Add This Bucket List Experience to Your 2025 Travel Plans

This once-a-year opportunity is one of the last great traditions of the Old West.

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ou hear them before you see them. On a clear autumn day in South Dakota’s Black Hills, a massive herd of more than 1,300 buffalo is stampeding. It’s a loud and frenetic noise—a growing rumble you can almost feel in your bones. Once the thundering pack comes into view, along with a few dozen whooping and bullwhip-cracking wranglers deftly maneuvering on horseback to keep these majestic beasts—grunting and kicking up giant swirls of dust—on the move across hills and valleys, you can’t help but be awed by this thrilling spectacle.

The Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup is an annual event held on the last Friday in September in the 71,000-acre Custer State Park, home to some of the state’s most spectacular natural beauty and free-roaming wildlife ranging from elk and bighorn sheep to white-tailed deer and prairie dogs. But it’s the North American bison, also known as buffalo, that the park is synonymous with. In fact, Custer State Park is home to one of the world’s largest publicly owned herds, and its annual Buffalo Roundup, which is free to attend, has proven incredibly popular with the public—last year’s 59th event attracted more than 24,000 spectators, a record number.

But the Buffalo Roundup is not a staged event for entertainment purposes; rather, it serves as a crucial management tool in maintaining the health and population size of the herd and the grasslands they graze on (the land can only sustain a herd size between 1,300 and 1,400). During the Roundup, which started in the 1960s, the bison are moved from their normal grazing grounds to outdoor corrals where they are tested (for diseases, illnesses, and pregnancy), vaccinated, sorted, and branded. A few hundred are then sold at auction.

The Roundup kicks off early, at approximately 9:30 a.m. Spectators start arriving before dawn in order to stake out a prime spot. There are two hillside lookout areas, North Viewing and South Viewing, both of which are located near the corrals, and while there is no seating, people bring their own folding chairs, binoculars, coffee and snacks, and perhaps a blanket as the weather can get quite chilly. The anticipation is palpable as the crowd—sitting safely on the sidelines—awaits the herd.

Along the 5-mile route, the animals are wrangled by dozens of cowboys and cowgirls (a mix of park staff and longtime riders along with volunteers—to be considered, you must be a very experienced rider with your own horse). It should be noted that the bison are not always running; they might be galloping or even walking.

Subgroups might wander up a steep ridgeline, or a few calves might get caught in a streamside thicket, and the hollering cowhands must “round up” the stragglers and steer them forward en masse. A huge cheer erupts from the crowd when the herd is first sighted, their hooves pounding the grassy plains.

While the viewing areas are at a safe distance from the herd, it can be a tad disconcerting if you stop to think about the awesome power these mammals—North America’s largest—possess. They can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, reach 35 mph, and are quite agile, able to turn on a dime. If you’re visiting the park outside of the Roundup, perhaps driving the famous Wildlife Loop Road, remember that these are dangerous and unpredictable animals so keep your distance. The big bulls are so ornery and aggressive they aren’t even included in the Roundup.

Once the herd is in the holding pens—typically around noon—spectators are free to wander outside the corrals and observe staff testing and sorting. Others head straight to the Custer State Park Bison Center, where for a very reasonable $20, you can chow down on a chuck wagon lunch of buffalo brisket sandwiches, baked beans, soda, and chips at outdoor picnic tables.

As part of the weekend festivities, there’s also an Arts Festival (located near the park’s State Game Lodge) with 150 arts and crafts booths and live country and bluegrass music under a big top tent. All of this makes for quite the exciting Black Hills adventure—a once-a-year opportunity to experience one of the last great traditions of the Old West.

Where to Stay

The Bavarian Inn in Custer is a charming two-story motel with 64 rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court, and a café. After a day of sightseeing (it’s a 10-minute drive to the entrance of Custer State Park and 30 minutes to Mount Rushmore), enjoy free warm chocolate chip cookies and milk in the lobby each afternoon.

Cadillac Jack’s Gaming Resort in Deadwood is a large complex featuring three hotels (Tru by Hilton, Doubletree by Hilton, and Springhill Suites), a casino, and a few bars and restaurants, including FLYT Steakhouse. It’s a 10-minute walk to Main Street, where you can order a local beer or whiskey in saloons as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane once did.

Where to Eat

Skogen Kitchen, an intimate high-end restaurant in Custer, has attracted national attention with its inspiring chef-driven cuisine. The menu changes often, but expect dishes like duck leg with smoked bacon, fried Brussels sprouts, Buffalo short ribs with dried cherries, toasted pine nuts, and its famous butter cake for dessert.

While Deadwood is known for its bustling casinos and bars with live music, an elegant dining experience can be found at Jake’s, tucked away on the fourth floor of a historic Main Street building. Diners can indulge in escargot, steaks, chops, and lobster tails amid art deco accents and stained glass windows. There’s also an impressive wine list.

A great spot for lunch after exploring Spearfish Canyon is Latchstring, a down-home log cabin-style restaurant where you can sample local dishes such as hearty bison stew, corn cakes drizzled with honey, chislic (these delicious marinated fried beef or lamb cubes are the state’s official snack), and plate-sized cinnamon rolls.

Hill City’s Alpine Inn has just two things on the dinner menu: filet mignon and spaetzle primavera. The steak is wrapped in bacon and comes with a baked potato, Texas Toast (grilled thick white bread slathered with garlic butter), and a wedge of lettuce with house ranch. If you can’t choose from the dessert list, go with the bread pudding.