South Dakota's Artsy Festival Within Custer State Park Serves Old West Charm, Buffalo, And Renowned Views

It's not so often that you can feel the ground shake beneath your feet as hundreds of bison make their way past you, but it's something you can experience each year in Custer State Park, one of the Midwest's most underrated parks. The annual Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival brings nearly 25,000 visitors to watch the spectacle, where approximately 1,500 bison are rounded up and brought together to corrals near the Custer State Park Bison Center. It's a free event, held the last weekend of September; 2025's roundup on September 26 is the 60th one. And the accompanying arts festival, with upwards of 150 vendors, is on September 25 to 27.

If you're planning to attend this incredible event, there are some important things to know. Cowboys and cowgirls start rounding up the bison at 9:30 a.m., though the gates for the public viewing areas open at 6:15 a.m.; you have to be in place by 9 a.m. It's a popular event, so the earlier you can get there to get a good spot, the better. You are even allowed to line up in a vehicle along the Wildlife Loop Road in the park starting at midnight.

There are two main viewing areas in the north and south part of the park. The north gives you the chance to see the bison approaching you, while the south gives you a broader perspective of the bison moving along the prairie, though you never know exactly which route the bison will take from year to year. 

Once you're in your selected viewing area for the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup, you can expect to stay there until the entire herd is in the corrals by around 11:30 a.m. or noon, so bring a lawn chair and layers. You're on the open prairie, so wear good shoes, and bring a flashlight if you're going to be arriving in the dark. There are portable toilets available. Both viewing areas have a pancake and sausage breakfast available (another good reason to arrive early), and you can get bison barbecue for lunch near the corrals. You're also allowed to bring your own food and drinks.

After the bison are rounded up, the herd is worked for the next few days. Some get vaccinated and branded, and the overall health of the herd is assessed. A few hundred of the bison are selected to be auctioned off at the park in November, as the park only has enough grazing land for around 1,000 bison.

If you have the right credentials, you can get a particularly unique view of the roundup by volunteering to be one of the riders. It's too late to apply to be one of the riders to help in this year's roundup, but you can always plan for next year; check the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks website for details on timing. You need to have extensive experience on a horse and with livestock — as emphasized on the application, "This is not a trail ride!"

The Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival is held near the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center, about a 25-minute drive north from the bison corrals. There's live music and dancing, cowboy poetry, plenty of food and drinks, and vendors selling all things Western.

If you can't make it to the Buffalo Roundup, South Dakota Public Broadcasting has live streamed past roundups and included commentary on the event, so mark your calendar and check its YouTube page. Outside the roundup event, Custer State Park is one of the best places (other than Yellowstone) where you can see bison. Driving along the 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road is a great way to see the park's herd. If you want to get deeper into the park, the Buffalo Safari Jeep Tour goes off road and can get you closer to some of the park's wildlife; along with the bison, there are elk, deer, pronghorn, and more. And you can learn more about the herd at the Bison Center.

If you are planning to attend the Buffalo Roundup, book your accommodation early. The park itself has a variety of accommodation options, including some historic lodges, private cabins, and a number of campgrounds. The small town of Custer, less than 10 minutes from the park, has a number of hotels and motels. And it's a little over a 30-minute drive from Rapid City, the Gateway to the Black Hills, to Custer State Park.