Custer State Park

Located in the Black Hills, Custer State Park is South Dakota’s largest and first state park. The Black Hills are an isolated area of mountains, not part of the main body of the Rocky Mountains. It is a very pretty area of small mountains and trees, surrounded by the plains.

The Black Hills really are black.

Well, not all of the rocks are black.

The park’s “Begging Burros” are not native to the area but are descendents of animals brought here in the 1920s.

Sylvan Lake

This is one of several tunnels along the Iron Mountain Road that were built to line up with Mt. Rushmore.

The French Creek Natural Area was an area within the park accessible only by driving over 10 miles of single-lane, unpaved roads.

Custer State Park is home to a herd of 1500 free roaming bison. Here are a few of them.

Some bison keep to themselves and did not hang with the herd.

This animal is sometimes called a pronghorn antelope. But they are not antelopes. Their scientific name is "antilocapra americana." But you can just call them pronghorn.

This guy is a “Least Chipmunk,” smallest member of the chipmunk genus.