Our visit to South Dakota was an unforgettable experience from beginning to end. Custer park was one of our top priorities to visit. Man was it worth it! Every turn along the scenic drives revealed something new and breathtaking--towering mountains, rolling hills, endless grassy plains, crystal-clear lakes and streams, beautiful log cabins, and wildlife roaming freely in their natural habitat. We drove arms reach from bison, and deer. We got out of our car to pet and feed burros, and marveled over other animals right alongside the roadway. The prairie dogs were adorable and funny too. It was an incredible reminder of how special this park truly is. Especially considering I love animals, history, and the artistry of nature. One of the highlights was driving through the famous narrow rock tunnels. The engineering is amazing, and the views framed through the tunnels are simply unforgettable. We also stopped at several cliffside overlooks where the panoramic views stretched as far as the eye could see. Standing there, looking out over the landscape, gave us a true appreciation for the beauty and scale of the Black Hills. Whether you're looking for incredible photography, scenic drives, wildlife viewing, or simply a peaceful escape into nature, Custer State Park delivers on every level. It's one of those places that makes you slow down, take a deep breath, and appreciate God's incredible creation. If you're visiting South Dakota, Custer State Park isn't just worth seeing--it's an experience you'll remember for a lifetime. We can't wait to return. read more

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This place should be a national park, in my opinion! Going in to it with an open mind is important--wild animals are, in fact, wild and can't be predicted or controlled! That being said, you're almost guaranteed to see SOMETHING. We were lucky enough to get stuck in a bison jam, see the burros and a number of deer and prongtails. Get up early or take a drive around dusk if you miss the wildlife during the day. It's a beautiful, diverse park. Needles highway is a must do and is so cool to see the rock formations. Starting after the wildlife loop and driving to Sylvan Lake was amazing and the lake offered a great break from the car. We wish we would have planned for more time at the lake and come prepared with swimsuits, etc! Even if just visiting for a day, I think the $25 park entrance fee is worth it. But if you have the time, plan to take your time and spend more than one day here! read more

Don't forget to pack fresh apples and carrots before hitting up CSP's wildlife loop ;) Custer SP is a beautiful must-visit. Begging burros, Sylvan Lake, Needles Hwy's narrowest tunnels, bold geese, prairie dog town. Amusing sights for all! Thought I followed all of National Treasure's instructions at Sylvan Lake. Maybe you'll have better luck unlocking that treasure cavern haha . Couldn't find anyone at the pay station entrances to ask some questions ;) + Restrooms and a few water bottle refill stations throughout the park. Thanks again Stan for the suggestion! read more

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This is an absolutely fantastic state Park! It was $25 per car, no discounts for entry, but that entrance is good for an entire week, they don't sell simple day passes, unfortunately We came here to drive the wildlife loop and we're not disappointed. We saw antelope, Buffalo, Prairie dogs, and even had the opportunity to feed the begging burrows. It wasn't super busy today either, I thought it would be on a holiday weekend so that was wonderful. Give yourself a good one to two hours as you need to drive slowly to see everything. There are a lot of baby buffaloes right now, so that was great fun read more

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We took a jeep tour through this delightful state park, which can hold its own to any of South Dakota's national parks. It was absolutely a extremely fun afternoon activity. We got to see bison and all kinds of wildlife fairly close up from inside the jeep. The park is filled with really beautiful sites - including lakes and gorgeous open air plains - and you never know what animals will make an appearance for a photo op. There were prairie dogs and antelope doing their thing as we made our way around the park. And the baby bison were so cute as they clung closely to their mothers. read more

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I had a ton of fun visiting this state park! There is lots of great nature and wild life to be seen, along with a variety of hiking trails for various fitness levels, or even just nature drives if you're not feeling a hike. My personal favorite spots were Legion Lake (both for the easy hike, and the Dockside Grill), and the Wildlife Loop (for the amazing Buffalo photo opportunities). I would definitely recommend checking out Custer! read more

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Great Park Rangers Great hiking trails for all levels Best part is getting to feed the donkeys. I always bring a bag of carrots for them.! you never know you might get your window washed or big old sloppy kiss! read more

Custer State Park - Buffalo - Parks Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

