Years ago I read a travel article that talked about Custer State Park. The article told stories of buffalo walking right up to your car and all the wonders you could find surrounding the park. Well, some things you just have to see for yourself so plans were made to go there “some day”. Ha ha, you all know those some day places, right? I have so many “some days” on my list: Italy, Glacier National Park, the Pacific Northwest, Ireland and so much more.
Anyways, when Em & I started planning our 2011 road trip to Yellowstone (yes, this article has been a long time coming) I decided it was the prime opportunity to spend a few days at Custer State Park. Let me just say, it did not disappoint. We reserved a site well in advance of our stay and pitched our tent along a small stream at one of the many campgrounds within the park. If you don’t like to camp you can stay in one of the Custer State Park Resorts, its lodging for citified folks (kidding, just kidding, if I could have afforded it we would have stayed in the resort as well.)
Custer State Park lived up to the reputation. The bison really do walk right up to your car. Note to future travelers, have all your windows UP. The bison have been known to stick their heads into cars.
During our drive through Custer State Park we were enjoying the scenery with windows down. The van has electric windows. A bison was headed right for my window. It went something like this:
Me: Holy crap, there’s a bison headed RIGHT TOWARDS US.
{Commence using the up button for the window}
Me: COME ON, COME ON…FASTER, FASTER, FASTER, UP, UP, UP!!! {yep, I’m of the belief that if you yell in a panicked voice the window would move quicker}
{Why is it when you are in a near snout to nose situation the window mechanism moves so sloooooowly??}
Emma, in the meantime, is laughing her arse off. She thought it was the funniest thing. Me, not so much. Luckily the window closed JUST before the bison reached our car. For those of you unfamiliar with bison, they are huge, massive animals and that encounter was just a little too close for my comfort.
After that little incident we learned to keep the windows up and enjoy the view from behind glass. Not that the window would probably protect us, but there was comfort in having it up.
Custer State Park is 71,000 acres of gorgeous landscape in the heart of the Black Hills. In addition to taking a drive to visit the bison the park offers a plethora of things to do. Trail rides, chuckwagon cookouts, panning for gold, guided hikes, geocaching and fishing are just a few of the activities you can participate in.
If you are interested in watching an honest to goodness Buffalo Round-up the park offers one each fall. You can watch cowboys and cowgirls roundup and drive the herd of approximately 1,300 buffalo. This event sells out fast!! If you want to attend in 2013 I suggest making reservations now.
Find more information about visiting the area at South Dakota Tourism.
Cheers,
