Custer State Park – Trip Report

I had visited Custer State Park as I child, but I didn’t have much memories of the place.  I mean I remembered a bit about the pigtail loops on the Needles Hwy and the Buffalo blocking the road, but that was about it.  

I think my biggest memory of that childhood trip was the fact that it was 100+ degrees and we couldn’t run the air-conditioning in the car and get up the hills at the same time.  So, it was with some anticipation that Amy and I booked this quick camping outing for the two of us.

As we made our way from Rapid City down to the park we ended up in a convoy of military vehicles.  I had no idea what they were doing there, but they were frustratingly slow.  It wasn’t until we saw some of these same vehicles heading the other way with loads of scorched logs did I realize why they were there. 

At first there was not much evidence of the fire, but then you would see vast swaths of Lodgepole Pines with brown needles.  Once you got closer to those pines you could see the blackened trunks.  

The coverage area of this fire was immense.  Most of the southern half of the park showed evidence of the fire.  However, had we not seen the scorched trunks and dead needles we may not have known there was a fire.  The floor of the forests was a verdant green with new growth.  The power of natural renewal after a fire!

​Check out this article for more on the fire​​​

The Blue Bell Campground on the west side of the park was our home for this trip.  We picked a tent only site (Site 28) that was technically a “walk-in” tent only site.  I must say it was probably the best site in the campground.  It had a large flat tent pad (that our massive tent still managed to overflow) as well as a nice fire pit and picnic table area.  The tent pad was maybe 50’ from where we parked our car, so it was hardly a tough “walk-in”.

About a 100 yards away was the shower facility.  As tent campers this is a critical piece and one you don’t find in many National Parks and some State Parks.  The men’s and women’s sides both had 3 private shower stalls complete with private changing stalls.  

The bathroom was kept clean by a nice couple from Louisiana that summers in the park, and they did a great job with it.  Our only issue was that on the first morning one of the water heaters died and that meant that the women’s side had ice cold water.  They rectified the issue by that afternoon, but Amy had one REALLY cold shower

Most of the sites (other than the tent-only sites) in this campground had electric, but no water or sewer hook-ups.   Small travel trailers would have no issues on the somewhat flat driveways.  We did see a couple of larger trailers and 5^th wheels having difficulty maneuvering into their sites.  If you have a big trailer I would proceed with caution.   I did not see a dump station within the campground, so you will have to take that into account as well.

A small general store near the entrance to the campground had any of the necessities that you may have forgotten.  Also near the entrance was the Blue Bell Lodge where you could eat an overpriced diner and the stables for trail rides.

We either drove by or drove through most of the campgrounds in the park.  Blue Bell was definitely one of the best.  If you have a big rig and don’t mind camping in a field then the Game Lodge, Legend Lake and Grace Coolidge campgrounds would be OK.  We saw those campgrounds from the main road and all the sites were right in the open with little privacy between the sites

The campground we wish we would have stayed at was Sylvan Lake.  If you look at the park map it looks way out of the way in an offshoot in the Northwest corner.  However, that is where most of the great trails and activities are.  

Lake Sylvan was a happening place.  Kayakers and canoers were prevalent on the small lake.  The small beaches were filled with people.  Directly adjacent to the campground was the end of the famous Needles Parkway (Don't take your RV or Trailer on this road!!).  The campsites were well wooded and had decent privacy.  It will definitely be where we stay next time.

With only a few days to spend in the park we chose our hikes carefully.   There are trails throughout the park, but four trails top just about every list we found for the best trails in the park and we hit all four.

After setting up camp on our first day we decided we had time to fit in one nice hike.  We settled on the Lover's Leap trail more for its central location than for any other reason.  

The Trail-head was not well marked on any of the maps in the guidebook given to us on entry.   Parking for the trail is across Hwy 16A at the Peter Norbeck Education Center.  The trail-head itself was about aq 1/2 mile walk across the highway and then east till you were behind the the Pavilion and old School House.

Lover Leap is a 3 mile loop trail (4 miles once you add the walk to the parking lot) and is listed as Moderate to Strenuous.  

We made the decision to take the trail in a clockwise direction.  That meant that the first quarter of the trail was a very steep ascent to the 4325' maximum height.  Couple this ascent with our first day at altitude and it was a tough climb. 

There are decent views to be had near the top of the climb, but nothing awe inspiring.  From the top is was a fairly gradual decent to Galena Creek.  The trail crisscrossed the creek several times - often with just a couple of planks to serve as a bridge.

The creek area of the trail was pleasant and picturesque, but not all that memorable.

The following morning we made an early start for the Sunday Gulch Trail.  It ranks 1 or 2 in almost every post we found on hiking in Custer.   Sunday Gulch is a 2.9 Mile loop trail that is listed as Strenuous.  We finished it at a leisurely 3 hours. 

