Custer State Park, Custer

My son and I drove through here on our road trip across America and he still talks about this place as one of his favorite spots. We were able to see wild buffalo, pronghorn and prairie dogs. We also rented kayaks and spent some time on the water. There was a small fee for entry but it was definitely worth it. You could spend the entire day here.

Beautiful views. We drove through the needles highway and hiked the cathedral spires trail and loved the views. The mountains are a great difference from the surrounding rolling hills. There are a few narrow tunnels on the needles highway, so be careful that your truck isn't too wide or tall. There are lots of other hiking trails in the area that I'd love to explore. We went in mid April and there was still some snow on the ground, which made the hike more difficult than it needed to be. The other thing to note is that you need to pay an entrance fee to drive into the park since it is a state forest. To me this felt fine, as the money goes directly to maintaining this gorgeous forest.