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Lookout · Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway

Cathedral Spires

OpenStreetMap
Looking east from Cathedral Spires. Terrain and imagery at true elevation.
Overview · Assembled from verified data

Cathedral Spires sits at 6,721 feet along the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, with the ground dropping 555 feet within 600 meters of the overlook. The view faces due east, toward Mount Rushmore, 4.2 miles east-northeast at 5,679 feet, along with the Hall of Records and the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the same direction, and the Historic Viewing Terrace 4.4 miles out. Iron Mountain lies 5.0 miles to the east at 5,446 feet. Because the facing points toward sunrise, the overlook receives direct morning light, with sunrise times ranging from 05:13 at the June solstice to 07:26 at the December solstice. Rapid City is 22.1 miles northeast, Hot Springs 29.0 miles south, and Box Elder 30.5 miles northeast. Needles Eye lies before this stop on the byway, with Needles other eye following it.

Access
0.5 mi detour
Elevation
6,721 ft
View
East · 90°
Light
Best at sunrise
Relief
555 ft drop
In view
5 named features
Photos · Real imagery only
A climber ascends Spire Nine in the cathedral Spires
Collin5526 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Custer State Park, South Dakota
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Custer State Park, South Dakota
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Custer State Park, South Dakota
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Custer State Park, South Dakota
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Custer State Park, South Dakota
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
In view · Named features

What you’re looking at

Named terrain inside the view from this overlook, nearest first.

  • Mount Rushmore5,679 fteast-northeast · 4.2 mi
  • Hall of Records5,689 fteast-northeast · 4.3 mi
  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial5,668 fteast-northeast · 4.3 mi
  • Historic Viewing Terrace5,265 fteast-northeast · 4.4 mi
  • Iron Mountain5,446 fteast · 5.0 mi
When to look · Sun at this latitude

Light

This overlook faces sunrise — 0° off square to it.

DateSunriseSunsetGolden hour
March equinox06:5819:0718:29
June solstice05:1320:4119:57
September equinox06:4218:5318:15
December solstice07:2616:2015:33

Local time (America/Denver). Computed for this exact position.

Getting there · Position and access

Where it is

  • Rapid City22.1 mi northeast
  • Hot Springs29.0 mi south
  • Box Elder30.5 mi northeast
← Before it: Needles EyeAfter it: Needles other eye →
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From the source · Verbatim

Mount Rushmore · WikipediaCC BY-SA

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial featuring a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, about 2 mi (3 km) southwest of Keystone, South Dakota, United States. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, named it the Shrine of Democracy, and oversaw the execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. The sculpture features 60-foot-tall (18 m) depictions of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, respectively chosen to represent the nation's foundation, expansion, development, and preservation. Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually to the memorial park which covers 1,278 acres.

Read it at Wikipedia →
Common questions

How high is Cathedral Spires?

Cathedral Spires sits at about 6,721 feet (2,049 m).

What can you see from Cathedral Spires?

From Cathedral Spires: Mount Rushmore (ENE, 4.2 mi); Hall of Records (ENE, 4.3 mi); Mount Rushmore National Memorial (ENE, 4.3 mi); Historic Viewing Terrace (ENE, 4.4 mi).

Is Cathedral Spires better at sunrise or sunset?

Sunrise. The land falls away from Cathedral Spires toward the sunrise, so at sunset the light is behind you. Exact times shift through the year; the page shows the current window.

What is the nearest town to Cathedral Spires?

Rapid City, 22 miles NE of Cathedral Spires.

What is the next lookout after Cathedral Spires?

Needles other eye is the next surfaced lookout along the same route after Cathedral Spires.

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Locals make it Verified.

Cathedral Spires — confirmed, rated, and photographed by people who actually pulled over. A local confirmation is what upgrades a lookout from Discovered to Verified. Zero hallucinations.

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