Custer State Park, Part 1

Explore South Dakota’s fantastic gem of a park, one of the best state parks in the country. 

Somehow South Dakota has pretty, and I don’t understand it. There are little pieces of gorgeousness surrounded by miles and miles of boring cattle ranches. Custer State Park is one of those gorgeous places. I’m surprised it wasn’t turned into a national park decades ago.

Custer has prairies, Ponderosa Pine forests, needlelike mountains, valleys and lakes. Did I mention it’s gorgeous? Plus, there are bison, cute little chonky prairie dogs, bighorn sheep, pronghorns, etc. So much to see in this lovely park.

The Black Hills are famous for Custer State Park and, of course, Mount Rushmore. I visited Mount Rushmore on my way from North Dakota to Custer. It was a really quick visit, and I really don’t feel like writing about it, so let’s skip ahead to Custer. This will be two-parter. It’s hard to fit this amazing park into one post.

bighorn sheep. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

A herd of bighorn sheep decided to show themselves on my way back to Wind Cave National Park for a hike. I had visited that park the day before, which is only a short distance from Custer. I was currently heading to hike another trail. Later to return to Custer.

Custer has a huge Wildlife Loop on the southern portion of the park, which goes through some of the prairies of the park. Several trails are accessible in this area.

wildlife loop. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

It was a bit of a rainy day.

chonky black-tailed prairie dog. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

It didn’t take me long to find this chonky cutie. My prairie dog fascination continues.

Prairie Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

The first trail I hiked in Custer was the Prairie Trail. It crosses some prairie and some woods and was quite a nice 3-mile hike. Autumn has defiantly reached South Dakota.

Prairie Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

It’s a bit of a rocky prairie. The trail crosses a bit of a ridge, resulting in some good views.

prairie dog town. Prairie Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

A prairie dog town from above. I actually resisted visiting this one somehow.

Prairie Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

More fall colors.

Prairie Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

More gorgeous views.

Prairie Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

You can just make out the scenic drive between the trees.

Prairie Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Gorgeous even on a cloudy, rainy day.

Prairie Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

More color towards the end of the trail.

bison. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Back on the Wildlife Loop. Custer has a couple large bison herds. They like to hang out in this prairie a lot.

feral donkeys. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

The park also has a bunch of feral donkeys. They like to hang out by the overlooks where the bison hang out. That’s so people feed them. Don’t do that. I will return again to the Wildlife Loop.

The next trail was the Lovers Leap Trail. The way up was boring, but I really enjoyed the way back. It’s a bit strenuous going up but the rest of the trail was fine.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Just a normal Ponderosa Pine forest on the way up.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Cloudy day views from the top.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

At the very top is a rocky outcrop with gorgeous views.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

The Black Hills are quickly replaced by prairies.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

The trail descends into a little, pretty hollow, complete with a stream. The boards are for easier stream crossings, but they also were surrounded by poison ivy. I’m currently immune to poison ivy and I want to keep it that way, so I tended to avoid the boards.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

The poison ivy (the red or yellow leaves near the ground) did make the trails a bit prettier.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

All the hallows and stream areas of the Black Hills are full of poison ivy.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Poison ivy should not be allowed to be this pretty. It sure is a lot easier to spot it when autumn rolls around.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Pretty, poison ivy lined stream.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Heading back into the Ponderosa Pine forest for a bit.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Pretty, non-poison ivy leaves.

Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

I love aspens.

bison. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

I drove back through the Wildlife Loop the next day after visiting the Needles area (next post). The bison were a lot closer this time.

bison. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Look at this little baby! So cute!

bison. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Time to eat.

Stockade Lake. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Stockade Lake. I stayed in one of the nearby campgrounds. I stayed in an electric hookup loop, so I wouldn’t have to listen to generators. It just happened to have cell service. Happy coincidence.

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

The last trail I hiked was the Grace Coolidge Trail, named for the former first lady. The Coolidge family vacationed in the area. It’s a popular trail to go fishing on. I liked it because it was a nice, easy fairly flat trail.

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

The stream didn’t help me like this trail at all. */s

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

I did about half the trail. There are many stream crossings but there are board-bridges for the most part.

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Very pretty.

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

There wasn’t as much poison ivy to avoid on this trail.

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Fishing holes were created by putting in small dams across the stream.

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Another fishing hole.

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Cliffs are on both sides of the trail.

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

A few reflections.

Grace Coolidge Trail. Custer State Park, South Dakota. Jana Irving

Some of those fishing holes are bigger than others. A very pretty trail.

Custer is a great park. Tons of trails and tons of views. More views to come on the Needles Highway.

 

Check out my next update where I explore Custer’s Needles Highway!

or

Start at the beginning of this northwest Midwest road trip!

 

About Wandering Jana

Traveling the world to discover the past.
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