8 Cheap And Free Things To Do In Custer, South Dakota
Custer, South Dakota has a population of almost 2,000 residents and is the county seat of Custer County.
It’s one of the oldest towns in the Black Hills settled by miners in 1875.
The town sits in the center of a number of major tourist attractions in the area.
Below are some cheap and free things to do during your visit and some bonus nearby locations as well.
Grizzly Gulch Adventure Golf: We love mini-golf and hit this one up on my birthday. It’s not the fanciest course, but we still had fun. It’s got some holes that are more challenging than they look.
Tickets are $10 per person and they are open seasonally.
1881 Courthouse Museum: This museum preserves the history of Custer County and the Black Hills with a number of indoor and outdoor exhibits. There are a lot of old and cool artifacts throughout the museum.
Tickets are $8 for adults and seniors and children are $4.
Custer Skywalk Trail: This hiking trail is less than a mile long and takes you through Big Rock Park and ends with epic views of the town. The entrance archway is guarded by two giant statues named Chief and George.
There are a lot of steps and a bit of elevation gain, but it’s completely worth the effort.
Harbach Centennial Park: The park has water, trash, and picnic shelters and is a nice little place to hang out. There’s a cool old train car to check out and the park also has access to the George S. Mickelson Trail.
The Custer Skywalk Trail also starts here.
Bedrock City Graveyard: Back in the day a Flintstones Bedrock City theme park use to call the town home. All that remains now are a 20-foot statue of Dino and a dilapidated playground. They are still fun to explore and take pictures of though.
Painted Buffalo Statues: The statues were part of a public art project held in the mid-2000s and are scattered around town. Each statue is hand-painted on both sides with different scenes and are incredible.
Head to the visitor center for a map with the locations of all the buffalo statues as well as other pieces of art.
Creepy Cement Dinosaurs: In front of Ken’s Minerals & Trading Post you will find four creepy old cement dinosaurs that appear to have real animal teeth. There is also a big old metal moose statue outside the shop.
If rocks, minerals, and fossils are your thing head inside as well they have a nice selection.
Custer State Park: This is an amazing state park encompassing 71,000 acres in the Black Hills. It’s an outdoor enthusiast’s dream with plenty of camping, hiking, biking, swimming, and fishing. They even have a free-roaming buffalo herd and wild burros.
It is amazing!
It cost $20 per vehicle for a seven-day pass.
For more information on anything listed above click on the link for my full post.
There are plenty of places in town to eat and shop at as well.
Jewel Cave National Monument is only twenty minutes away from Custer.
Crazy Horse Memorial is only fifteen minutes away from town.
Wind Cave National Park is only twenty-five minutes from the town.
The tourist town of Hill City, South Dakota is only twenty minutes away.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial and the city of Keystone are only thirty minutes away.
We fell in love with Custer, South Dakota during our two-week stay.
If you have time for a longer vacation Custer makes the perfect base in order to visit a number of parks and memorials in the area. The Black Hills are amazing!
