The best motorcycle roads in South Dakota
The twistiest paved roads in South Dakota, from The Needles Highway in Custer County on down. Distances, how twisty each one is and how to string them into a ride.
Looking for the corners in South Dakota? We measured 9 named paved roads and picked the five that never stop bending.
The headliners
The Needles Highway
In Custer County. 9.7 miles, about 20 minutes at a relaxed pace.
Twistiness: ●●●●○ Very twisty
Iron Mountain Road
In Pennington County. 11 miles, about 25 minutes at a relaxed pace.
Twistiness: ●●●●○ Very twisty
Old Hill City Road
In Pennington County. 10 miles, about 15 minutes at a relaxed pace.
Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty
US Highway 14A
In Lawrence County. 13 miles, about 20 minutes at a relaxed pace.
Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty
South Dakota Highway 240
In Pennington County. 6.9 miles, about 10 minutes at a relaxed pace.
Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty
How we picked them
We looked at the shape of every named paved road in South Dakota and measured how much each one bends along its length. Then we ranked them by bends per distance, so a short hairpin road and a long mountain highway are compared fairly. Gravel, tracks, residential streets and anything under about 6 miles are left out.
What this does not tell you: how nice the scenery is, how good the surface is, how busy the road gets, or whether it is closed for snow. Check before you go, especially in the mountains and in winter. Then ride it and see for yourself.
Turn it into a ride
Open the MotoRidez planner and link a few of these into a loop, or hit Surprise Me and let it pick a twisty route from wherever you are. Every ride you record is remembered, so next time it can send you down roads you have not tried yet.
Questions riders ask
What is the twistiest motorcycle road in South Dakota?
The Needles Highway in Custer County. It is 9.7 miles long and bends more for its length than any other named paved road of that size in South Dakota.
How do you work out which South Dakota roads are twisty?
We measure how much each road bends along its length from its shape on the map, then rank roads by bends per distance. Gravel, tracks and residential streets are left out.
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