Custer State Park encompasses 71,000 acres in the Black Hills of western South Dakota and is home to one of the largest publicly owned bison herds in the world.
Each year on the last Friday of September, nearly 1,400 free-roaming bison are gathered by wranglers on horseback and driven across the open prairie to a central corral — a scene so elemental and dramatic that it intimately connects you to the landscape and history of the American West.
A Living Tradition Since 1966
The annual roundup has been conducted every fall since 1966, not as a performance or a staged attraction, but as a genuine and necessary exercise in herd management. Park wildlife staff and volunteer wranglers conduct health checks, administer vaccinations, sort the animals, and auction off a portion of the herd to maintain a sustainable population on the park’s available grazing land.
It is this authenticity that makes the roundup remarkable for visitors. The wranglers — many of them returning volunteers who have participated for decades — spread out across miles of rolling grassland on horseback in the early morning hours, working in coordinated teams to locate and move the scattered herd. When the bison finally emerge over the ridgeline and begin their run toward the corrals, the thunder of hooves across the South Dakota prairie is something no camera fully captures and no description adequately conveys. The excitement builds well before the animals come into view. It is, by any measure, an extraordinary thing to witness.
My Experience at the Buffalo Roundup
In September of 2025 Señor and Señora Trail, along with Señor Trail’s brother in-law and sister in-law travelled to South Dakota to witness the Buffalo Roundup. We flew into Rapid City, South Dakota and made the one-hour drive to our lodgings in Custer, stopping at the Rapid City Walmart to pick up four “bag chairs” to take with us to the roundup (as well as some bottles of water and other provisions).
On the day prior to the Roundup we drove to the Custer State Park Visitor Center to get up to date information on the event. The staff in the Visitor Center were primed with information and each staff member had a narrative about the event, parking and everything else one could imagine. I’m sure that by the end of they day they had repeated their narratives many times.
They pointed out that there are two viewing areas for the Roundup; the South Viewing Area (SVA) and the North Viewing Area (NVA).
The South Viewing Area provides a close view of the Buffalo as they make their brief passage into the valley pasture, of which the SVA has limited visibility.
The North Viewing Area provides a more sweeping view of the roundup, allowing observers a distant view of the Buffalo as they sweep around the corner into the view of the SVA and then down a slope to enter valley pasture where the Buffalo and wranglers gather and rest briefly until the final push into the corrals.
Prior to Friday morning you have to decide which of the viewing areas you want to inhabit. On the day of the Roundup, moving from one area to the other is not possible without backtracking out of the park and re-entering the park on the road that will take you to your desired viewing area.
On the Friday, the day of the Roundup, we were up early in order to arrive at Custer State Park and be reasonably near the North Viewing Area when the parking opens at 6:30AM. Once in the park, we found that a lot of other people had the same idea and we were in a long line of stationary vehicles as dawn approached.
There are certainly worse places to be than at Custer State Park at sunrise!
Eventually the line of cars began to move and we progressed in a very orderly manner to the NVA parking area.
Once parked, we observed that a pancake breakfast available for purchase as well as much needed coffee!
We made our way to the NVA hillside and settled down to wait for for the Roundup to begin.
Sometime between 9:30 AM and 10:00 AM we spotted the dust kicked up by the Buffalo as they rounded the corner and headed our way.
The Buffalo thundered down the hill with the wranglers whips cracking to keep them moving. They progressed through a narrow draw at the tree line and moved into the valley pasture.
Once all the Buffalo were in the pasture, the wranglers made sure there were no stragglers and started moving the herd toward the corrals.
When the herd was in the corrals, we folded our chairs and walked down to the corrals for a closer look.
Once in the corrals, the Buffalo are evaluated, vaccinated, some are selected for auction and those not auctioned are transported to their wintering grounds from which they will be returned to Custer State Park in the Spring.
Here is my video of the event:
There are travel experiences that entertain, and then there are experiences that genuinely move you. The annual Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park in South Dakota’s Black Hills falls firmly into the second category. For active travelers looking for something beyond the usual sightseeing circuit, this is an event worth planning an entire trip around.
Planning Your Visit
September mornings in the Black Hills can be quite cool — temperatures in the 40s are not unusual at dawn — with conditions warming significantly by midday. Layered clothing is the right approach. Comfortable, supportive footwear is advisable since the terrain around the viewing area involves uneven ground and there is cactus lurking in the grass. Also, bring a hat – the South Dakota sun can be intense!
The roundup viewing area gates open at approximately 6:30 AM, and experienced attendees know to arrive early. Viewing positions along the bleachers provided in the South Viewing Area and the open slopes of the North Viewing Area fill steadily in the hours before the main event, which typically begins around 9:30 AM. Arriving at or before gate opening gives you the best choice of vantage points and time to settle in before the morning’s activity begins.
Shuttle transportation is also available from designated staging areas to each of the viewing areas. Taking advantage of the shuttle service is a practical choice — it eliminates the stress of navigating parking close to the site and allows you to arrive relaxed and ready.
