Custer State Park

One of the biggest and nicest state parks in the country is Custer State Park. It's extremely possible that you'll be halted by herds of bison crossing the road on Custer's 18-mile, one-way wildlife loop through undulating hills and meadows. In Custer State Park, you can see burros, prairie dogs, elk, pronghorn, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and 1,500 bison. More Bison live there than everywhere else in the nation.

Two exceptionally beautiful highways have entrances within the park's boundaries. One is Needles Highway, and the other is Iron Mountain Road (see our Iron Mountain Road time-lapse). Both involve thrilling drives with hairpin corners, tunnels, and stunning vistas of the Black Hills. Black Elk Peak and Cathedral Spires are the most highly regarded hiking routes. The latter is a magnificent 3-mile roundtrip easy to an intermediate hiking trail that passes through gorgeous forest and leads to granite rock formations that resemble needles. On Needles Highway, right at a hairpin bend, is where the trailhead to Cathedral Spires may be found.

Address: 13438 US Highway 16A, Custer, South Dakota
Official site: https://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/parks-monuments/custer-state-park
Phone: +1 605-255-4515
Entrance fee: 20$
Google rating: 4.8/5.0