Custer State Park is one of the coolest state parks in the US. It is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota and is known for its abundance of wildlife (e.g. bison, donkeys and prairie dogs!), outdoor recreation activities and scenic drives. Custer State Park is also pretty close to other attractions in the Black Hills such as Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Spearfish (check out my blog about the 3 Waterfalls You Need to See in Spearfish here!) and Deadwood so it makes a great road trip spot. If you are making a stop at Custer State Park, here are 8 awesome experiences for you!
1. Watch the Bison Roam
One of the top things to do in Custer State Park is to drive the Wildlife Loop. The Wildlife Loop is an 18 mile long route that stretches from the Visitor Center near the East Entrance to the Blue Bell Entrance (driving east to west). Custer State Park is home to many species of wildlife and the Wildlife Loop is the best place to spot some wildlife!
One animal you may see while driving the Wildlife Loop is bison! Custer State Park has a free roaming herd of almost 1,400 bison (which is one of the largest publicly owned bison herds in the world). On my trip, I lucked out and saw a large number of this herd pass right in front of my car. I saw the bison herd shortly after passing the Wildlife Station Visitor’s Center and have heard that the bison are often seen near this visitor’s center. When I came upon the herd, they were roaming on the prairie to my right. I pulled over to watch and within a few minutes, the entire herd passed right in front of my car and continued down the prairie to my left. It was such a cool experience!
2. Feed the “Begging Burros”
In addition to the bison, you will likely also encounter the “Begging Burros” on a drive through the Wildlife Loop. The Begging Burros are a group of wild donkeys who roam the park looking for food from park visitors. They are called the “begging” burros because they come right up to park visitors to “beg” for food. The Begging Burros are unique because they are one of the few wild animals that are safe to interact with. I was a little nervous to approach them at first, but after watching lots of other visitors (including children) feeding and petting them, I felt more comfortable. I found the Burros to be super friendly and they are so gentle when they take food from your hand. Don’t forget to bring healthy snacks like carrots or apples with you if you want to feed the Burros!
3. See a Prairie Dog Town
Another unique animal you may encounter along the Wildlife Loop is the prairie dog. Prairie dogs live in in colonies called “towns.” Prairie dogs are digging animals and their “towns” are comprised of systems of underground tunnels. You will be able to tell you are approaching a prairie dog town because you will see hundreds of circular dirt mounds in the prairie where the prairie dogs dug their tunnels. You will often see the prairie dogs pop their heads up out of the holes, but if you get too close they will go back down the tunnels. When I made it to the prairie dog town, they were mostly inside their tunnels, but I did see a few pop out!
4. Admire the Views from the Mt. Coolidge Lookout & Fire Tower
Shortly after exiting the Wildlife Loop, you will see signs for the Mt. Coolidge Lookout and Fire Tower Overlook. The drive to the overlook is a few miles on a winding road that is unpaved and has very few guard rails. The road is very narrow and can’t accommodate large vehicles, RVs, buses, etc. The drive to the top is honestly a bit scary. However, when you get to the top you will see the drive is worth it. The overlook is atop a 6,000+ ft. peak and offers amazing 360 views of the Black Hills!
5. Ride Along the Needles Highway
Needles Highway is a great scenic drive in Custer State Park. The highway is approximately 14 miles of winding, slow-paced roads through the tree covered mountains. There are many scenic pull-offs where you can stop along the highway and get great pictures of the interesting rock formations. The Needles Highway was named for the needle-shaped rocks that line several areas of the route. There are two stops that you need to make along the Needles Highway and they are the Needles Eye Tunnel and the Cathedral Spires.
The Needles Eye Tunnel is one of the most iconic and well-known sites in Custer State Park. It is a very narrow tunnel that passes through the unique rock formations. The tunnel can only accommodate one car at a time so you have to take turns with the cars coming from the other direction and wait your turn to pass through. The Cathedral Spires are beautiful and interesting rock formations. They are a National Natural Landmark and served as inspiration for Mt. Rushmore. If you are driving the Needles Highway from south to north, you will encounter the Cathedral Spires about one mile before the Needles Eye Tunnel.
