1 active Wind Cave alert
- ClosureNatural Entrance Tour Route closed for winterThe Natural Entrance Tour Route is closed for its annual winter season beginning October 1, 2026.Official details
Overview
About Beaver Creek Bridge
Why stop
- A striking historic arch with a canyon view from the roadside pullout.
Map
Where it is
Loading the Wind Cave map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Wind Cave Tour Guide
Your drive to Beaver Creek Bridge, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Wind Cave National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Beaver Creek Bridge0:00 / 0:29
“You're coming up on the Beaver Creek Bridge area. For a quick stop, use the roadside pullout near Centennial Trailhead to see the arches across the canyon.”
Plays as you drive up to Beaver Creek Bridge in the Parkwolf Wind Cave Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Ancient Foundations
- Following Alvin’s String
- Pigtail Bridge
- Elk Mountain Campground
- 28 audio storiesacross Wind Cave’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bison, Elk, Pronghorn, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 11 trails, 14 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Beaver Creek Bridge
What it isBeaver Creek Bridge is a concrete-and-steel deck arch that carries SD 87 across Beaver Creek…
Beaver Creek Bridge is a concrete-and-steel deck arch that carries SD 87 across Beaver Creek Canyon. It spans 225 feet and stands 115 feet above the canyon floor, about two miles north of the Wind Cave Visitor Center. If you're driving the park's northern road, it's worth a short stop for the bridge and canyon view.
See it from the pulloutThe bridge is on the highway, but a separate roadside pullout near Centennial Trailhead gives…
The bridge is on the highway, but a separate roadside pullout near Centennial Trailhead gives you a view of its arches across the canyon. Use the pullout instead of stopping on the bridge. For a photo, include the full arch with the rock and trees beneath it; that's the shape that makes this crossing stand out.
A road planned for the Black HillsBuilt in 1929, the bridge provided a better route for travelers heading to the developing…
Built in 1929, the bridge provided a better route for travelers heading to the developing Custer State Park. South Dakota Senator Peter Norbeck helped make it possible as part of wider efforts to develop roads through the Black Hills.
Arches shaped by the canyonThe builders shaped the concrete arches to appear to rise naturally from the canyon walls.
The builders shaped the concrete arches to appear to rise naturally from the canyon walls. Look for the smaller repeated arches carrying the deck and the broad arch reaching between the rock sides. It's the only bridge of its particular arch type in South Dakota, which makes this roadside crossing an unusually distinctive piece of park history.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Wind Cave
600 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
59 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
258 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
14 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
131 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
26 sightingsGolden EagleMost seen around noonSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Wind Cave. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
