wildlife loop road

tfi22

My kids never tire of coming here. They just love feeding the burrows. We always bring a loaf of bread and they will stick their heads right in the car to eat.

World-wander-woman

This is the place to see the wildlife out in the open in their natural habitat. you drive through prairies and then you see all kinds of wildlife. you can pull over and take pictures galore. Of course the bufflao were amazing becuase they were so close to the road at a watering hole. they also have very friendly donky's so make sure you birng some carrots. they will come right up to your car for a carrot. there is alsoa place youcan pull over and see a lot of donky's with their babies. they are friendly and you can pet them and feed them. the children where having the time of their life with the donkies. There are so many animals along this drive so when you get to the visitors center they can tell you where you can spot the different animals.

395staceym

Wonderful scenic drive.. Take your time and enjoy! The landscape is wonderful. The wildlife amazing. Travel the gravel roads off the main highway for a more in depth journey through the park.

949tg

Loved the loop, we saw plenty of buffalo, deers and elk but the highlight was the wild donkeys!!!! We were told in advance to take carrots to feed the donkeys and the kids had a blast.We are Aussies and spent 2 months traveling across the U.S. In an RV. We loved South Dakota and if you have any questions flick me a message.

SunshnLvr

Drove through the beautiful scenery in June and there were buffalo everywhere with calves at their side. It was a wonderful day to just park and observe them as they grazed and came very close to our car. We did not get out because they are dangerous if provoked but the natural wonders continued to amaze us. Fabulous drive included deer and other native animals in the area.

KimB952

We went twice. Once at night - just to see if we could see anything at night and once during the late AM. The night time trip was almost a bust. We came across the begging burros (that were in almost the exact location on each visit) about half way through the drive. We were about 3/4 of the way through and we finally came across one adolescent bison! (that we almost hit with our minivan.) He/she was young, small and seemed to be alone when crossing the road. It was a good thing we were traveling slow. Even thought the husband and kids were not thrilled with the idea, we went again, a couple of days later, after a late breakfast. About halfway through the drive, we noticed a line of cars at a stop. And there they were... hundreds of bison; laying, grazing and just milling about. Mamas with their babies, big males, so many of them! The begging burros were in just about the same location that we saw them a couple of nights prior - near the large parking area that is located about 1/2 way through the drive.The kids really enjoyed seeing the bison up close and personal. We were all so glad we made a second trip.

ChristinaB520

You will need to pay the $15 admission into Custer State Park to access the Wildlife Loop Road. The fee will cover 1 - 7 days and is worth it if making a couple to few drives through the loop road. You will see bison (there are 1300 in the park), prairie dogs, deer, pronghorn sheep and burrows, just to name a few. Beautiful scenery!

WAYNEA759

What a great family adventure! It has breathtaking scenery. You can see Buffalo & Pronghorns. One time we saw a coyote and family. You can stop by the praire dog town. The most fun is the "begging Burros". They will come right up to you. They will even put their head in your car looking to be fed. They love carrots. They will eat right out of your hand. The best time to go is late afternoon or evening, that is when you will see the most. Buffalo are dangerous, do not approach them. If you are lucky, you will be caught in a Buffalo traffic jam, then you can see them up close.

Mountainman827

Always a good road to drive to see the Buffalo, Antelope, prairie dogs, and Burros. Went there in late September to watch the Buffalo Roundup. They had over 10,000 of us standing up on the hill sides for the event. Buffalo are brought in for shots and to cull the herd down to 1,000 which is what the park can support on a year round basis. Fun to watch them chase the herd into the corrals. Crowd cheers when a few escape. They do it mostly with horses. One negative is they have a lot of pickups following fro behind which takes a lot from the experience. Also going on this weekend is a arts/crafts fair and volks march up to top of Crazy Horse monument.

Noni314

We did the loop road on a hayride/chuck wagon cook out from Blue Bell Lodge. Lots of fun and beautiful drive. Saw a few critters, but not too many sightings, which didn't diminish the fun.

dmaxwel

We were almost all the way through the park and hadn't seen one buffalo. We stopped at a ranger station and they were very helpful. The park ranger knew exactly where the buffalo were and told us on what inland road to venture. I thought we were going on a wild goose chase, but sure enough about a mile into the road we found MANY buffalo. It was interesting and entertaining. I wonder how many people went through the loop and never stopped to ask and were disappointed that they didn't see any buffalo. If all else fails - take time to ask a ranger where to find the buffalo.

eyesdoit

Drove the loop looking for Bison- none anywhere started paying attention to birds in the air and found antelope resting, mules and donkeys (lol) Could not use the word as#. Wish the loop would have a locator on the Bison so that you could actually get a glimpse of them

LeeH961

We took this road thinking because of the name we would see lots of wildlife. Not. Maybe it was the time of day-late morning but we did see some deer but that was all. The road is very windy so care must be taken if driving a camper.

treeharp

Custer State Park is by far one of my favorite places in SD. You will pay a fee to get in the park, but it is well worth it. We by a yearly pass because we go several times while we are out there. Buffalo, turkeys, prairie dogs, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, birds etc can be seen there. There is a wildlife loop to drive, it takes a good hour. Lovely countryside.

kathrynm641

Not normally "early morning people" on vacation. Nevertheless, getting up real early to drive this road and see more animals was well worth it!