Custer State Park - All in one day?

Is this workable for one day? We will be staying in Keystone. Want to drive the Norbeck Scenic Byway (stop at Sylvan Lake to walk around lake) %26amp; do other brief stops %26amp; have lunch at one of the lodges. Then do Wildlife Loop. What approx. time would we be back at Keystone?

What is the best way to drive thru the park in one day? I had wanted to do the Wildlife Loop early a.m., but I see Keystone is too far away to be able to do that.

Any advice? Thanks.

Custer State Park - All in one day?

The only advice I would give you is to take your time in Custer State Park. Our family was there is June 08. We only had time to drive through on our way from Hill City to Badlands National Park. We drove the Needles Highway (beautiful), hiked around Sylvan Lake and drove the wildlife loop road. We were there for 4-5 hours. I would love to go back and spend 4-5 days. Have fun.

Custer State Park - All in one day?

For a trip like this, I%26#39;d allot a very full day if you drive the entire Norbeck Byway. This includes Needles Hwy, Sylvan Lake, and Iron Mountain Road. I%26#39;d plan to take a picnic lunch to enjoy (weather permitting, of course) at Sylvan Lake. You are going to want to spend time here...it%26#39;s so beautiful. You could leave Keystone and head west on 244 and then head on to Sylvan Lake for walking and a possible early lunch. Then continue on 87 over the Needles Hwy. You could then pick up the Wildlife Loop and then possibly eat at either the Game Lodge or Blue Bell Lodge. We enjoyed the Blue Bell. The Wildlife Loop is nice to drive if you can hit it at dawn or dusk, but we drove it around 5 p.m. and saw quite a lot of wildlife. I would work it in wherever you can. We saw wild burros, prairie dogs, pronghorn, big horn sheep, bison, and deer. After driving the wildlife loop, you can continue back toward Keystone, heading over Iron Mountain Road, known for its Pigtail Bridges and tunnels that frame Mt. Rushmore.

Just a suggestion..if you have time, I%26#39;d break up Custer over 2 days. I%26#39;m not sure if you are looking to get out of your car much, but by giving this only a day, you won%26#39;t get too much out of the car time. Hiking would be difficult, but if you aren%26#39;t planning on doing any, this will not be an issue.

As Tntands said, you will want to spend as much time here as you can. It is doable in a day, but it will be a very full one. Splitting the park into 2 days combining it with some other area attractions would be more ideal, imo.

Hope this helps. Feel free to stop back with more questions.