How to See Custer State Park in 1 Day
How Do I See Custer State Park in 1 Day?
With so many awe-inspiring features like Black Elk Peak, Sylvan Lake, Cathedral Spires, and more we were super excited to explore Custer State Park. But how do we see Custer State Park in 1 Day?
As first-time visitors to the Black Hills of South Dakota, we knew our time was limited in all the parks we wanted to see. This area is blessed with tons of “must-see” places and parks. We recognized early that we had tough choices about what to see and how long to stay. Custer State Park is huge! Visiting the park in one day requires planning.
Let’s Start Planning our Custer State Park Vacation
We talked about in our post “How to Plan an RV Trip Across America” we began planning our trip in the late summer of 2022. Starting early provided us a big head start on finding the “must-see” places and resources to use to plan the best route.
Custer State Park is open 24 hours so you can definitely get an early start to welcome a new day’s sunrise or stay late and catch a gorgeous sunset. We’re definitely early birds, although the kids might argue with who exactly is in the “we”, and were ready to see the early morning sun. On our visit, the sky was super cloudy, foggy, and visibility was very low.
Weather in the Black Hills can be unpredictable so be prepared.
- In the winter expect cold and snow with low temperatures dropping into the low double digits.
- But, Chinook Winds can blow in and warm the temperature up 50 or more degrees in a day. Talk about a wild swing!
- Springtime temps climb into the 60’s and lead to the 80’s and above in the summer months. When the sun goes down the air cools in a hurry. We found sweatshirts to be a nice addition to our suitcases.
- Fall temperatures begin moderating back toward Spring-like temperatures before giving way to the cold of winter.
How to Get Around in Custer State Park?
Custer State Park is huge! At 71,000 acres, it’s one of the largest state parks in the country. So, transportation is vital to enjoying the park to the maximum!
Visitors need a vehicle pass to gain access to the park. Technically, I imagine you could drive Needles Highway without a pass, but if you want to park you need the pass. You’ll need a pass to access the heart of the Wilderness Loop road. A 7-day pass costs $20 and an annual pass is only $16 more.
We arrived really early and were happy the park upgraded to modern technology to print access passes on demand. You can even pay with a credit card!
What’s it Like to Drive on The Needles Highway?
First, don’t get crazy ideas this is a super highway with breakneck speeds! Needles Highway was designed by Peter Norbeck hand selecting the route. He cut the trail on horseback to highlight the natural beauty and wonders of Custer State Park.
Be aware that Needles Highway has vehicle restrictions on width, length, and height. The smallest opening is 8 feet 9 inches wide by 10 feet 10 inches tall! Measure twice or get stuck once!
Check on the Custer State Park site for any updates!
What needs to be on my Packing List for Custer State Park?
Layers, layers, layers and more layers. Did I mention layers are important?
On the day we visited the weather was overcast and cool when we started our hike. As we approached the pinnacle of Black Elk Peak, we stepped into a wind tunnel. And the temperature felt at least 10 degrees colder!
By lunchtime the sun was out and the air temperature was warming up! Stripping down (get your mind out of the gutter!) to shorts and short sleeves made a world of difference for our after-lunch adventures.
Layers are really important to help you stay comfortable during your visit to Custer State Park.
Some other helpful items to pack include:
- Sunscreen
- Bug spray
- Water
- Snacks
- Lunch
- Binoculars (to spot animals on the Wilderness Loop or elsewhere in the park)
Here’s How We Planned our Day
Plan to arrive early and maximize your day in Custer State Park.
Pro Tip: Arriving between 7:30 and 8 AM gives you a huge head start on the crowds which typically don’t arrive until after 9 AM and sometimes closer to 10 AM. As a bonus, the sun is up at 5 AM so, if you’re more of a “soar with the eagles” kind of family, you’re in luck.
Arriving early you have a couple of cool choices:
-
Take a drive (auto hiking) on the Wildlife Loop Road. Wildlife typically like the cooler temperatures in the morning are more active. We visited late, the weather was hot, and we hit a dry hole in the animal spotting department.
-
How long is the Wildlife Loop Road? 18 miles and it will take you 1.5 to 2 hours so plan accordingly. Remember that’s just your time on the Wildlife Loop. So, plan additional time to get to the entrance and then to your next destination. Since we failed to see any wildlife, the drive took us about 45 minutes. At least the drive offered fantastic views!
-
Take a hike! Early morning hikes offer fantastic benefits. First, you start the day with a little exercise to get the blood moving. Second, the temperatures are a little cooler. Third, crowds are usually small and you have the trail largely to yourself!
-
What scenic drives are there in Custer State Park?
Check out the Needles Highway! Peter Norbeck, former governor of South Dakota, designed this road to take visitors through the park and highlight the best features of Custer State Park. This 14-mile stretch takes visitors through the park’s pine forest and meadows and through the rock formations of the granite mountains.
Tunnels on Needles Highway
By far the coolest feature is the three tunnels blasted through the mountains. The highlight of the tunnels is the needles tunnel, which also happens to be the narrowest tunnel at 8 feet 9 inches wide and only 10 feet 10 inches tall. Make sure your vehicle can fit!! Getting suck would ruin your day!
Needless Highway Drive Time
How long will it take to drive the Needles Highway? Plan on 45 to 60 minutes. Not surprisingly traffic backs up near the tunnels as cars file through the single-lane tunnels. Be patient and enjoy the spectacular views of the granite mountains!
