I had been to Badlands National Park in South Dakota about five years ago. It is a truly mesmerizing place.  This trip was to check off another national park in my quest to see all 63 national parks, Wind Cave National Park and the revered Custer State Park were on the list as well. When traveling across country, as I have done several times at this point, leaving I-90 to head south into the Black Hills always seemed too far out of the way. It was completely worth the trip and, in fact, I wish I had more time to spend.

After spending the night in Hot Springs, South Dakota, a charming town with hanging flower baskets and historic buildings, I drove up to the east entrance of Custer State Park. I asked the ranger at the entrance kiosk for advice on where to head and she suggested the Wild Life Loop Road and then to Needles Highway. So, I did just that.

The Wild Life Loop is 18 miles long and takes about an hour to drive. That seems like a long time for 18 miles but what you don’t realize is that there will be wildlife and they don’t stick to the surrounding prairie. I was probably driving for about a mile when the cars were stopped in front of me. There were hundreds of American bison milling about the surrounding hills and several were crossing the road. It is mind blowing to happen upon hundreds of these beautiful creatures roaming across the prairie. The sheer size and majestic stature of the animals is something to behold. They graze on grass and seem unimpressed with all the twenty or so vehicles mesmerized by the sight. It takes me back to visiting the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota. I spent two hours desperately chasing two bison that other visitors had seen and eventually saw one about two miles off in the distance. What a contrast to Custer State Park where over 1,300 bison live. 

I also saw the “Begging Burros” which are a feral group of donkeys who approach vehicles. They are quite brazen and there were some thirty people out on the prairies petting the friendly animals. 

I absolutely love “prairie dog towns”. My first was at Badlands National Park and its signature is a large field with holes some ten feet apart dotting the landscape and tiny heads popping up out of the holes. There were at least three prairie dog towns along the Wild Life Loop Road. I stopped and watched the busy activity and listened for the chirps of the small brown prairie dogs. 

I drove on the Needles Highway next. There are two single lane tunnels on this road that my RV Abeona would not have been able to traverse. I was in my passenger van so I was able to complete the drive. The last three miles of this drive as you head towards Sylvan Lake is spectacular. Large gray finger like rock formations rise out of the ground. Driving through the last Eye of the Needle tunnel was nerve racking as some people walk the tunnel and both directions of car traffic try to traverse. It was 85 degrees and there were hundreds of folks along the banks of Sylvan Lake with several people on kayaks and stand-up boards. 

I headed to Wind Cave National Park which had two more herds of American bison roaming the prairie and, of course, more prairie dogs. There are no self-guided tours of the Wind Cave so I had a 4 PM guided tour of the Garden of Eden tour. Wind Cave was my 50th National Park in my quest to see all 63.  It is not the big ta-da that Carlsbad Caverns is with an enormous entrance or the size of Mammoth Cave (426 miles) but it’s unique in the rare formations. Wind Cave has 95% of the world’s boxwork formations which are delicate fin formations and look like carton inserts. They also had iridescent popcorn formations as well. It is called Wind Cave National Park because of the wind that emits from the original 10-inch by 14-inch entrance due to fluctuating barometric pressure. 

I headed north and east to Wall, South Dakota and was struck by the massive fields of sunflowers. It was a fitting end to an eclectic mix of wildlife, natural formations and the everlasting prairie. I was under time pressure and had to forgo visiting Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial and Jewel Cave. It’s all here in the Black Hills. So much to explore that I’ll have to return again.