I had an amazing opportunity on our previous trip to take the whole family to see this awesome park located just a few miles away from Mount Rushmore. one of the things that really excited my family and I was the wildlife road that you could take got to see some amazing animals freely grazing right on the sides of roads. It was a great experience I was told that if you want to see even more come earlier and you will thoroughly enjoy how much our life is out and about we went about 1 o'clock and still having to enjoy the time seeing lots of wildlife This wildlife road definitely can take you about two hours to drive on so be prepared for that if you take the wildlife road After that, we continued on to see the eye of the needle and many other amazing places they had inside the park. After driving around, we stopped by the lake. They have some beautiful deck seating for you if you decide to either go in get some food and eat on the deck area outside or take it to go either way it is a great atmosphere inside the gift shop plenty of smiling faces and Nice People working in this area. Oh, I definitely think that it was a world park and every person we encountered whether it was a park range or a worker they were very nice and courteous easy to talk to and we definitely just enjoyed our time there read more

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Just an outstanding state park. We stayed at the State Park Lodge, which turned out to be a very nice place. The restaurant was OK, we had better food by driving into Custer, but it wasn't bad. The rooms are very nice. The park is outstanding. The Jeep ride along the wilderness trail is worth the money. The Needle Highway is excellent as is the Black Hills Playhouse. It's just a beautiful place. We have really enjoyed it. read more

We started off our day at Custer State Park. We began by going into the visitor center, which is an absolute MUST DO. Why? Because when you walk in there is a large scale model of the park and they mark it to show the last reported sighting of bison. The volunteers then showed us how to find that area, and they also showed us another visitor center along the way where they recommended we stop to get further updated information. The bison were located at the southern end of the park, so the beginning of our drive was just through beautiful landscape, without much wildlife at that point. We stopped as instructed at the next visitor center, and got an updated status of the bison, as well as directions on how to find them, as you needed to go off on one of the side roads. We headed off, and then as we rounded the bend on the road there they were! Hundreds of bison as far as you could see. It was absolutely amazing. You can easily pull to the side of the road and stop, and you can roll down your windows and just observe - it was incredible. Several times we were stopped along the way as they crossed the road in front of us. It was absolutely one of the highlights of our trip to South Dakota. After we finished driving through the herd, we continued our journey and ended up at the Blue Bell Lodge for lunch, which we highly recommend. From there, we drove the Needles Highway, a big portion of which in our case was done in the rain. But despite the rain, there was still lots to see, even though a lot of it for us was from inside the car, where we periodically rolled down the windows to take pictures. I would say our day at Custer State Park was absolutely the best experience we had during the entire stay in South Dakota, so I would highly, highly recommend it! read more

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Wow what an incredible place! We just got back from spending 3 days at Custer State Park and it really is a South Dakota gem. There's so much to do here, we barely scratch the surface. Needles Highway is super neat, the trails are endless, Wildlife Loop is beautiful even if you can't see the animals, the campgrounds are well maintained and the visitors centers are all so nice with great bathrooms! Every interactions with the staff at Custer was also great, super friendly and respectful. Thank you for keeping this park so beautiful! read more

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Awesome experience, it was 25$ a car and we took the wildlife loop, lots of buffalo and some pronghorn. Neat experience read more

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This is the second largest park in the country, only the Adirondacks are larger. The park is 71,000 acres. We were here 18 yrs ago staying in the rustic Sylvan Lake Lodge. Today we did the 18 mile wildlife loop road rather than needles highway. Big horn sheep, elk, mountain lions, prairie dogs, burrows, wild horses & bison inhabit the park. The rock formations look like needles. He ponderosa pines are dark & give the Black Hills their dark appearance. Pres. Calvin Coolidge made the state game lodge his summer White House. read more

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Lodging in the park is hit or miss. Stay in Custer and drive the 15-30 minutes to the sites. The bad thing the store or restaurants tend to closed without notice. read more

**June 2025: Monday Late Afternoon/Early Evening Visit** This is a beautiful park. My friend and I were visiting from California and really wanted to see some wild bison! We did some research and found that the Wildlife Loop was the route we wanted to drive. Neither of us are really hikers persay, so the drive route was perfect! We started about drive around 6pm. We knew that we needed to stay in our cars as to not disrupt the wildlife, but definitely stopped on a number of occasions to take photos/videos of all the beautiful animals. We saw praire dogs, deers, birds etc. - but no bison. We drove for about an hour or so and were about ready to leave when we saw one lone bison chomping away next to the road. We named him Maverick since he seemed like the independent type. We were both over the moon and yes we stayed in our car and appreciated him from a distance. You will never know what you'll find since these animals are all wild, but I will say that it's pretty cool to see them in their natural habitat. Definitely consider adding Custer State Park to your Midwest adventures! read more

