How to Spend Half A Day In Custer State Park

Half a day in Custer State Park? Is it even worth it?

Yes, you can visit Custer State Park for a half-day, although it will be better if you spend the whole day. But sometimes you don’t have a full day to spend at a place during your travel. 

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Let me tell you. Half a day in Custer State Park is totally worth it.

When we learned Custer State Park’s location is not too far from Mount Rushmore, we decided to visit these two places on the same day. 

We stayed in Hot Springs during our road trip to Mount Rushmore from Dallas, Texas. It is about an hour from Mount Rushmore. So it made sense to visit these two places in one day.

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Mount Rushmore to Custer State Park Direction

From Mount Rushmore, take highway SD-244 W towards Hill City. Drive for about 10 miles until you see a left turn sign to SD-87 S to Custer State Park and Needles Hwy. 

The entrance to the park is not too far from the turn. After you pay the admission fee, the Park Ranger will give you a brochure and a newspaper filled with information about the park.

Please note that this entrance is closed during winter.

There are other directions, but this is the one we took on our visit.

Q: Are dogs allowed at Custer State Park? A: Yes! Our dog Snoopy had fun exploring and hiking in Custer State Park with us.

Making the Most of Your Time: How to Spend Half a Day in Custer State Park

Custer State Park is a sprawling natural wonderland spread across 71,000 acres in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The park boasts breathtaking scenery, incredible wildlife sightings, and endless recreational opportunities that can keep visitors occupied for days on end.

However, if you are short on time and only have half a day to explore this magnificent destination, it’s essential to plan your itinerary carefully to make the most of your limited time.

In this article, we’ll guide you through some of the must-see sights and experiences that you can cram into just a few hours in Custer State Park.

Fun Things To Do In Custer State Park

1. Driving on Needles Highway

It is a must when you visit Custer State Park for half a day. Needles Hwy is one of the four scenic drives in the park that runs 14 miles long on SD-87.

So, you are on the right track when entering Custer State Park from SD-244 W.

You will see needle-like granite formations in the distance, just a few yards after the entrance.

As we drove closer to the needles, I thought, “So, this is it. The needles of the Black Hills.” But this is only the beginning. The more spectacular needles await you further inside the park.

It is said in the newspaper to expect travel time on Needles Highway for 45 to 60 minutes. But you will make lots of stops along the way.

Our family started around noon and left the park closer to 6 p.m. It is approximately half a day!

2. Driving through tunnels

It is one of the unique things to do at Custer State Park for your day visit. You can find tunnels on three highways in and near Custer State Park. 

Since you enter from SD-87 S, you will drive into your first tunnel in the park: Hood Tunnel. It is 8’9” wide and 9’8” high. So measure your vehicle before passing through this tunnel.

Not long after the tunnel, after the road goes up and you make a sharp turn, you will see rock formations that make you want to stop. Fortunately, there’s a space to park your vehicle on the left side of the road. 

Follow the path for an easy hike, and you will be amazed by the needle-like granite formations here. 

Further down, you will see a large rock in the distance, where rock climbers prefer to enjoy the park from the top. 

We spent around 20 minutes here, and our dog Snoopy enjoyed walking with us in this area.

From the trailhead, you can see Custer State Park cabins near the Sylvan Lake Lodge.

3. Stop at Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake is a beautiful area in the park. Visitors like to swim, fish, canoe, or SUP here. In addition, walking or hiking around the lakeshore are other favorite things to do.

Rugged granite formations pierce from the water and needles surrounding the area. It is beautiful! No wonder it became one of the most iconic lakes in the park.

However, parking can become challenging in the summer since Sylvan Lake is one of the busiest lakes in the park. We were shocked to see the crowds by the time we got there.

As I mentioned above, there are hiking trails surrounding Sylvan Lake.

Sylvan Lake Shore Trail is an easy 1-mile loop around the lake. People can start the hike at various points along the lakeshore. The trail connects to Sunday Gulch Trail, a strenuous 2.8 miles loop.

It also connects to Trail #9, which will take you to Black Elk Peak Trail (3.3 miles, one-way) in the Black Hills National Forest. Another one is Trail #4, 3.5 miles (one-way), which will also take you to Black Elk Peak.

If we had plenty of time, we could do more than part of the Sylvan Lake Trail, one of the easy hikes in Custer State Park. We walked behind the dam, passing a gap, one of the most selfie spots in the lake area.

Snoopy had fun meeting people and other dogs here.

Custer State Park Hours: It is open year-round. However, between Oct. 1 and April 30, showers, flush toilets, and other water systems may be closed.

4. Making videos on Needles Eye Tunnel

After spending time at Sylvan Lake, continue driving on Needles Highway. The views along the road are getting more beautiful, and the road is getting narrow, too.

A little over one mile, you will see your second tunnel, Needles Eye Tunnel.

Needles Eye Tunnel is the narrowest tunnel (width and height) in Custer State Park. With 8’0” wide and 9’9” high, drive carefully through this tunnel.

People made a video when they drove through this tunnel, and we saw heads popping out from the car roof. That was what I did, too.

Remember when I told you that the needles you see after the entrance are just the beginning?

So, once you pass the Needles Eye Tunnel, you will see spectacular views of the needle-like granite formations in the park. It’s amazing!

You might wonder why Custer State Park is not a National Park or at least a National Monument. And you might want to stop at every lookout. Seriously!

5. Hiking to Cathedral Spires

Another activity that you must do while visiting Custer State Park for half a day is hiking to Cathedral Spires. It is a favorite destination where visitors can see granite pillars after trekking on a strenuous trail for 1.5 miles.

