Custer State Park

For our stay in the Southern Black Hills, we camped at Big Pine Campground a few miles west of Custer City. We recommend this privately owned campground with all essential services, well-arranged sites, and friendly staff that even delivers firewood to your campsite. We got up early this morning to drive the Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park. We ran into a small herd of bison early on, including babies, blocking the road. The babies are light brown. I was worried the bison might charge the motorhome but we managed to weave our way through. We saw a few prairie dog towns and also some beautiful pronghorn antelope but unfortunately none of those pictures came out. Many of the buildings in Custer State Park were built by the CCC out of stone and timber.

These are the begging burros in Custer State Park. The park neither encourages nor discourages their presence and they manage to make do with the ample grazing lands and handouts from visitors. The main visitor's center at this park was a worthwhile stop with an IMAX movie narrated by Kevin Costner that gives a good overview of the park including the annual buffalo round-up. This park isn't quite up to the standards of the national parks, but it is close, and worth getting up early for.