In my visits there, no place exceeds Custer State Park in the South Dakota Black Hills for wildlife viewing. These photos were taken August 31st. Click for larger versions.
3 thoughts on “Custer State Park”
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In my visits there, no place exceeds Custer State Park in the South Dakota Black Hills for wildlife viewing. These photos were taken August 31st. Click for larger versions.
Comments are closed.
I agree. A few years back we stayed overnight in Custer State Park as we were leaving Mt Rushmore. On the way in, around 10:30 PM, we saw a creature moving in the moonlight by the side of the road. As we rolled to a stop to watch, it became clear that the creature was a rather large mountain lion. We watched mesmerized for several moments as the big cat wandered up the hill and stared back at our headlights rather menacingly. After it decided not to eat us, it turned and bounded across the road. Very impressive. We later found out that there are only a few sightings each year and we felt very fortunate to have seen the mountain lion.
The next day was great, lots to see including a few wolves and coyotes (which you never get to see), but nothing can compare to the mountain lion.
The other beautiful thing is the drive from Rushmore down to the park. Several one-lane tunnels through the Black Hills. One of particular note stares directly back at Mt Rushmore. It is a sight to behold, especially on a cloudless full moon night when the Mt is fully lit. Here is a link to someone else’s picture of the tunnel.
http://img3.travelblog.org/Photos/28851/186516/t/1405841-Tunnel-View-of-Mount-Rushmore-1.jpg
If you are in the area, don’t miss the chance to go to Custer State Park (Home of the Summer White House)
No mountain lions, but I did also see deer and a bazillion prairie dogs.
A few years ago I stopped at that tunnel (in Byron’s link) to take a photo of the mountain beyond. It was bitter cold and windy (February), and all that wind was funneling through the tunnel with gale force, so I hurriedly took a few photos and hopped back in the car to get warm. It was only later that night, when I put the photos on my computer and they were naturally enlarged to fit the screen, that I discovered I had serendipitously captured the presidents in the distance, framed by the tunnel. I didn’t even know I WAS taking a picture of Mount Rushmore at the time; didn’t even notice the visitor’s building in the distance below. (I’d put the photo here if I knew how.) Unfortunately, due to computer troubles some time back, I’ve lost all the copies of those Custer State Park photos except a few that I emailed to someone.