The highway's southern terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 385 (US 385), about 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Pringle, within the southwestern part of Wind Cave National Park.

The Needles Highway, along with the concurrency with US 16A, are also part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway.

North of US 385, the route crosses Cold Spring Creek and provides access to the upstream Lake Norbeck, named after Senator Peter Norbeck, instrumental in establishing several of the national and state parks in the Black Hills.

From the start, SD 87 is a very twisting and winding route, with a 180° hairpin turn only a one-half mile (800 m) from the southern end.

This results in the route taking a westerly track, though it eventually turns back north and crosses Beaver Creek.

[4] Highway 87 then becomes part of the park's Wildlife Loop, and runs through the town of Blue Bell.