DOING THE CATHEDRAL SPIRES HIKE

In Custer State Park, there is a hike off of the Needle's Highway that leads up to the top of some of the spires in that area.  It is called Cathedral Spires Hike. The hike isn't very long.  It is about 3 miles round trip, but has an elevation change of around 488 feet.  The trail starts out on a pretty level path and quickly starts going up.  There are two spots along the trail that you have to climb over large rocks for about 60 feet and there were a lot of rocks. There was also a lot of small gravel/rock on the big rocks. This isn't so much of a problem on the way up, but did tend to slow me down on the way down. 

There weren't many people on the trail on our way up. We took our lunch with us and planned to eat once we reached the top and found a great view. We did reach the top and walked around the spires enjoying different views until we found a spot that had some pretty level rocks to serve as our table and chairs. It was cool that morning and the wind was blowing pretty hard. The spot we picked also kept us shielded from the wind. Actually, the weather was perfect for hiking. The cooler weather kept you at just the right temperature while you were hiking.

There aren't many parking spaces for the trailhead.  The spot where the trailhead starts is also a great photo shoot, so you may have to fight for a parking space. There is a spot close to the top where you are walking in an area that is a valley and you are surrounded by spires. Very impressive. The park rates the hike as difficult. I was a little nervous about the hike because I don't usually do difficult, but I made it. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to go up and back down, but that was with spending 30 minutes for lunch. There are plenty of spaces to move over and let others pass if you need to.  I used both of my walking sticks and that was a great decision. There were a few spots on the rocks on my way down that I sat down and scooted down a couple of rocks. But, I didn't feel bad because others were doing the same.

I was pretty proud of myself doing the hike and the scenery was very pretty. My legs weren't so proud of me, but they recovered a couple of days later. I would definitely recommend the hike.