Part of the trail is rocky, and there is a steep section. I guess this is why the trek fell on a strenuous difficulty. Once you pass this, you will come to a wide open area, and the spires look breathtaking!

Stay as long as you want because going back is faster than usual. We spent 1.5 hours in this area. Our dog Snoopy was happy with his walking time on the trail.

Since it is a favorite spot, the parking area fills up fast. There is another parking area just a little further down the road. But visitors who come from the opposite direction might fill this spot first. So, cross your fingers that you will get a parking spot here. Otherwise, you will have to come back.

The Cathedral Spires Trail is 2.5 miles east of Sylvan Lake, still on SD-87. If we had extra time, we would continue to Little Devils Tower. It is a mini version of the Devils Tower National Monument.

The Cathedral Spires got its name for its resemblance to the organ pipe in the back of a cathedral. The Spires are a registered National Natural Landmark as a unique geological formation.

After this, you will pass several lookouts and another tunnel, Iron Creek Tunnel. It is 8’9” wide and 10’10” tall.

The views along the way are still amazing! Once you get to the T-intersection, turn east to US Hwy 16A.

6. Visit Custer State Park Visitor Center

Custer State Park Visitor Center location is at the junction of US Hwy 16A and Wildlife Loop Road. The Center opened in 2016, and it’s the best place to learn about the park’s iconic wild animal on the prairie, the bison.

You can also watch a 20-minute movie that plays every half hour in the theater, narrated by Kevin Costner. Or attend a Park Ranger Program right before the entrance.

Custer State Park Visitor Center is open year-round. Expect to spend around 45 minutes in this place, depending on your arrival time.

What I like most about the Visitor Center is an interactive map that shows the real-time location of bison on the Wildlife Loop Road. That’s where you are going next, the end of your visit to Custer State Park.

7. Driving on Wildlife Loop Road

Wildlife Loop Road is 18 miles long, and the expected travel time is 1 hour and 30 minutes, depending on wildlife jams. I am not kidding you.

We drove for miles and were lucky enough to see one lonely bison in the prairie until we arrived at the ponderosa woods. Suddenly, hundreds of them came out from the woods. They were moving fast, like a flash flood.

I have never even seen bison like these in Yellowstone National Park. The closest one is at Caprock Canyons State Park in the Texas Panhandle, and it was less than this.

Fortunately, there wasn’t any bison thinking about scratching his head on our vehicle or any other cars that day. We took pictures and made videos of the herd, trying to figure out if the one that just passed by the window was bigger than the one that came our way. We watched the calf walking with his momma. How cute!

Snoopy wasn’t comfortable at the back of the van, though. He was breathing heavily the whole time we stopped there, and we parked like that for almost 30 minutes!

Good thing there were only four cars ahead of us, so we could move slowly when the bison stream was slowing down.

The traffic from the opposite direction was another story. I think the car line was almost a mile long. Some of the people weren’t happy at all.

Do you want a more adventurous trip to Custer State Park? Check out the Jeep Bison Safari tour where you will enjoy the park from the back of the Jeep Wrangler with a professional guide and stop for a picnic lunch by the lake.

8. Take a selfie with the begging burros

Other wildlife animals we saw that afternoon were pronghorns and the begging burros. The burros are famous because they like to approach vehicles and expect you to give them food. If you open your window, they will put their heads in, and you can take a selfie with the burros. Haha.

I saw people parked their cars and getting out of their vehicle to pet and feed the burros. Park Ranger was present that day, but I do not know if they are always there.

The burros are not native to the Black Hills. They are descendants of the burros herd who worked to hauled visitors to the top of Black Elk Peak. Years ago, the rides discontinued, and they released the burros into the park.

We did not open our windows because we did not know whether Snoopy was ok with it.

We spent about an hour on the Wildlife Loop Road. And we didn’t even drive the whole loop.

We left the park from Blue Bell Entrance, where SD-87 turns to US Hwy 385, which took us back to where we stayed in Hot Springs.

When I checked the clock, it was just minutes away from six. It means we’ve spent about six hours in the park, which includes the drive and the stops, from the SD-87 entrance on the northwest to the SD-87 entrance/exit on the south.

We’ve seen and done a lot in six hours!

Now that you’ve read our half-a-day in Custer State Park adventures, you know a visit to this park is a must even though you don’t have a day to spend. So much to do and see, and you can always stay longer at the place of your preference.

And that $20 entrance fee is worth it.

Custer State Park Guide

– One of the largest state parks in the U.S. (71,000 acres).

– Enjoyed by almost 2 million visitors from around the world every year. Some National Parks in the country don’t even see these many visitors.

– Established in 1919.

– Open year-round.

– Best family travel destination in South Dakota.

– It has 4 scenic drives (Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Road, Wildlife Loop Road, and Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway.)

– There are 4 lakes in the park (Sylvan Lake, Stockade Lake, Legion Lake, and Center Lake.)

– It offers 9 campgrounds and 4 private historic lodges for its visitors.

– You can enjoy the plays at the Black Hills Playhouse from June to August.

– One annual event not to miss: Buffalo Roundup.

For more information about accommodations in the park, find it on the following links:

• Custer State Park Resort includes Blue Bell Lodge and State Game Lodge.
• Custer State Park Camping.

Here are the links to some more basic info about the park for your convenience:

– Custer State Park map

– More of Custer State Park hiking trails

– Custer State Park activities

And here is the Custer State Park Entrance Fee for 2023:

Temporary 1-7 days: $10 per motorcycle, $20 per vehicle.

Annual: $36 first vehicle, $18 for 2nd vehicle (with coupon), and $80 transferable license.

Motorcoach license: $3 per person per visit.