Custer

Custer is best known as the gateway to Custer State Park, one of the largest and most popular state parks in the United States. The park is famous for its scenic drives, granite peaks, and free roaming wildlife like bison, pronghorn, and wild burros.

The town is also close to major Black Hills attractions like Crazy Horse Memorial, Mount Rushmore, and Jewel Cave National Monument, making it a central base for exploring the area.

Staying in Custer puts you closer to South Dakota's biggest attractions — Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, and Wind Cave National Park — and closer to trails, local dining, and outdoor adventure. Crazy Horse Memorial is just four miles away, and you're within easy driving distance of Jewel Cave, Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake, and the Wildlife Loop Road. Unlike Keystone or Rapid City, Custer has a genuine small-town feel while still sitting in the absolute geographic heart of the Black Hills.

Encompassing 71,000 acres in the Black Hills, Custer State Park is home to abundant wildlife and adventure — camping, hiking, biking, swimming, fishing, and more. It deserves far more time than most visitors give it. You simply can't see all of Custer State Park in a couple of hours, a morning, or an afternoon. You need to allow a full day or break it up into several days. The highlights are three scenic drives, Sylvan Lake, the Wildlife Loop Road, and the hike up Black Elk Peak.

An entrance license costs $20 per vehicle and is good for up to 7 days. Once inside, all attractions, roadways, and trails are free.

Custer State Park is known for its wildlife, especially its large bison herd of around 1,300 animals.

You can also commonly see:
• Pronghorn antelope
• Mule deer and white tailed deer
• Elk
• Wild burros
• Bighorn sheep

Wildlife is most active in the early morning and evening, and animals roam freely, so sightings are never guaranteed but are very common.

While we can't make any guarantees, the chances are very good. This 18-mile loop winds through prime grazing prairies, bringing you face-to-face with the park's hoofed residents: antelope, elk, deer, and buffalo. The best time to visit is either sunset or sunrise, since wildlife is most active at dusk and dawn.

Allow one to two hours for the drive, depending on buffalo traffic. The loop is also famous for its free-roaming burros — descendants of pack animals used in the old tourist days — that will happily poke their heads into your car window in search of a treat.

Needles Highway is a 14-mile National Scenic Byway that includes hairpin turns, narrow tunnels, and world-class views of the massive granite pinnacles called "Needles", pointed rock formations found in the shape of pillars, towers, and spires. It's one of the most dramatic drives in the Black Hills and well worth the detour. However, the tunnels are tight. Vehicles longer than 12 feet or wider than 8 feet won't fit through them, so RVs, large trucks, and trailers should skip this route. Needles Highway is only open April through October, as driving conditions become hazardous in winter.

Custer is about 20 miles from Mount Rushmore, which is roughly a 30 to 40 minute drive depending on the route.

Many visitors take scenic drives like Iron Mountain Road, which includes tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore in the distance. The drive itself is part of the experience and one of the highlights of visiting the Black Hills.