Made a brief stop at the Custer State Park Visitor Center to learn about the history and gather ideas on best places to visit. I came here several times only to find it was closed – if you plan to visit as well, check online for their hours in the off-peak season as they are more limited.
Inside the center you will find a multitude of displays and interactive content for all ages to enjoy. There is also a theater with a short educational film, an assortment of taxidermy including bison, elk, and mountain goats; and a variety of brochures and maps.
One example display is this life-size diagram of a bison’s skeletal structure. Historically, bison were very important to the Lakota in this region and numbered in the millions. During the 1800s when settlers arrived on the frontier, bison were hunted until near extinction by the Europeans but also as a device by the US Government to disrupt the traditional Lakota ways of life. Now within the park there is a herd of over 1,400 free roaming bison.
After assessing my options, and on the advice of the park staff, I decided to drive the outer Wildlife Loop Road as a way to survey the park and see if I could spot anything across the open plains, and to see if I could catch the remaining part of the annual bison herd round-up. More to come on that in the next two posts.
