Custer State Park in southwestern South Dakota offers excellent wildlife viewing opportunities. The park is home to a herd of bison that can number up to 1,450 animals. Each fall they hold a Buffalo Roundup. In the spring baby bison and females can be viewed in nursery herds and males are spread out in small groups or alone. By mid summer the mating season rut heats up with the large males rejoining the nursery herd and fighting for breeding rights.
The bison herd at Custer State Park
A nursery herd is comprised of mothers and their young
Baby bison at a water hole
A lone male bison in the spring
We just spent spent several days visiting the park and region in early June. We were staying at the Broken Arrow Horse Camp and RV Park, which affords quick access to Custer State Park. During our visit, in addition to bison, we saw: mule and white-tailed deer, elk, pronghorn, mountain goats, turkey, coyotes, prairie dogs, burros. We did not spot any bighorn sheep or mountain lions, but both can be found in the park. The best time to view wildlife is early morning and evening hours. Some animals were viewed during hiking including bison, prairie dogs, deer, elk and birds.
Prairie dogs are numerous in the region
The Wildlife Loop Road is a good starting point. From here bison and antelope are readily seen. Prairie Dogs can be spotted along the end near the Blue Bell Entrance station. We also enjoy driving on the non paved (gravel) roads: Fisherman Flats, Swint, North Lame Johnny and Oak Draw Roads. If you aren’t spotting the bison herd from the main road, they may be tucked back in one of these valleys. We also saw pronghorn and deer from these less traveled routes.
Pronghorn (sometimes referred to as antelope) can be found along the Wildlife Loop
We spotted the burros along the Wildlife Loop Road past the corrals and near Lame Johnny Road. Burros are not native to the region. These burros are descendants of animals brought here to work as pack animals.
A burro along the Wildlife Loop
The burros will often come to visit the tourists but are still wild animals
We saw two mountain goats along the Needles Highway near the Needles Eye Tunnel. They were licking minerals from the rocks near the tunnel entrance. They can also be found among the rocky granite crags of the Needles Highway. This is also a good area to look for bighorn sheep.
We saw 2 mountain goats along the Needles Highway
Coyotes can be spotted near prairie dog towns. Turkeys can be spotted throughout the park and Meadowlarks are found throughout the open grasslands.
A coyote we spotted near a prairie dog colony
We spotted a mother turkey and her chicks along the road
A western Meadowlark
Custer State Park is an excellent wildlife viewing destination for the beginner or seasoned veteran. As a bonus, it is far less crowded than some other popular hot spots such as Yellowstone National Park.
