Custer State Park Fees, Facilities and Hours

Park Hours & Fees
Custer State Park is open year-round, 24 hours per day. A temporary (1-7 days) license is $15 per vehicle and a $10 per motorcycle fee. An annual park entrance license is $28 and you can buy a second annual park entrance license for $14.00. A transferable park entrance license is $60. Motorcoach licenses are $3 per person per continuous visit. An entrance license is required of all park visitors. Only people traveling non-stop on US Highway 16A are exempt from this requirement. Park licenses can be purchased at any of the five entrance stations.

Directions
Visitors traveling from the city of Custer should take US Hwy. 16 east. Visitors traveling from Hill City should take State Hwy 87 southeast. Visitors traveling from Keystone should take US Hwy. 16A south. Visitors traveling from Hermosa should take State Hwy. 36 west. Visitors traveling from Hot Springs and Wind Cave National Park should take State Hwy. 87 north.

Facilities
The Peter Norbeck Visitor Center is open seven days a week from April 1 through November 30, from April 1 to Memorial Day the Visitor Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, from Memorial Day through Labor Day the Visitor Center is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Labor Day through September 30 the Visitor Center is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from October 1 through November 30. Peter Norbeck Visitor Center features interpretive exhibits and displays that reveal much about the history of the area, from Black Hills geology to gold panning. This Visitor Center is the main location for the park’s educational programming efforts.

The Wildlife Station Visitor Center is open seven days per week from Memorial Day through September 30. Hours from Memorial Day through Labor Day are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Labor Day though September 30 this Visitor Center is open 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. The Wildlife Station Visitor Center is located along Wildlife Loop Road. Here guests can ask staff questions that may arise, stretch their legs or view exhibits.

Badger Clark Memorial, home of South Dakota’s first poet laureate, Badger Clark, is located near Legion Lake and is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

The Gordon Stockade is a replica of a log fortress built by the Gordon Party as protection from Lakota attacks during the 1874 gold rush. Today’s Gordon Stockade is built on the original site. Interpretive signs tell the story of this short lived illegal occupation in 1874-1875. Visitors have the opportunity to visit with park staff on site from June through August, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. daily to learn more about this era in American History.

Services
Camping is available at 8 campgrounds throughout the park. Each campsite at Custer State Park has gravel or a paved camping pad, a fire grate and picnic table. Electric hookups are available in several campgrounds. All campgrounds have showers and flush or vault toilets. Evening programs are presented nightly at campground amphitheaters between Memorial Day and Labor Day. About 260 campsites in the park can be reserved starting in January for arrivals between May and October. Sixty-eight campsites are on a first-come, first-served basis. Camping fees range are $18 or $22 with electricity per night  Sites with electricity are limited at each campground. 

Camping cabins are one-room, log style cabins and can be found in the Blue Bell, Game Lodge and French Creek Horse campgrounds. Each cabin has heating, air conditioning, electricity and a porch. Cabins sleep a maximum of four people and do not include linens. Camping cabin fees are $45 per night.

Custer State Park Resort features four distinct lodges: Blue Bell Lodge, Legion Lake Lodge, State Game Lodge and Sylvan Lake Lodge. The resort provides guests with a choice of accommodations including historic lodge rooms, hotel, motel and cabins. The Resort also has dining facilities, lounges, chapels, meeting and banquet facilities, guide services, water sport rentals, chuckwagon cookouts, hiking trails, gift shops and trail rides.

Coolidge General Store & Gift Shop features souvenirs, groceries, gas and snacks. 

Food gas, lodging and camping are also available in the gateway communities of Custer, Hill City, Keystone, Hermosa and Hot Springs.