Binoculars are strongly recommended, as is a camera with a telephoto lens if you want to capture meaningful detail from the viewing distance.
A folding chair such as those we picked up at the Rapid City Walmart or a blanket and seat cushion will add considerably to your comfort if you plan to watch from the grassy slopes at North Viewing Area.
More information about the Buffalo Roundup is available from the South Dakota Department of Fish, Game and Parks – https://gfp.sd.gov/buffalo-roundup/.
Information is also available from the Custer State Park Resort – https://www.custerresorts.com/activities/buffalo-roundup.
The Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival
The roundup itself is part of a broader celebration. The Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival runs throughout the final week of September and transforms the park into a regional showcase of Western and Native American art, craftsmanship, and culture. Artists and artisans from across the region set up along the festival grounds, offering work in painting, sculpture, jewelry, photography, leatherwork, and traditional beadwork. The quality of work on display is genuinely impressive and reflects the deep artistic heritage of the Northern Plains.
Food vendors offer regional specialties — buffalo stew, fry bread, smoked meats, and other local fare — alongside live music performances and cultural demonstrations throughout the week. For visitors with the flexibility to spend three or four days in the area rather than just the day of the roundup, the arts festival provides a rich and unhurried complement to the main event.
Wildlife Throughout the Park
Even setting aside the roundup, Custer State Park ranks among the premier wildlife destinations in North America. Pronghorn antelope — the fastest land animal in the Western Hemisphere — move through the open grasslands in groups that are frequently visible from park roads. White-tailed and mule deer are abundant. Wild turkeys, coyotes, elk, and bighorn sheep round out an impressive roster of resident wildlife.
The park is also home to its famous herd of feral burros, descendants of animals once used for tourist rides decades ago. These sociable and persistent animals have learned to approach vehicles along certain park roads, and encounters with them are almost inevitable — and genuinely entertaining. They are entirely habituated to human presence and will investigate your car with considerable thoroughness if you stop.
The 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road provides an excellent introduction to the park’s grassland terrain and wildlife, and is well-suited to travelers who prefer to experience the landscape from the comfort of a vehicle. Early morning and late afternoon drives along this route offer the best wildlife viewing opportunities.
Lodging and Nearby Accommodations
Lodging options within and around Custer State Park range from the park’s own historic resort properties to independent motels, vacation rentals, and campgrounds in the surrounding area. The park’s State Game Lodge — a historic property that has hosted several U.S. presidents — offers comfortable rooms and a well-regarded dining room, and its setting within the park puts you close to the action. The Legion Lake Resort and Blue Bell Lodge are additional in-park options that book quickly for the roundup weekend.
The town of Custer, about five miles from the park entrance, provides a range of more affordable motel and hotel options along with restaurants and services.
If lodging isn’t available in Custer, then Hill City to the north is an excellent choice offering a small-town atmosphere and good choices for dining and other points of interest such as the Railroad Museum.
Additionally Hot Springs, South Dakota, approximately 20 miles to the south of the park, is another practical base with a relaxed small-town atmosphere and its own points of interest, including the Mammoth Site — a remarkable active paleontological dig where the bones of Columbian and woolly mammoths have been excavated from a sinkhole deposit.
Regardless of where you choose to stay, reservations should be made well in advance. The roundup and arts festival draw visitors from across the country, and accommodations in the area — particularly in-park lodging — are often fully booked by spring for the September event.
Note: If you find that accommodations are fully booked, keep trying. Señor Trail’s first attempts at finding lodging in Custer failed, but I tried again a day later and was successful.
Extending Your Trip in the Black Hills
The Black Hills region offers an exceptional concentration of natural and historic attractions that make a longer stay well worthwhile.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is approximately 25 miles from the park and merits more than a quick stop — the evening lighting program, offered in summer and early fall, provides a perspective on the memorial that daytime visits don’t match.
The Crazy Horse Memorial, a privately funded ongoing sculptural project of enormous scale, is located between Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore and offers fascinating insight into both its subject and the decades-long vision of its creators.
The Needles Highway — a scenic byway that winds through narrow granite spires and tunnels in the northern portion of Custer State Park — is one of the more memorable drives in the American West and is accessible to most passenger vehicles, though drivers should be aware of its tight curves and low-clearance tunnels.
Wind Cave National Park borders Custer State Park to the south and offers ranger-guided tours of one of the world’s longest and most complex cave systems. In Lakota legend, Wind Cave is the site where the Lakota people emerged from the underworld onto the surface of the Earth.
Final Thoughts
The Buffalo Roundup is the kind of event that stays with you long after you’ve returned home. It offers a rare combination of natural drama, historical resonance, and genuine cultural substance — not a simulation of the American West, but an authentic piece of it.
For travelers who are at a stage of life where the quality of an experience matters more than checking boxes, it represents exactly the kind of purposeful, memorable journey worth making. The Black Hills in late September, with the roundup as its centerpiece, make for a compelling and deeply satisfying destination.