Custer State Park and South Dakota’s Black Hills
History and Humans | Human influence on the landscape is still visible today. Around the time gold was found in The Hills in 1874, structures like this stockade building began popping up across the lands.
The Prairie is a Vibe | The skies here are vast and views sweeping. Emotions hang on clouds or shine joyously during blue sky afternoons. This broody and gray scene was accompanied by unseasonably cool weather, but blanketed the area in different lighting and changed perspectives entirely with subtleties gone unnoticed during the sunny day prior.
Scenic Drives | Ponderosa pines line the hillsides and highways. They are grand when cloaked in fog during early morning sunrises. This is the very best time to enjoy the park, desolate roadways and the ability to hear silence.
Wildlife and Human Interaction | A lone begging burro greets cars and motorcyclists, unaware of anything but the potential that each visitor may just have a carrot or morsel to share. These burros are descendants of the historic stock used in the early days of the area.
Activities Abound | The diversity of the landscape here is incredible. You can be rock climbing one moment and kayaking the next. Hiking, bicycle trails, horseback riding — it’s all on the table. Without venturing into the more crowded parks in the Rocky Mountains, accessing some really decent “hills” in this region become a proving ground, practicing your craft in the Black Hills before tackling territories elsewhere. For families interested in outdoor activities, there is no better playground.