Custer State Park

Fri May 26, 2017
When our camp host suggested we go to Custer State Park we did not pay much attention since all he talked about was the bison there and we had seen plenty of bison in Yellowstone and T Roosevelt NP. We were planning to go to Badlands National Park today but decided we did not want to drive that far so decided to just drive around the Black Hills instead. Custer State Park was close so we started there thinking the 18 mile scenic loop would not take long.  It started out like a typical state park with some hills and trees and lakes and I am thinking, "Ok, not bad, but probably not worth the $20 admission."

Then we started climbing in the bigger hills with some nice views.

Great Plains can be seen in the distance

 Saw a few wild flowers and wild turkeys.

 Then we came to some open grasslands, where there were lots of bison, some antelope, some burros, and lots of prairie dogs.

 Then we started back into the mountains and started noticing all these interesting rock formations in
an area called the Needles.

Yoda enjoys the view he does

 Soon we were actually driving through them.

Notice the road going into the rock

Lots of rock stacks that looked like they could fall at any time.

A climber on the formation pictured above and below

There are several one lane tunnels we had to drive through.

A varmint called a marmot

 This was also one of the narrowest, crookedest roads I have ever driven. As we left the Needles we came to Sylvan Lake, a small lake on top of the mountain.

Behind the rock slabs on the right is a steep mountain valley.

So our short drive ended up taking us 4 1/2 hours. By the time we finished it gotten very cloudy and cold so we headed back down the mountain to get some lunch.  After lunch it was raining so we headed back to camp. So if  you find yourself in the Black Hills of South Dakota Custer State Park is worth a stop.