BumVoyage

After a couple nights stay in Chamberlin, South Dakota to rest up, do some laundry, and experience our second severe thunderstorm warning, and subsequent high winds, rain, and small hail…

We made it safely to Custer State Park. Yikes!!!

Custer State Park is South Dakota’s first and largest state park, named after…you guessed it, Lieutenant Colonel George Custer. He led a expedition to map the park after it was acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase. During the expedition gold was discovered and this led to the Black Hills Gold Rush. The park covers an area of over 71,000 acres.

The park is home to a herd of 1,500 bison, elk, coyotes, mule deer, white tailed deer, mountain goats, prairie dogs, bighorn sheep, river otters, pronghorn, cougars, and feral burros also inhabit the park. The park is known for its scenery, its scenic drives (Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Road, and the Wildlife Loop, with views of the bison herd and prairie dog towns. 

We stayed at Stockade Lake North Campground within the park which provided a wonderful forest setting located within easy drives to all the attractions.

Our first night there we made the first of two trips to the Wildlife Loop in hopes of catching a glimpse of the bison herd. Along the way we were greeted by turkey, prairie dogs, whitetail deer, donkeys before reaching the herd just before sundown.

The next morning we took a hike around Sylvan Lake. The stillness of the water allowed the surroundings to be reflected on the mirrored surface. The trail on the backside of the lake is framed by granite formations and allowed for some light scrambling through these, including a crevice with boulders suspended above the trail making for some creative snapshots.

Afterwards, we took Needles Highway for views of the Cathedral Spires and the chance to doublecheck the width of our truck through some TIGHT tunnels.

Next we took a detour to visit Center Lake Campground. This campground carries a special place in my heart as it’s where my twin nephews and I stayed during our visit to Custer State Park 20 years ago while on our 6 week road trip together.

As we exited the campground we ran into two gentlemen laid out on the side of the road next to their bikes loaded down with gear, exhausted, thumbs up, and looking for a ride to Keystone. Another mountain town in the area…about 30 miles away, mostly uphill. We were ready for some lunch so we said what the heck, get in! We loaded up their bikes, 50 pounds of gear, each, and headed towards Keystone. Turns out these two regularly challenge themselves with unsupported bike journeys. This time they were headed from Gillette WY to their hometown of Chaplain MN. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Forrest and Eric (aka Fred and Barney Bike Adventures on YouTube).

After lunch with Fred and Barney, we headed back to camp. Along the way we came upon a lone, majestic, beast in the woods. We watched him graze for 15 minutes or more. The karma gods were looking down on us that day.

On our final evening, we headed out to locate the bison herd once again. We were lucky enough to see two parts of the herd that evening. We could watch them for hours and want the share this treat with you so I’m posting a 5 minute video of us driving among them. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.