Custer State Park

Custer State Park
Custer State Park
	American bison at the Wildlife Loop Road
	Location of Custer State Park in South Dakota
Location	Custer County, South Dakota, United States
Coordinates	43°44′45″N 103°25′5″W / 43.74583°N 103.41806°W
Area	71,000 acres (290 km2)
Elevation	4,721 ft (1,439 m)
Established	1912
Named for	George Armstrong Custer
Governing body	South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks (GFP)

Custer State Park is a South Dakota State Park and wildlife reserve in the Black Hills of the United States. Located in Custer County, the park is South Dakota's first and largest state park, named after Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. The park covers an area of over 71,000 acres (287 km²) of varied terrain including rolling prairie grasslands and rugged mountains.^[2]

The park is home to a herd of 1,500 bison.^[3]^[2] 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 and the wildlife loop), with views of the bison herd and prairie dog towns. This park is easily accessible by road from Rapid City. Other nearby attractions are Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave National Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Badlands National Park.

^ "Custer State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. February 13, 1980. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Custer State Park". Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2007.
^ Bonnet, Siandhara (August 30, 2021). "Woman tossed by bison at Custer State Park". Billings Gazette. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.