We went around dinner time which was around 2 hours before sunset. At first we didn't see many animals and thought we timed it wrong, but then we started to see so many! The last 3rd of our drive was filled with deer, pronghorn, donkey, buffalo, birds, and prairie dogs. The donkeys were particularly fun because they came up to the car and wanted to be fed! We saw HUNDREDS of buffalo and go to see them cross the road with baby buffalo too! This is really cool. We'd definitely recommend. EDIT: we went to check out the visitor center which was very cool too. They had a nice ~20 minute movie which was well done. read more

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Custer State Park is magnificent. Recommended to us by one our managers who also enjoys visiting National Parks with his wife. My boyfriend and I set out on a mini fall road trip after Labor Day and we made sure to have Custer State Park on our list of exploration. We stopped at the visitor center to get a good idea of how to navigate the park and what hikes we want to do. We were recommended to definitely drive along the Wildlife loop Trail. We ended up traversing throughout the park pretty extensively for the time we had here. I love how well maintained this park is. There were several restrooms throughout the park and detailed signs and maps when needed. The wildlife was wonderful to see. We hiked the Black Elk Peak hike and absolutely loved it. We both love hiking but don't have as many peaks or mountains to hike where we live. Being amongst so many trees and nature in general was the much needed cleanse our bodies and minds were craving. Luckily, our cabin stay was butted up against Custer State Park so we were close enough to head there easily the next day. I loved seeing many of the leaves starting to change on the trees, the roads were smooth and easy to drive through as we continued to explore the park. We absolutely adored this park and know we will be back again someday! If you ever find yourself in South Dakota absolutely check out this State Park!! read more

This park is awesome, while driving the loop road we got to see amazing wildlife! The park is awesome inspiring. read more

We absolutely loved visiting Custer State Park. We saw bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorns, burros, birds, elk, prairie dogs, white-tailed deer, and mule deer. I learned that this state park is the 4th largest state park in the lower 48 states. We were surprised by how many animals we saw. If you drive around wildlife loop at sunrise or sunset, you will have plenty of opportunities to view all kinds of animals. Bison are my far the most common in the park. There is so much to explore in this park. It's extremely well maintained, clean, and well taken care of with plenty of wide open green spaces and prairies for the wildlife to graze in. Highly recommend visiting Custer State Park! read more

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Great visit! We did the wildlife loop and the needles road and both were fabulous. When we entered we saw a huge herd of bison crossing the road. The roads are well maintained, signage is great and the rest areas are nice. Park rangers are knowledgeable as well. read more

Custer State Park - Spires - Parks Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

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A great experience for the entire family. The landscape and wildlife are breathtaking: the buffalos are majestic in their natural habitat...you'll feel like if you had traveled in time a million years back. The wild donkeys will show you that the wild horses in the Outer Banks, NC have nothing on them. The prairie dogs will keep you entertained the whole way. They are so cute and they are everywhere. The park rangers and staff at the visitor center are awesome. Great ambassadors of nature and wildlife in this part of the country; they do a great job in educating us. One thing we learned and that I kindly ask you to consider: NOT TO FEED JUNK FOOD TO THE ANIMALS. The park rangers told us that, sadly, wild donkeys have developed type 2 diabetes as people give them Oreos to eat. Bring a bag of carrots and not cookies. It'll be healthier for your pocket, too. read more

This state park is amazing. There are gorgeous views and hikes to do alongside the Needles Highway, and if you like animals do not miss the wildlife loop. I focused on the wildlife loop this time around. The Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup had just occurred a few days ago, and so the bison cows were all in the corrals next to the Bison Center. The Bison Center was very informative about the lifecycle of the bison and how the park helps keep them at sustainable levels. There is also a small gift shop attached to the center. Even though most of the bison were in the corrals, there were still bulls wandering outside, and I saw plenty of them on the drive. I also saw a bunch of wild turkeys, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and of course the burros! Burros are feral donkeys, but they are still friendly to people. A lot of people feed them, so they are master beggars. Be sure to have some fresh vegetables on hand, or pick up hay to feed them. It helps to pull over the side of the road and get out of the car to prevent them from slobbering over your car and make sure there's room on the road to let cars pass. You can still pet them and take photos even if you don't have food. read more

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What an amazing place. This was the best part of our SD visit. From seeing all kinds of wildlife to a cool jeep tour to the Needles Highway, it was all awesome. Do not miss this on your Black Hills visit. read more