6. Check out a National Treasure Filming Location
One of the most popular sites in Custer State Park is Sylvan Lake. Sylvan Lake is a really gorgeous lake that is surrounded by staggering rock formations. Sylvan Lake may look familiar as it was featured in National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Specifically, Sylvan Lake can be seen in the scene where Nicolas Cage finds the secret entrance to the underground cave that houses the city of gold.
At Sylvan Lake, there are opportunities for hiking, swimming, kayaking and more wildlife sightings. While there, I would definitely recommend checking out Sylvan Lake Shore Trail, which is a easy 1.1 mile loop around the circumference of the lake with awesome views of the rock formations. The trail is dog friendly and accessible for most. If you are looking for a more strenuous hike in Custer State Park, check out Trail #9. This is a 7 mile long loop that begins near the Sylvan Lake Shore Trail and ascends to Black Elk Peak, which is the highest point in the US east of the Rocky Mountains.
7. Get a Glimpse of Mt. Rushmore through the Doane Robinson Tunnel
Another scenic drive in Custer State Park is Iron Mountain Road. This route is very similar to the Needles Highway and is comprised of low speed, winding roads that pass through the tree covered mountains. Additionally, this route also has a narrow tunnel that you must pass through to proceed along the road. This tunnel is similar to the Needles Eye Tunnel in that it can only accommodate one vehicle at a time. However, this tunnel is unique because if you look through the tunnel from the south end (looking south to north), you can get a glimpse of Mt Rushmore through the tunnel! This tunnel is appropriately named the Doane Robinson Tunnel after the man who came up with the idea of Mt. Rushmore.
Note: You can see Mt. Rushmore by looking through the Doane Robinson Tunnel from the south end. However, this does not necessarily mean you need to drive the route from south to north to get this view. There is a small parking lot pull-off on the south end of the tunnel so if you are driving the route from north to south, you can stop at this parking lot and then exit your vehicle to get the view from the south end.
8. See George Washington’s Profile
One way to drive from the Needles Highway to Iron Mountain Road is via Route 244. If you are driving along Route 244, you will see signs for a pull-off where you can see the profile of George Washington on Mt. Rushmore. This is just a quick stop, but is definitely a good stop to get some unique pictures of Mt. Rushmore. Disclaimer: this stop is not technically within the boundaries of Custer State Park. However, I came across this site when driving along Route 244 from the Needles Highway to Iron Mountain Road (which are major stops in Custer State Park). Therefore, I included this stop in the list because you could easily add this stop to your Custer State Park itinerary.
More Custer State Park Tips & Info:
- The entrance fee for Custer State Park is $20/vehicle for one week.
- Make sure to keep a safe distance between yourself and the wildlife and do not approach the wildlife. The only exception to this is the Begging Burros as they are very friendly and approachable.
- Don’t forget to bring healthy snacks like carrots or apples if you want to feed the Begging Burros.
- If you are bringing a larger vehicle to Custer State Park, double check that your vehicle will fit on the routes you want to take (e.g. Needles Eye Tunnel, road to Mt Coolidge Lookout, etc).
- When I visited Custer State Park, I entered through the east end. My route essentially followed the list above. However, there are so many different routes you can take based on the direction you are coming from. Check out the map below from the Custer State Park website. This map was really helpful when planning the best route for my trip. The route I used is as follows:
- Entered the park through the East Entrance
- Drove the Wildlife Loop stopping to see the bison herd, Begging Burros and prairie dogs
- Stopped at the Mt Coolidge Lookout
- Drove along the Needles Highway from south to north stopping at the Needles Eye Tunnel and Cathedral Spires
- Stopped at Sylvan Lake and walked the Sylvan Lake Shore Trail
- Drove from Needles Highway to Iron Mountain Road via Rt 244 and stopped to see George Washington’s profile
- Drove Iron Mountain Road from north to south. When I reached Doane Robinson Tunnel, I pulled off at the parking area on the south end so I could take pictures of Mt. Rushmore through the tunnel
- Exited the park back out the East Entrance
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