can anyone confirm that they have made it through ALL of the Needles Highway Tunnels with an RV that is 9'10" or higher?

[dedmiston]

That's good to hear. I'm glad it all worked out OK.

[VanDiesel]

UPDATE to earlier post: I finished the trip through the Black Hills, including both the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road. My Class B Airstream Interstate Lounge (Mercedes Sprinter Base) has a height of 9'10" with all the stuff on top (AC, Winegard...)

I easily cleared the height of all tunnels with no problems.

I had no issues with width as sprinters are narrow and easily fit through all the tunnels.

I hope this helps future travelers.

[Horsedoc]

We worked in CSP a couple of summers. Watching that bus come through the tunnel is pretty cool, but the bus in the video is the most un-damaged I have ever seen. That driver knows his stuff! The buses from the 07 and 09 were scrapped and gouged from the rocks.

[dedmiston]

Ed_Gee wrote:

enblethen wrote:
Here is a portion of information from one website. Same site has photos showing how the walls taper in toward the top. Needles Highway

Walls do not 'taper' in these tunnels on this road. Here is a view of bus entering from other end. Figure it out for yourselves.:

Best view of Needles highway tunnel situation

This seemed pretty confrontational to me too.

Since you invited us to "figure it out for ourselves", I see a road with no stripes and walls that taper in. Whether they taper or not, they look like they do in the video.

I'm glad you posted a link to that video though. The video speaks for itself and obviates any need for arguing over fog lines or tapering.

Here's a link to the video again. I think it should address any questions anyone might have and it also seems to me to be an argument-ender.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN5VpqMnPUk

[dedmiston]

Wadcutter wrote:

enblethen wrote:
If you are not aware, fog line is the edge of the normal lane of travel. It is not always a strip on the road!

I am very aware what a fog line is. More so than you obviously are aware. In my career I measured a lot of roadways and diagrammed a lot of crashes where fog lines are included.
Just to clarify since it seems you aren't totally aware what a fog line is it's not the center stripe on the road. Not always, not ever.
So have you been thru the tunnels on the Needles Highway? Where did you see these fog lines? Same place you seen the angled tunnels?

Why so confrontational? He never said the stripe went down the center of the road (although he did misspell "stripe").

[Wadcutter]

enblethen wrote:
If you are not aware, fog line is the edge of the normal lane of travel. It is not always a strip on the road!

I am very aware what a fog line is. More so than you obviously are aware. In my career I measured a lot of roadways and diagrammed a lot of crashes where fog lines are included.
Just to clarify since it seems you aren't totally aware what a fog line is it's not the center stripe on the road. Not always, not ever.
So have you been thru the tunnels on the Needles Highway? Where did you see these fog lines? Same place you seen the angled tunnels?

[enblethen]

If you are not aware, fog line is the edge of the normal lane of travel. It is not always a strip on the road!

[Wadcutter]

enblethen wrote:
The tunnels are curved on the top. Height at fog line which is the low point,
For some of the rigs I would also concerned about width.

Fog Line? What fog line? Have you been there? There are no fog lines at the tunnels on Needles.
Most of the tunnels are squared at the top. Granted, a few have some varying heights due to the formation of the rocks but what was cut thru by man is squared.

[Ed_Gee]

enblethen wrote:
Here is a portion of information from one website. Same site has photos showing how the walls taper in toward the top. Needles Highway

Walls do not 'taper' in these tunnels on this road. Here is a view of bus entering from other end. Figure it out for yourselves.:

Best view of Needles highway tunnel situation

[dedmiston]

Here's a thread from last month with more info for you.

[JAC1982]

We were just on it in June and I didn't pay too close attention to the height, sorry. I did note that while online it says max width is 8'4", the signs there said 8', and there are plenty of warning signs before you get right in front of the tunnel, so you can turn around if needed. I don't recall feeling like the tunnel was excessively low or anything. We went through in a friend's F250 with a slight lift on it.

To be honest though, I'd probably do what the suggestion above said, which is rent a car for the day. The road itself is narrow and very twisty, and if I were driving, I'd enjoy it a lot more with a car, vs a truck or a van.

[enblethen]

Here is a portion of information from one website. Same site has photos showing how the walls taper in toward the top. Needles Highway

[schlep1967]

Have a look at google street view for those tunnels and the warning signs as you enter the roads.

[jamesu]

From a guy who was a NPS Ranger at Mt. Rushmore many years ago as a young man: I have traversed the Needles Hwy in my tow vehicle no problem.

IF I was camped in that area in a Class A or B I would seriously consider renting a car in Rapid City for the day I wanted to explore the Needles Hwy and the Iron Mountain Road. You will enjoy the experience a lot more.

There will be plenty of folks trying to explore those “Model T” Hwys in their rigs, and with a rental are you’ll be able to zip around them. The big rigs form inevitable back-ups and clog-points on the Needles Hwy. That awesome, skinny little highway wasn’t designed for today’s big rigs.