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We drove back up to Custer after visiting Wind Cave National Park. We took the 4 Mile Draw road to connect to Wildlife Loop Rd (18 miles). On the first road, we were able to see baby bison. On the loop we saw more bison and some donkeys. The donkeys will come up to the car window seeking food. We then took Iron Mountain Road (17 miles) and saw mountain goats. The road also passes through tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore in the distance. Be aware the Needles Highway isn't open until May, so we had to forgo some trails I had planned on doing. read more

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Well worth the $20 admission fee, as the pass can be used for 7 days. You can stop in the visitor center for a quick movie and to talk to the rangers about where wildlife has been spotted for the day (of course the buffalos and donkeys may move around some) before taking the wildlife loop. On the first day, we saw several antelope and one big herd of bison. We were able to find another antelope on the second day and the donkeys with their babies. Make sure you bring some carrots for the donkeys, as both you and they will enjoy the fun from that. We saw three smaller clusters of buffalo in the park and one larger herd just as we exited the park. 2024 #49 read more

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I love the park. My favorite time to drive through the park is during late spring and early summer when all the animals are having their babies. It is the cutest thing ever. The scenery is so varied and breathtaking. I could go through the park every day read more

In my travels, I have been to many, MANY state and national parks. This one is hands-down my favorite. We drove every major road in this park and saw tons of wildlife such as wild burros, bison, prairie dogs, deer, coyotes, and birds. I loved seeing them all in the wild. With the exception of the burros, don't approach a bison and don't try to feed it because you will be quickly regretting that decision. Take pictures from the safety of your car, and be ready for a bison crossing on the wildlife loop. The park is beautiful, meticulously maintained, and lovely. If I could, I'd live here. read more

Wow! There's a LOT you can do at Custer State Park. I was only able to spend about a day there, but it would be easy to spend many more. To start, buying the pass for the car was straightforward and easy (although I wish their website had give more details). Getting the most out of the park if you're not staying there does involve a bit of planning, though, since it does take a bit of time and travel to get between different areas and different entrances of the park. I chose to start at Sylvan Lake because I was planning on doing some hiking in that area. Sylvan Lake was gorgeous as a starting point, even if one of the main trails right off it was closed when I was there. I started with the Little Devils Tower trail, a strenuous trail that gets you going uphill and ends with a stretch involving scrambling and finding your way up and around some rocky areas. The view from the top it worth it! After that I kept it going and continued on the trail all the way to Black Elk Peak, the highest peak between the Rockies and Europe! It is a long trail, but with scenic views here and there from the forest. Again, when you get to the tower at the top and the view, it makes the travel worth it. Really beautiful sights from the top. My day continued with a drive along Needles Highway, curving around and through, traveling through the tunnels, and stopping at pullout spots to cherish the views. It's a unique drive that's worth the time. Finally, wildlife loop road is a must-see. This (again, winding) road takes you through a number of different ecosystems in the park with the possibility of catching some of the park's wildlife in full display. I was lucky enough come upon the bison herd and even get stopped with one crossing directly in front of my car. It was an incredibly cool environment. The Bison Center is worth a stop as well to learn a bit, and if you haven't found the herd, to get an idea where they may be. That's just the tip, with many other trails to hike, places to fish, picnic, or sight-see, it's really an amazing park. If I come back, I may need to stay at one of the resorts on property to give myself more time to explore! read more

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Absolutely beautiful State Park. Must travel 16A, Needles Highway and Fisherman's Road. read more

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This is an amazing place. I was on a boys trip through the old West traveling through South Dakota, Dakota and Wyoming. I must say that this definitely is a must do and seeing the bison walking across the roads was just breathtaking . If you haven't done, so take the time and go to the state park . There's an incredible amount of wildlife and it's just like going back in time . read more

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Absolutely beautiful. Lots of wildlife to see around the park. Bison, antelope, coyote, donkeys etc. read more

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Custer State Park is what you make of it. At 70,000 sq feet you have choices about where you go and what you see. The entrance fee is $20 per vehicle. Very reasonable considering the Badlands NATIONAL PARK is $50 per vehicle. We chose to take Needles Highway, stop at the Hole In The Wall Picnic Area. Needles Highway has awe inspiring views. Not to be driven by those who are scared of heights. Also, not to be taken if your vehicle exceeds 8 ft in width or 9 ft in height. There are 3 single lane tunnels carved through rocks. Anything larger will simply not fit. The Highway is full of switchbacks, full of u curves as it winds its way up through the needles. Hole in the Wall Picnic Area still had snow even though it was 70 degrees outside. It was melting but it was still there! read more