What Wildlife Can I See In Custer State Park?
The list is long and distinguished! Custer is home to a huge heard of bison (over 1,400) and many other animals including:
- Prairie Dogs
- Antelope
- Mountain Goats
- Big Horn Sheep,
- Coyotes
- Mountain Lions!!!!
Thankfully, the mountain lions kept to themselves during our visit which was fine with us! We were fortunate to see several animals as were drove around the park.
Are there bears in Custer State Park?
No, there are no bears in Custer State Park.
So, keep your eyes open! You never know when you will see a bison, mountain goats, big horn sheep, or something equally cool!
Respect the animals and don’t forget you’re visiting their home. Follow the park guidelines on keeping a safe distance from the wildlife. And don’t pet the fluffy cows!
How many Hiking trails does Custer State Park have?
According to AllTrails, Custer State Park has over 45 hiking trails. I can’t wait until we go back to hike a few more trails and continue exploring this park.
Since our time was limited in Custer State Park we limited our hikes to some of the most popular trails including: Black Elk Peak, Cathedral Spires, Sunday Gulch, and Sylvan Lake.
Black Elk Peak
- Why should I hike to Black Elk Peak? Black Elk Peak has the honor of being the highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains and West of Spain! If you’re into one-of-a-kind places, it’s worth the trip up. In the late 1930’s the CCC built a really amazing fire lookout tower out of rock. Nothing like the ugly metal structures constructed today. The views are breathtaking…we hear! Our visit to Black Elk Peak included hiking into low-hanging clouds and fog. Our view was about 10 feet.
- There are a couple of options to arrive at Black Elk Peak. Each involves hiking some miles and gaining elevation. Hikers can take the Black Elk Peak Trail from Sylvan Lake on a 7-mile loop journey that takes hikers past Little Devil’s Tower. And then on to Black Elk Peak. Another popular option is Cathedral Spires to Black Elk Peak Trail (we chose this option).
- From the Cathedral Spires split the trail continues about 1.2 miles towards Black Elk Peak along the Norbeck Trail. Thankfully the trail is well-marked. We use AllTrails as our on-trail guide.
- Pro Tip – Download the map in advance and use airplane mode on your phone to save battery life!
- Hiking to the peak involves uphill walking with some steps thrown in. It’s not bad, but you won’t have the benefit of tree cover, so make sure you have a hat and sunscreen or otherwise are ready for the weather.
- The last push to Black Elk Peak is practically all upstairs. Most are natural stone stairs placed on the path. We found taking our time made this climb no problem for our hiking crew.
- Once at the summit, you are treated to walking through the super cool fire lookout building which includes a huge look out over the forest below. Unfortunately, we only saw about 10 feet out because of the clouds and fog.
Cathedral Spires
So the 1.6 miles is misleading. Hikers should consider Cathedral Spires 3.2 miles if hiking out and back. The trail starts out walking through the forest of pine trees and next to many spires. As you climb the trail (480 feet of climbing) a clearing begins to emerge. Here the spires really come to life and everywhere you look are unique formations! I really enjoyed the “loop” around some of the spires.
Early in the morning the fog and clouds were so heavy our view of the spires was very limited. As we hiked back down from Black Elk Peak the clouds burned off and the blue sky showcased the beauty of these wonders!
Sunday Gluch
Sunday Gluch was an instant favorite of Our Campfire Unplugged! Hiking the trail counter-clockwise gave us the highlight of immediately navigating a huge boulder field as we descended down into the gulch.
Handrails provided support in all the right places as we worked to stay upright! Once down in the gulch, the trail is a simple walk through the woods along a stream. Nothing super exciting and we found it hot. Rising out of the gulch is a trek and certainly not as fun as the journey down. However, at the rim of the gulch hikers are treated to stunning overlooks across Custer State Park.
The trail hugs Needles Highway closely in spots so you will get some road noise.
This trail is challenging because of the elevation gain of 800 feet over about 3 miles. It’s down then flat followed by a climb out of the gulch. Because this is a loop trial, there is no way around the climbs.
Sylvan Lake Trail
If you only have time for one hike, this is the one iconic trail you must do. It’s a simple loop around the picturesque lake and gorgeous granite boulders in the lake. The trail is about 1 mile and easy. On a beautiful day, people will take advantage of all the lake offers: swimming, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), enjoying a picnic, and enjoying the views. Some daredevils even jump off some of the rocks into the lake. This is against park rules and not recommended. Be a good steward and obey the park rules.
I really appreciated the nearly still water providing a mirror-like surface for the sky above and the granite boulders along the shore. My photography skills aren’t quite good enough to fully capture this onto a digital image, yet.
Where should we stop for Lunch?
We chose to eat on the road from Cathedral Spires to Sylvan Lake so we could hit the trail as soon as we arrived. However, Sylvan Lake was bustling with activity as visitors enjoyed lunch overlooking the lake. The views were stunning!
Ending on the Wildlife Loop Trail
We chose to head out to the Wilderness Loop area in hopes of seeing some wildlife or maybe the begging Burroughs! Sadly the high temperatures in the late afternoon kept most animals bedded down and away from the road. We struck out on this auto hike, but enjoyed the views as we made our way back to Rafter J Bar Ranch campground!!
