Custer State Park

you will need to rent a car for two of the most popular scenic drives.
The Needles highway has a tunnel your rig won't fit.
The Peter Norbeck scenic highway/road has three tunnels and two piggy-tail ascent/descents. The tunnels are narrow and have ceilings too low for your rig.

re dining out... I recommend trying a bison burger because bison is every bit as tasty as a cow. but I can't think of any one particular restaurant to suggest.
Keystone, Hill City and Custer all have several eateries to choose from.
The State Park Lodge restaurant is good.

garmp wrote:
We were fortunate enough to snag 3 nights, one at Sylvan Lake campground & 2 at Blue Bell campground on our way to Spearfish for a RV rally in early/mid Sept.
Driving a 26' class C, DW wants to tour the area, but understand there are tunnels & other concerns to consider. Any suggestions on what to see & what to avoid? Would a rent-a-car be required? Any eateries near the area with local flavor?
Any & all info appreciated.

Images might help

Look and decide - IMHO - I'd take the drive in an Auto not an RV

Beautiful Drive, :)

The State Park Lodge restaurant is excellent. I recommend the elk medallions. As far as restaurants in the area we weren't impressed with any of them. Do eat a bison burger but make sure you are hungry-they weigh a bit heavy on the stomach.

I have a great memory of Custer State Park. In 1972 I was a community organizer in a Lakota Sioux community. Several of us took a break and were driving through the park when we we ended up in the middle of a bison herd of several hundred animals. A woman from Chicago in the back seat became frightened and began screaming. Let's just say that the unwanted attention was not a good thing. I was driving a 1963 Volvo 544 (peanut sized) and several males brushed up against the vehicle. My yelling at her was also not a good thing. It was a memorable event.

Screaming is generally not a good idea in any situation including near bison, cattle, horses etc. That would be the last time she was in the same vehicle as me. We loved being surrounded by bison when visiting Custer SP on our first visit in 1979. Smelly, dusty, dirty and with those eyes!

davesworldtours.com is the Custer area go to tour company.

Lunch at Alpine Inn in Hill City.

we went through a big herd of bison in Yellowstone on one trip. my window was open and when one of the animals brushed by, I reached out to lightly touch the hair on his/her bushy head. They are very intimidating, up close.

ditto to lunch at Alpine Inn in Hill City.

garmp wrote:
We were fortunate enough to snag 3 nights, one at Sylvan Lake campground & 2 at Blue Bell campground on our way to Spearfish for a RV rally in early/mid Sept.
Driving a 26' class C, DW wants to tour the area, but understand there are tunnels & other concerns to consider. Any suggestions on what to see & what to avoid? Would a rent-a-car be required? Any eateries near the area with local flavor?
Any & all info appreciated.

Don't miss the Eye of the Needle tunnel on the Needles Highway

Watch this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMYf2nA6O9g&ab_channel=TelemasterPortal

Diesel pushers sometimes go through.