Custer State Park’s climate is surprisingly milder than other destinations in western South Dakota, thanks to the warmer Chinook winds that keep temperatures less extreme than elsewhere.
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The southern Black Hills are a landscape of rolling prairie grasslands and rugged terrain — the perfect place for bison to roam — and Custer State Park, being South Dakota’s oldest and largest state park, is right in the middle of it all. The park dates to 1912, with the founding of what was then called Custer State Forest. With the addition of bison, pronghorn and bighorn sheep in the park’s first decade, and roads through the region during the 1920s and 1930s, Custer State Park became a popular destination for nature lovers.