May 10, 2021

Great Faces, Great Places – Black Hills

From our home base in Deadwood, we set out to explore the Black Hills area of Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse (a little over an hour away). The day consisted of a lot of sightseeing from our SUV which worked out well for us since it was a cold and at times rainy/sleety day. The driving through this area goes through tight tunnels, steep climbs, and sharp turns. I enjoyed driving it in our vehicle, but I’d caution against taking an RV through this (saw a few smaller ones out there) or a vehicle that you don’t feel comfortable handling these conditions effectively.

Is that a rock or a buffalo?

Our day started off by doing the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park. This 18 mile loops takes you through scenic open plains and rocky forested areas with the opportunity to see a wide variety of wildlife. It is recommended that you go in the earlier morning or evening for the best chance of seeing wildlife activity and also to avoid crowded traffic. There is a fee to enter the state park ($20 for a temporary pass that’s good for up to 7 days), but for we were told we didn’t have to pay (not sure why, but assumed because it was Sunday morning and we were just doing the loop). We made it through a quarter of the loop without seeing any wildlife and we were getting worried we would strike out, but about half way through we came across some big herds of buffalos including many young ones! It was great to see them up close and the Corgis really enjoyed checking them out (and smelling them). Along with the buffalo, we saw many curious burrows, prairie dogs, and prongdeers. It took an hour to complete the loop and was good experience for an easy opportunity to get a close encounter with native Black Hills wildlife!

Leaving Custer State Park, we took the Iron Mountain Road which starts just to the East of the state park entrance (well marked). This 17 mile stretch that never goes above 35 mph is a thrill to drive (in the proper vehicle as noted above) and rewards you with some amazing scenery. The highlight for us was the Norbeck Overlook at the peak of the road with great views of Mount Rushmore. Since dogs aren’t allowed in the Mount Rushmore memorial area itself, this was our destination for taking in the views. Along with a nice overlook section, there’s also an opportunity to do some easy rock climbing to get additional views of the presidents and the surrounding valley. It is recommended that you drive this road from South to North for the best views including two of the tunnels perfectly framing Mount Rushmore as you pass through.

After completing the Iron Mountain Road and passing through Keystone and Hill City (some nice breweries and wineries in town!) we made a quick stop to see Crazy Horse from the road. There is a pull off with visitor information next to the entrance of the monument site that you can see the site for free if you don’t want to go in closer. We accidentally pulled in too far and had to pass the ticket booth to turn around and exit (seems to happen a lot) so we got a bit closer view before leaving. We both visited Crazy Horse as kids (20 years ago) and it looks about the same as it did then. Not much progress being made, but still a cool site to at least see once!