The route passes through
Keystone, the
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the Norbeck Wildlife Management Area and
Black Elk Wilderness within
Black Hills National Forest, and
Custer State Park (including
State Game Lodge and
Legion Lake), before rejoining the parent highway. US 16A is famous for its scenic, one-lane tunnels aligned to frame the faces on Mount Rushmore, its "
pigtail bridges", and its sections of divided highway but with single (and narrow) lanes on each roadway. It is the only route which can be used to drive through Custer State Park without having to pay an entrance fee for the park, provided the traveler does not stop in the park. The route includes most of the tunnels on the South Dakota state highway system, including the only three-lane tunnel in the state, just north of Keystone. Part of the highway is also a boundary of the
Black Elk Wilderness. The Iron Mountain portion of the road is not maintained in the winter. The road, like several other
scenic roads in the Black Hills, was originally laid out by Governor
Peter Norbeck, specifically to create a very scenic, slow-speed road for tourists. The section of US 16A from
SD 89 to
SD 244 is known as the Peter Norbeck Memorial Byway in honor of the governor. At the highest point of the byway, on the summit of
Iron Mountain, there is a small memorial to Governor Norbeck. ==History==