Parking was easy at that time of morning right outside the Lake Sylvan General Store.  The trail-head for this trail is at the far end of Lake Sylvan.  I think it is intended for you to get to the trail-head from the right side of the lake.  We took the left side of the Lake and struggled a bit to find the trail as nothing was marked on that side.

Again we decided on a clockwise direction - and this time it was the correct decision.  After a couple of short ascents the long decent into the gulch began.  

The only drawback we found on this trail was that at times it brought you near the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway, so you dealt with a bit of road noise that distracted you from the peaceful and lightly traveled trail.

About a half hour into the trail you start paralleling the stream.  Throughout the next couple of miles you will cross back and forth over the stream.  

The ascent on the later 3rd of the trail had you cross-crossing the stream again, but it also included a fair amount of rock scrambling

At times the ascent was steep and when it was there was inevitability hand rails to assist with the climb.  I was a bit torn on the hand rails.  They were definitely helpful on the ascent, especially when you were climbing wet slippery rocks from the stream, but they did distract from the natural beauty.

Ascending that portion with the aid of the handrails seemed much easier than it seemed for the people descending to travel in the opposite direction.  Clockwise was the way to go! 

Once at the top you were treated to great views of Sylvan Lake as you headed back towards the parking lot.  

Cathedral Spires trail is one of the most popular in the park.  It is listed on their website as a Strenuous 1.5 mile out and back trail that should take 2 hours.

The trail was incredibly scenic, but we did not find it all that strenuous - it was moderate at best.   The trail-head is reached from a parking lot along the Needles parkway not too far from Lake Sylvan.  The parking lot is located both above and below a hair-pin curve.

There is some downhill and then uphill grades as you travel the first 1/3 of the trail.  At about the 2/3 point there is a trail junction with Trail 4 that heads back to Lake Sylvan.

As you continue on the Cathedral Spires Trail the towering spires are on both sides of the trail.  The Spires offer great opportunities for photos as you stroll on this mostly level portion of the trail.

The trail ends unceremoniously in the middle of several spires.  There is a an opportunity to crawl in and amongst the spires here, but it is less photogenic than other places along the trail. 

Hiking back to the junction with Trail 4 offered a different angle on the spires and more opportunities for photos.

Since the Cathedral Spires trail took us significantly less time and energy than we were expecting we decided to tackle Little Devil's Tower too.  Traveling east on Trail 4 from the junction we headed for the start of the Little Devils Tower.

The short hike along Trail 4 gave us more views of the spires and then sweeping views of the valley towards Lake Sylvan.  

The Little Devil's Tower trail started out fairly easy and then turned to some good rock scrambling.  Unlike the Sunday Gulch Trail, there were no hand rails here.  Just the ever present blue diamonds to tell you which way to make your way up the rocks.

The somewhat tough scramble to the top was worth the views.  You received panoramic views of Harney's peak in one direction and spires in just about every other direction.

The top of Devil's Tower provided a great place to rest, have a snack and admire the views.  We got a good view of Black Elk peak and the popular lookout tower.  That trail will have to wait for another trip!

The scramble down from the tower was a bit more difficult than going up, but still fun.  We then headed back on Trail 4 towards the junction with Cathedral Spires trail and then back to the trail-head.   All told we spent a little over 3 hours on the combined trails.

Custer State Park has a collection of some of the best scenic drives you will ever find in a state park.  Be sure to leave your trailer behind - these roads are not meant for RVs or trailers of any kind.  Large pickups needed to fold their mirrors in to fit through the tunnels!

The Needles Highway is a 14 mile road that travels from Lake Sylvan in the Northwest to Hwy 16A in the South.  The road has a couple of one lane tunnels and hairpin turns.  Stops include the Needle's Eye right next to the Needles Eye tunnel.

Heading to Mount Rushmore?  Be sure to get there via the Iron Mountain road.  Featuring a couple of pigtail loops and several tunnels this road is a must.  The Scovel Johnson and Doane Robinson tunnels perfectly frame Mount Rushmore as you head north.

Both the Needle's Highway and the Iron Mountain road are part of the larger Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway.  The stretch from Sylvan Lake to Keystone on Highways 87 and 244 is not to be missed!

On our first evening in the park we heading towards the Northern end of the Wildlife Loop road with great anticipation.  We had heard that some of the best wildlife viewing could be had near dusk (and first thing in the morning.  

Well, unfortunately we did not have much luck with wildlife.  Other than a few pronghorns we did not see much at all during the first 3/4's of the road.  Near the end we did find the prairie dogs and a couple of solitary buffalo.

The famous burros were nowhere to be seen.  There numbers are much fewer since the fire and a thinning of the herd (a number were sold prior to the fire).

The following day we found the elusive herd of Buffalo along Hwy 87 on the way too and from Hot Springs in the south.

Custer State Park makes a good home base to explore the southern portion of the Black Hills.  Watch for my next posts about places like Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Mammoth Site, Jewel Cave and the Badlands!