Custer State Park: Wildlife Loop & Needles Highway

Custer State Park contains one of the largest publicly owned bison herds in the world — approximately 1,300 animals that roam a 71,000-acre reserve of mixed-grass prairie, granite peaks, and ponderosa pine forest. The 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road was designed specifically for wildlife viewing from a vehicle: bison herds frequently block the road and stand at car-window distance, pronghorn graze the open meadows, prairie dog towns line the verges, and a small herd of burros (descendants of pack animals released in the 1930s) approaches cars looking for handouts. The Needles Highway (SD-87 north) connects to the park's granite needle formations through a series of one-lane tunnels and switchbacks — the most dramatic mountain road in South Dakota, passing through slots barely wider than a car at the Needles Eye formation.