Black Hills South Dakota! Getting to Little Devils Tower Trail in Custer State Park (trailhead parking off Needles Highway)

Hi there!

Hiking to Little Devils Tower in Custer State Park will give you epic views of the Black Hills!

This can be a day trip from Rapid City South Dakota.

👆 You will drive Needles Highway to get to the Little Devils Tower trailhead. This is about 3 minutes away from where to start the Little Devils Tower Trail.

👆 You’ll be hiking UP to Little Devils Tower!

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This can be considered one of the best hikes in Custer State Park.

You can do this as a hike on its own, or you can make it a longer hike by combining it with another trail to see other iconic sights in the Black Hills, like Sylvan Lake, Cathedral Spires, or Black Elk Peak.

You can do each of these hikes separately as well.

The start of the trail to Little Devils Tower is located in a pretty convenient location.

The road to the Little Devils Tower trailhead is located right off of Needles Highway, which is another one of the most popular things to do in Custer State Park. It’s also located just a few minutes from Sylvan Lake, which again is one of the most popular things.

So if you have plans to drive the Needles Highway or go to Sylvan Lake, it can be convenient to hike to Little Devils Tower on the same day.

It can also be very convenient to do the Little Devils Tower and Cathedral Spires on the same day.

These 2 trailheads are located less than 10 minutes away from one another.

And then once you get started on the trail, the views from the top of Little Devils Tower might be 1 to 1.5 hours away!

More below about the drive to the Little Devils Tower trailhead parking!

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Driving along Needles Highway to get to Little Devils Tower Trail

Little Devil’s Tower Trailhead is on google maps, so you can use that to help you navigate in the general direction and to know when you’re approaching it. It might be best to download offline google maps before you go (it’s free), as you may not always get data service in Custer State Park. GPS will still generally work even if you don’t have phone service.

But basically, you will get yourself onto Needles Highway.

And then from there, it’s is more or less just about driving until you see a sign for Little Devil’s Tower!

I was driving from the south, so the drive below will reflect that.

This means that I came across the Needles Eye Tunnel first, and then shortly after that was the road to the Little Devil’s Tower trailhead.

From Needles Eye Tunnel to Little Devil’s Tower trailhead is less than 5 minutes.

On the north side of the Needles Eye Tunnel is the Needles Eye parking area.

This is the side of Sylvan Lake, and it’s the side of the Little Devil’s Tower Trail.

So if you’re driving from Sylvan Lake and don’t have plans to drive through the tunnel, then you can drive to the Needles Eye for a little look around without going through the tunnel before you go on your hike to Little Devil’s Tower!

So after you’ve checked out the views from around the Needles Eye, you can make your way to the Little Devil’s Tower trailhead!

It’s just a short drive to go.

You’ll see a sign for the Little Devil’s Tower Trailhead.

And then it’s a short road to the parking lot!

You’ll find a bathroom at the Little Devils Tower trailhead. This is a basic no-flush toilet.

There is also a trash can here.

The start of the Little Devils Tower Trail is obvious. You’ll look for the trailhead sign.

And off you go to hike on the Little Devils Trail!

And that’s a bit about how to start hiking from Little Devils Tower trailhead!

If you’re interested in Little Devils Tower, you may also be interested in these activities:

• Needles Highway
• Cathedral Spires trailhead
• Best hikes in Custer State Park
• Sunday Gulch Trail
• Sylvan Lake
• Needles Eye Tunnel
• Center Lake
• Legion Lake
• Stockade Lake
• Custer State Park lakes with lakeshore trails
• Things to do in Custer State Park for VIEWS!
• Things to do in Black Hills National Forest
• Things to do in the Black Hills for views
• Custer State Park camping cabins
• Things to do in Devils Tower National Monument
• Things to do in Jewel Cave National Monument

HAPPY DRIVING TO THE LITTLE DEVILS TOWER TRAILHEAD!