Custer State Park

Pros: Great wildlife viewing, spectacular mountainous scenery, granite outcrops, lots to do in area.
Cons: Nothing really.

Custer State Park is one of my favorite state parks in the country. There’s so much to see here, it could easily be a national park. The wildlife, which includes herds of bison and elk, is almost Yellowstone-like. It has prairie, pine forest, and ...

Pros: The wildlife is amazing
Cons: Long drive before one could actually find the wildlife, but it IS a wild game park

Custer State Park was not really on my family's itinerary for our summer vacation, but since we were in the vicinity (we had gone to the Badlands and Mount Rushmore) we decided to drive through.

I guess I should tell you that my family was...

Pros: Awesome rock formations and nice lakes
Cons: Narrow and twisty roads

My family and I visited Custer State Park in July on our way home from a cross country trip. The first day we hiked to the top of Little Devils Tower. From the top we got sweeping views of Custer, which included Mt. Harney Peak EL. 7242 feet, which is ...

Pros: Buffalo and other wildlife
Cons: none

I've seen buffalo in enclosures in Kansas City and Denver. And I've seen wild buffalo in Yellowstone. But Custer State Park has the best buffalo watching in the world!

Custer has huge herd(s) of buffalo that are usually close to the road....

Pros: beautiful scenery, packed with wildlife
Cons: can be crowded the first part of August

Living in Rapid City, South Dakota, my family and I are just up the road from this wonderful family vacation spot. We visit several times throughout the year.

Custer State Park offers vacation items for everyone in the family -- from fishing...

Pros: The scenery the wildlife, the peacefulness.
Cons: Sometimes the tourists.

Having lived in Custer, I found Custer State Park to be a wonderful park. It is located in the Black Hills of western South Dakota. The hills are called the Black Hills because from a distance the dark green of the trees on the hills looks black. At...

Pros: You will see wild animals every day. Beautiful rocky scenery.
Cons: The lake is too cold to swim in.

Half the reason we had such a great time here is that we stayed right in the park at the Sylvan Lake Lodge. It's a real classic mountain lodge with a lobby decorated with stuffed animals. The restaurant in the Lodge is excellent and serves some very interesting game dishes. Four of us stayed in one room but the room was quite large, so we didn't feel cramped. They don't have a pool but it is right on a lake. The lake was too cold to swim in the week we were there (the last week in August).

We spent five days exploring the park on foot and in a small SUV. The small SUV turned out to be perfect because it fit through the narrow tunnels on some of the roads and handled the gravel roads easily. We saw thousands of buffalos, big horn sheep, mountain goats and wild burros. We also went on a couple of very nice day hikes. My son and I climbed Mt Harney near our hotel. It was the first mountain he ever climbed. I thought it was a perfect introduction to hiking.

Pros: Love the donkeys and the scenery.
Cons: If I had any con, it would be the lack of restrooms at the time.

I have been to Custer State Park several times and never get tired of it. The scenery and the drive are absolutely beautiful. I have to admit, my favorite part is being able to feed the donkeys carrots. They are so lovable.