Visiting South Dakota

PW Industries

January 8, 2026

Driving through South Dakota east to west was a wonderful experience. The scenery changes dramatically as you move across the state. From the eastern Central Lowlands to the western Great Plains to the Black Hills in the southwestern part of the state, South Dakota is really a traveler’s paradise. I guess that’s why some call it the ‘Land of Infinite Variety.’

There are so many areas to explore across the state, but I was really blown away when I first saw the Black Hills. The dramatic change to the geography is an amazing sight and a stunning contrast to the plains. It’s almost like you entered another world, the dark evergreen hills and lush landscape is wonderful to see the first time, a view you won’t soon forget.

There are 2 national parks in SD, Badlands NP and Wind Cave NP. Additionally, there are several other areas managed by the National Park service, Mt. Rushmore (National Memorial), Jewel Cave (National Monument) and The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

As I was planning my visit to South Dakota, I decided to spend several days in the Black Hills and camp at Custer State Park. The park seemed like a good place to set up a base camp while I explored the area.

Custer State Park is the largest state park and is best known for its roaming herd of bison along with its stunning rolling hills and views. It’s also home to the Bison Center, an educational facility that tells the history of the bison herd in the park through interpretive displays.

The park’s bison herd numbers about 1,400 and is managed by the park service and volunteers. Each year in September the park holds a ‘Round Up’ where they move the entire herd to the southern part of the park into holding pens. They do this to manage the size of the herd and to tag new additions to the herd and medically check them out. Depending on the herd size, a number of the herd will be auctioned off several weeks later. This helps ensure the herd isn’t too big to be managed properly and to make sure the environment can provide for the herd.

The park has a Wildlife Loop Road around the park where you can take a drive around the park and get a good view of all the wildlife. The loop is 18 miles around and takes about 1.5 hours to complete. There is a ‘side loop’ that will add an additional 12 miles to your drive.

Along the Wildlife Loop besides the bison, you are likely to see burros, pronghorn, prairie dogs, mountain goats, elk and many other beautiful animals roaming the hills. Although they are beautiful, remember some can be dangerous and it’s best to view them from a distance!

There are 9 campgrounds in the park offering a variety of services, from dry camping to sites with electric hookups. Potable water is available at most of the campgrounds as are toilets. Some of the campgrounds also have cabins available. There are also 4 lodges in the park with restaurants and other amenities.

Custer State Park is located close to Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. On your way to Mt Rushmore (25 miles) you will go by the Crazy Horse Memorial just 13 miles away. You can make an enjoyable day trip to visit both of these unique places.