Fodor's Black Hills of South Dakota by Fodor's Travel Guides

Author:Fodor's Travel Guides [Fodor’s Travel Guides]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fodor's Travel
Published: 2024-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

Hot Springs

32 miles south of Custer, 7 miles south of Wind Cave National Park.

Noted for its striking sandstone structures, the small and historic community of Hot Springs (population approximately 3,400) is the gateway to Wind Cave National Park. It is also the entry point to scores of other natural and historical sites, including Evans Plunge, a naturally heated indoor-outdoor pool; The Mammoth Site, where more than 60 mammoths have been unearthed; and one of the state’s premier golf courses.

GETTING HERE AND AROUND

The easiest and fastest way to reach Hot Springs from Rapid City is to skirt the Black Hills on Highway 79 and then take a short stretch of Highway 18. If you’re already up in the mountains, scenic Highway 385 goes south from Custer through Wind Cave National Park and on to Hot Springs.

All About the Buffalo s

The 1,400-animal-strong Custer State Park bison herd got its start in 1914 when two legendary South Dakotans got together. Peter Norbeck, the governor and later U.S. senator who was instrumental in the park’s creation, obtained 36 bison (commonly known as “buffalo”) from Scotty Philip, who safeguarded some of the last remaining bison on the Great Plains after they were nearly hunted into extinction by the U.S. government in the 1800s.

By 1965, the park’s bison herd numbered in the thousands, and it was overwhelming the park’s ability to support it. Thus, the park held its first-ever roundup and auction, to cull the herd back to a manageable size.

The roundups have continued annually ever since and have grown into a visitor spectacle. Thousands of people come to the park in late September every year, where they arrive early in the morning to a roped-off viewing area on a hillside and wait for the herd to come thundering by, pushed along by wranglers on horseback. There’s an art festival, held outdoors near the State Game Lodge, in conjunction with the roundup. See the park website (wwww.custerstatepark.com) for the festival dates and more information.

But you don’t have to attend the roundup to see the bison. They roam freely across much of the park and are especially visible along the Wildlife Loop Road.

There are signs all over the park warning visitors to keep a safe distance when they encounter bison, and those warnings can’t be stressed enough. Bison typically couldn’t care less about you, as evidenced by their propensity to stand on or amble across roads, causing traffic jams in the park. But if you approach them and make them feel threatened, you’ll quickly find out how dangerous they are. They have sharp horns and powerful necks, and they can run up to 35 mph. Seemingly every summer, a few tourists ignore the warnings and do incredibly ill-advised things, like attempting to pet a bison. The consequence of such behavior is often serious injury and, sometimes, death.

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy viewing these wild, majestic beasts. Just give them the respect and the wide berth they deserve.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.