Yellowstone vs Custer State Park

[Two_Hands]

We have always wanted to visit Custer State Park. We made the mistake of going to Yellowstone first. We must have seen 300 buffalo, although we didn’t count them, as well as other critters. Then we went to Custer State Park. We saw three buffalo and we did count them. It’s a beautiful state park, but visit it before Yellowstone.

[Mayor30]

We have been to both at different times. We saw numerous buffalo at both. At Custer we also saw wild burro and prairie dogs. At Yellowstone we also saw elk and a mother grizzly and 3 cubs walk right next to our van.Both are worth seeing.

[dedmiston]

agesilaus wrote:

Crowe wrote:
Roosevelt is one of the most underrated parks IMHO. We really enjoyed visiting there.

We've been there at least three or four times. But I would rate it as a minor NP. Speaking of the southern unit, it has one road going thru the park and a few hiking trails. We walked all the short ones in a day. IIRC there is one long trail. The landscape is somewhat monotonous, hills mainly grass covered with a few scrubby trees. Yes it is worth a trip or two.

There is a short road into an area off the interstate going to some colorful bentonite hills. But that is a quick stop tho we hiked the one trail up to the top of one of the hills giving a great view of the traffic on the interstate.

The north unit is more visually interesting but still has few trails and one road.

They do have critters tho, especially bison. But the last time we were up there in 2019 we didn't see one bison. Just a matter of timing and no slam on the park.

The park does have a third unit but the ranger say it's a waste of time. Just the foundations of a old building from the TR ranch. And it is a long road to get to it. Seems like they said it was a dirt road too.

The Custer Trail is a pretty interesting drive too. We drove that loop last year. It seems like the drive took us most of the day. When we got to the far end of the loop (on the western end) we came out to a beautiful golf course and my wife told me to stop so we could hit a bucket of balls. It was close to sundown and the entire lot was full of big pickup trucks, which made sense for those parts. I told the kind woman at the desk that we wanted to hit a couple of buckets, but we didn't have any gear. For $4 apiece, she let us both use a set of demo clubs, gave us each a couple bags of tees, and tossed me the keys to a cart because the driving range was "so far away". My wife told me to pull over to our truck because we still had beers in the cooler in back.

So for $8 total, my wife and I had a good old time and hit a couple good balls each.

I felt guilty for having so much fun and hardly spending anything there, so I told my wife I'd buy her some food and a drink at the clubhouse. But the North Dakota clubhouse was just a vending machine, so we hit the road. It was a great end to a beautiful day though.

And then we tried to find fuel around there because we were leaving the next day. We had to drive almost to the Montana border to find any diesel.

[older_fossil]

We were in Custer SP, Theodore Roosevelt NP, Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP this past summer and early fall. We saw LOTS of bison in all of them. The worst "bison jams" blocking traffic were in Custer SP, but bison affected traffic at some point in all of them. Each park has its good points. Yellowstone was very crowded this September.

Art

[agesilaus]

Crowe wrote:
Roosevelt is one of the most underrated parks IMHO. We really enjoyed visiting there.

We've been there at least three or four times. But I would rate it as a minor NP. Speaking of the southern unit, it has one road going thru the park and a few hiking trails. We walked all the short ones in a day. IIRC there is one long trail. The landscape is somewhat monotonous, hills mainly grass covered with a few scrubby trees. Yes it is worth a trip or two.

There is a short road into an area off the interstate going to some colorful bentonite hills. But that is a quick stop tho we hiked the one trail up to the top of one of the hills giving a great view of the traffic on the interstate.

The north unit is more visually interesting but still has few trails and one road.

They do have critters tho, especially bison. But the last time we were up there in 2019 we didn't see one bison. Just a matter of timing and no slam on the park.

The park does have a third unit but the ranger say it's a waste of time. Just the foundations of a old building from the TR ranch. And it is a long road to get to it. Seems like they said it was a dirt road too.

[Crowe]

Roosevelt is one of the most underrated parks IMHO. We really enjoyed visiting there.

[dedmiston]

We saw tons of bison at Roosevelt NP last fall. They were everywhere.

North Dakota had a lot of pleasant surprises for us. It was one of our favorite stops.

[dodge_guy]

We went to Custer years ago and seen a few buffalo and the burros.
We went to Yellowstone 3 years ago and seen a handful of buffalo, that was it. Then we went down to the Tetons and we seen everything, bears in our campground (Colter Bay RV Park), moose on a drive down to Jackson. And a lot of others.
It all depends on how lucky you are!

[Busskipper]

Apples and Oranges

Not comparable - JMHO,

[JAC1982]

What an odd comparison. If your only goal is to see bison, I can recommend a few spots along a couple of the interstates here in CO you can go, and save yourself the entrance fees to the parks.

[Crowe]

Beg to differ. We have been to both multiple times. Each is unique in it's own right. Have been in the middle of hundreds of buffalo at Custer. Have been in Yellowstone and seen very few. It's all about timing, weather, etc. It's apples and oranges to compare parks, especially when you compare different ecosystems and environs. Look at each with open eyes and open minds. Don't set yourself up for disappointment because you will undoubtedly find it if you do.

[Bumpyroad]

Two Hands wrote:
We have always wanted to visit Custer State Park. We made the mistake of going to Yellowstone first. We must have seen 300 buffalo, although we didn’t count them, as well as other critters. Then we went to Custer State Park. We saw three buffalo and we did count them. It’s a beautiful state park, but visit it before Yellowstone.

I did something similar. went out to see rocks etc. in Utah, etc. then went to Wisconsin dells.
bumpy

[Lwiddis]

Beautiful pictures, Age and bpounds.

[bpounds]

If you can ever swing it, attend the buffalo roundup at CSP. Usually around the first of October. You'll see a lot of buffalo, feel the vibration of their hooves, and even buy one if you want.

[valhalla360]

Who'd a thunk...probably the worlds most famous national park beats out a state park.

Not that Custer is bad park by any means but it's like comparing Camry to a Ferrari.