September 6-13, 2021

CUSTER STATE PARK

13438 US Highway 16A, Custer, SD 57730

“Custer State Park is a South Dakota State Park and wildlife reserve in the Black Hills, United States. The park is South Dakota's largest and first state park, named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer.” - Wikipedia

Custer State Park has almost everything I want in a destination. From prairie grasslands to forested hills to incredible rock formations, the vistas are all breath-taking. The park has several beautiful lakes, and many, many hiking trails. Wildlife is abundant. The park is known for its huge bison herd, but I was more enamored with the pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats. Of course, mule and white-tailed deer are ever-present, especially at dusk and dawn. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see any elk, even while with a friend who was bugling for them one evening. I also missed seeing the wild burros who call the park home.

There are three different scenic drives in the park. The Needles Highway is a curvy, narrow, 14+-mile road that takes one through meadows, pine and spruce forests, and along rugged granite mountains. Named for the needlelike granite formations, the road passes through two one-lane tunnels of rock, that I didn’t think my truck would fit through, but it did. As I was waiting for traffic to clear so I could go through the Needle Eye Tunnel a mountain goal ewe and its kid entertained by climbing what appeared almost straight up the rock about 20 yards in front of me. The other drive is the Iron Mountain Road, a slightly wider highway, still very curvy, taking travelers from Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore. Along the road there are three one-lane tunnels, each giving unique views of Mount Rushmore as you pass through. Amazing! The last drive is the Wildlife Loop through the park, and while I only saw pronghorn and bison along the way, I’m sure at different times of the year the sightings would be spectacular.

As I’ve been traveling I’ve been thinking about where I might like to settle down when I (or if) finish traveling. The Custer, SD, area of the Black Hills will be near the top of my list for making a summer home.