Day 5: August 9, 2016
Both before and after we went to Wind Cave, we made our way through Custer State Park. Custer State Park was basically right on the way, since you have to drive through the park in order to get to Wind Cave. So, just for the sake of full-disclosure, this post covers multiple times that we were in the park; early morning, mid-day and evening too. It doesn’t matter for the sake of the post, but just know that you are more likely to see some of these animals if you go early, or at the end of the day.
Me – Sign Posing
Custer State Park is a huge park, with lots to offer. It has camping, lakes, scenic drives, and when we headed to Wind Cave, we took a little time before to check out part of the Wildlife Loop since it was early morning, and we hoped to see wildlife! We weren’t disappointed!
Right after entering the Wildlife Loop, we saw pronghorn! A small herd of them! They were just hanging out, and there were young ones along with the herd. I loved seeing them. We took some photos – even one with a peeing pronghorn! I can’t help it – animals doing more than just standing there is fascinating to me – yep, that’s me… I am weird. Historic toilets – peeing animals…
Pronghorn
Even better – peeing pronghorn!
After watching the pronghorn, we found a prairie dog town. They were quite active then, scampering around and eating grass. They were darker in color than some of the other prairie dogs – I liked seeing the color variation.
Custer State Park’s prairie dogs had darker fur. I am becoming quite the prairie dog connoisseur.
We saw wild turkeys too! There were about a half dozen turkeys roaming around in a few different places in the park.
Wild Turkeys!
As we continued on the way to Wind Cave, we saw a couple of deer, more pronghorn, and then we saw a coyote too! Even though I see coyotes at home from time to time, even in my own neighborhood, it was a treat to see one out in the wild.
An early morning coyote sighting
After Wind Cave, which I posted about here, we headed back out into Custer State Park, and decided to do one of the scenic drives – the Needles Highway. The highway is a crazy, windy road, with a ton of switchbacks and several one lane tunnels. They had people who directed traffic through the tunnels, allowing travel in one direction and then the other. The whole highway made my mom nervous, but I enjoyed it! I would have like to stop at some of the viewpoints, but there were so many Sturgis bikers on the road that it would have been difficult to pull over easily.
One of the tiny tunnels on the Needles Highway
Later in the day, we headed back into the park and traveled on the part of the Wildlife Loop that we hadn’t seen before. We found bison, lots and lots of bison. Custer State Park has about 1,500 bison at the peak each year; they manage the herd through round ups and sales. We watched them for a while; I never got tired of them.
A bit further on, we found the other famous animals of the park – feral donkeys! There was a group of them hanging out right in the parking lot, begging for carrots from the tourists, despite all the signs that say you shouldn’t feed them. Apparently they are known as the Begging Burros, and there are about 50 donkeys in the park. There was another group of donkeys that kept their distance, and it was fun to watch them playing out in the field and being more wild. I think the donkeys were my favorite of the animals we saw in the park – well, if you don’t count the peeing pronghorn… Nope – I’m still going with the donkeys as the favorites…
We didn’t do any of the other recreational activities that Custer State Park has to offer, but it would certainly be a great place to camp, and spend some time. It was a worthwhile park!
A bison just hanging on the road in the evening.
Wine and History Visited 
Wow! I’ve been to Custer State Park, but I don’t remember seeing nearly that much wildlife. I do remember the Needles though…we watched a tour bus go through that tunnel with about 2″ to spare on either side of his mirrors!
Great photos!
Thank you! I had to be selective – I had so many great photos there!
I can’t even imagine a tour bus. Now that would make me nervous…
great photos!
Thank you!
You had me laugh a couple times with the peeing pronghorns and the comment on being a prairie dog connoisseur. But seriously, wonderful wildlife photos. Looks like a fantastic visit.
It was a very cool park! And yes, I am a dork. I fully admit it and embrace my dorkiness. You may as well just go “all in” right?! I am glad you enjoyed the photos!
😊 more pictures of prairie dogs from the prairie dog connoisseur most welcome! 😊
I am glad someone else appreciates these furry cuties with me!
I do – I think they are just so adorable. 😍
Camp there if you can! Having bison walk near/through camp in the morning was an amazing sight to behold. Magical!!!
I would like to get back there and camp. What an amazing experience that would be! The one bison we saw at night in the fog, standing in the middle of the road, was an absolutely surreal experience – once I got past the terror of almost hitting him!