If that’ s not enough to get you to come to Custer State Park this summer, the park is also hosting a variety of summer events and activities to liven up your park experience, sure to be fun for visitors and locals alike.
Throughout the summer, park naturalists offer free daily programs at different spots across the park— for a detailed overview of each week’ s programming, be sure to stop by any visitor center or campground to get a schedule. Or if you’ d rather you can visit the new online events calendar with all programs on it. Visit gfp. sd. gov and click on the“ Events” tab at the top of the page. All Game, Fish and Parks programs and events will be on this calendar.
Program activities range from water sports to fishing, hiking and other outdoor skills. On Monday evenings, the park hosts an informational speaker series where speakers educate guests on topics from the importance of bats, the 1874 Custer expedition, and even the poetry of South Dakota’ s first poet laureate Badger Clark set to music!
On select Thursday evenings, park naturalists guide program attendees on more adventurous outings— owl prowls, nighttime fishing, sunset hike to Mt. Coolidge, and evening foraging hikes. There’ s something for anyone to find interesting!
The Park will hold its Star Party again this year on August 29 at the Bison Center at 8:30 p. m in partnership with the Black Hills Astronomical Society( sdbhas. org). The BHAS will provide telescopes and volunteer experts. Attendees should bring a blanket and chairs to soak in the dark prairie sky. More than 300 people attended last year, and this year is sure to be as popular. And while the park welcomes some later-night revelry at this event, overnight camping at the Bison Center is prohibited.
If you prefer to march to the beat of your own drum, you may be interested in the summer trail challenge. The challenge is open now through September and has participants traipse and scramble through eight unique trails set in a variety of park landscapes and ecosystems. This year the trails on the challenge are: Creekside Trail, Legion Lake Trail, Grace Cooldige Walk-in Fishing Area, Little Devils Tower Trail, Prairie Trail, The Lost Trails, Stockade Lake and Centennial Trail.
Those interested in the challenge can pick up a trail brochure at the park visitor centers and other programs are available to visitors on a drop-in basis, perfect for those who travel without a strict itinerary. For example, visitors can go to the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center to participate in the“ bison olympics” to see how their own athletic feats can stack up against those of a regular American bison, or even go to Bison Center for a tour of the corrals and find out how the park manages and monitors the health of one of the largest buffalo herds in the world. The bison center is a relatively new addition to the park, and as the name suggests, is all about the mighty buffalo and its importance to the park and history of the greater region.
For young visitors aged 7-12, the park offers a junior naturalist program. The program has junior naturalists engage with the natural and cultural history of the park through hands-on activities with park naturalists. Topics relate to wildlife, habitats, nature observation, and Native American history and culture.
Of course, the main spectacle for which Custer State Park is known far and wide is the annual Buffalo Roundup, and this year will be a special one because it will be the 60th anniversary of the event! The date, as always, is set for the last Friday in Sept.( the 26th), and it will be followed by a weekend full of celebration. Accompanying the roundup will also be the Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival, which takes place on the green pasture between the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center and the State Game Lodge.
The coming and going of the buffalo roundup signals the end of the summer season for the park and the general tourism season of the Black Hills, but visitors to the park can still enjoy the park even into the wintertime with the winter trail challenge and snowshoe rental programs.
No matter the season, there is always a way to get out and enjoy Custer State Park!
10 Down Country Roads July / August 2025