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Wow. I had not heard about/researched this park before arriving. We were just trying to find a lake and went to Sylvan Lake because it was in National Treasure 2. BEAUTIFUL. I'm going to talk about Sylvan lake/hiking first and then the Center lake campground. Sylvan lake is very popular and rightly so with its picturesque views. The large rocks and green grass and trees surround it. There's a tiny beach, but other areas that give access to the water. People were kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, cliff jumping, fishing. My favorite was choosing to do the Sunday Gulch trail (3.2 miles + some from walking around the lake). It is a strenuous hike, but very rewarding. I'd recommend going clockwise so that you hit the rocky narrows at the end. So so fun. Saw families out there- might be a bit tough for the younger kids, but preteens and up would enjoy. We camped at Center Lake Campground and were thankful to be able to have a fire (we came from the badlands and you aren't able to have fires in national parks). There was a pit toilet (enclosed men and women's restroom with seat) which was nice and clean. Campground was quiet and clean with large picnic table. We also found enough firewood by simply searching the area. It's a $20 entrance fee for the park and like $29 for campground, but do not hesitate to check out this park! The drive in and out are also epic with many one vehicle tunnels, views of Mt. Rushmore and surrounding hills! read more

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Went to see the tunnels and found so much more beautiful landscape. We arrived at the entrance and paid directly to a person. We paid for the South Dakota Annual pass since other locations we were going to be visiting. Pictures don't do any justice for this park. Stunning views and parking area for pulling off. We took a wrong turn on a mountain road and ended up missing part of the park and scenery. Would like to return soon to see what was missed. Several large tour busses went into the tunnels. I was worried about our small car. They must have good training, . Anyways, if you are in the area, you should see this park. Clean and scenic location. read more

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We spent a week in Custer State Park. We love it here. We were able to see bison, elk, prairie dogs, mule and white tail deer, antelope and burros. It was a great time of year to visit. It wasn't crowded. Along with all the wildlife there are very cool rock formations to see. I would highly suggest visiting this park if you are in the area! read more

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Just returned from a lovely week in Custer South Dakota. We went to the park everyday. It is a great place to see animals and some very beautiful rock formations! We love it here. This time we saw bison, elk, antelope, white tail deer and mule deer, prairie dogs and my favorite burros. The park was not crowded which was great. Lots of baby bison, they are so cute to watch. If you've never traveled here it is a must see place. You can't beat the $20 entrance fee good for 7 days. The town of Custer is great as well. read more

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Beautiful park with wildlife and incomparable scenery for a state park. Facilities are well equipped and displays are very informative. Older gentleman ranger we met at wildlife and bison centers was most kind and helpful. However, my family were unhappy with our encounter with two female employees at the visitor center who only seemed to cater to other families and skipped over us in line. Even when we tried to ask questions, they appeared reserved and biased. This was the low point to an otherwise great trip here. read more

Custer State Park remains a top stop when we visit the good Dakota, even when we're hours from the park. This year we noticed some new stops- there's a Bison Center & a new lookout on the wildlife loop road. I'm looking forward to checking those out. read more

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Beautiful area and amazing wildlife. I'm glad we got the chance to spend the day here.

6/22/2025 This place is why we come to Custer time after time. I absolutely love it. I never enter the park without apples and carrots. We got up at 5 AM to drive out and see the bison. They came stampeding down the hill to the grasses they love to eat. They were on both sides of our car in the middle of the roadway. We sat there watching for some time (really no where to go anyway). My dog sat on my lap with my window open and did not bark or even try to get to the window. A couple of the big bison came up to the back of our car and used it to scratch their face. Eventually we finished the wildlife loop without seeing the burrows. We did see deer, prairie dogs, antelope and horses and a coyote. The next day we drove back in the evening. The burros were right there. They are quite tame and know when they see the cars that they will probably be fed. They will stick their heads in the windows of the cars (takes awhile to clean up the drool..I always have a towel). I have gotten out of the car before to feed them but did not do this time because of my dog. We only saw a few bison on this trip thru but saw bighorn sheep, wild turkey, deer and the usual prairie dogs. Have never seen a big cat out there. DO NOT try to feed any animal but the burros. We didn't have a lot of traffic and that was nice. There are many times when the road is so clogged up from people watching animals that it takes a long time to get thru that area. I recommend you use the bathroom before you go and go easy on the fluids. If you don't have patience you might get frustrated. If you honk your horn you might regret it. Just sit back and enjoy. read more