Begging Burros HATE Rutabagas (Our Custer State Park Wildlife Adventure)

Our family highly recommends driving the Wildlife Loop Road at Custer State Park in South Dakota. See the bison, the begging burros, and other wildlife! What an amazing experience for the entire family!

 

Our family thoroughly enjoyed our entire day at Custer State Park – from the curvy mountain drives to the gorgeous views, from the fun hikes to the awesome wildlife. The entire day was filled with one fantastic moment after another.

We arrived to Custer State Park by mid-morning. I had wanted to get there earlier but that just wasn’t feasible with our road trip itinerary.

I knew from our experiences in Lamar Valley at Yellowstone National Park that wildlife are generally most active at dawn and dusk. So I had hoped to drive the Wildlife Loop around daybreak but, alas, that was just not meant to be.

Fortunately, my husband suggested that we drive it anyways since we were there. I am so glad he made that suggestion. We saw a ton of wildlife, and it was quite possibly the most memorable adventure from our exciting day at Custer State Park.

 

Driving the Wildlife Loop at Custer State Park

The Wildlife Loop Road is located in the southern portion of Custer State Park. It is 18 miles of twists and turns through prairies and hills allowing you to see a variety of free roaming wildlife.  You should expect this drive to take 1.5 – 2 hours.

You can start your Wildlife Loop drive at the main Visitor Center. Or, you can pick it up near the park’s Blue Bell Entrance. Additionally, there is a small Wildlife Station Visitor Center is located midway through this scenic drive.

HELPFUL RESOURCE:  Custer State Park Map (PDF) – South Dakota State Parks

Drive slowly, keep watch for wildlife amidst the changing terrains, and bring a few burro-approved snacks.

 

Buffalo Jams are the Best

One of the most common wildlife sightings along the Wildlife Loop is bison. Custer State Park is currently home to about 1400 bison.

FUN FACT:  Bison are often called American Buffalo (even though they are not really buffalo at all).

It is not uncommon to get stuck in a “Buffalo Jam” – a traffic jam caused by bison in the road – and these are the very best kind of traffic jams to be stuck in. Slow your vehicle, and take a moment to properly appreciate these majestic beasts.

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As always, use caution around any wildlife including bison. Remain a safe distance away from the bison, and never try to feed them.

Bison was first introduced to the park with the purchase of 36 bison in 1914, and their numbers had nearly tripled in ten years. An additional purchase of 60 more bison was made in 1951. The Custer State Park herds have continued to grow since then.

Custer State Park hosts a Buffalo Roundup every year in early fall where horseback wranglers herd the bison into corrals. The bison are given health checkups and counted. To maintain the herd, any excessive numbers of bison are auctioned off later that same season. Thousands of visitors attend the annual Buffalo Roundup event.

READ MORE:  Custer State Park Roundup Event – South Dakota State Parks

 

Begging Burros Do Not Like Rutabagas

While the bison are a major attraction on the Wildlife Loop, the begging burros are also very entertaining. The infamous “begging burros” are descendants of small donkeys once used as pack animals taking visitors from Sylvan Lake Lodge to a nearby peak summit.

Rangers usually discourage visitors from feeding wild animals in parks… but, for whatever reason, they don’t seem to mind if you feed the burros living in this area of Custer State Park. These friendly small donkeys love to eat and have become accustomed to receiving treats from visitors.

What should you feed the begging burros at Custer State Park? Apples and carrots are a great choice. (We brought baby carrots to feed them and wish we had brought the larger full-size ones instead.) They also enjoy crackers and a wide variety of other foods. As it turns out though, the begging burros do not like rutabagas.

A park ranger said that a visitor tried feeding them rutabagas the day before our visit, and the burros turned their noses up at the unappetizing root vegetable. I can’t say I blame them. I’m not a fan of rutabagas either. Blech!

It was easy to find the begging burros. We saw several empty vehicles parked in a pullout area near a field of tall prairie grass. People were standing outside their vehicles and milling around the area. Upon closer inspection, we noticed several small donkeys amidst the park visitors.

We quickly parked our minivan, grabbed a bag of baby carrots and got out of the car. As we stretched a little, I noticed the tall prairie grass in the field begin to part as if something was approaching. I quickly pointed, and the kids looked just in time to see three small donkeys almost magically appear from the shoulder-high grass. I wish you could have seen the look of delight on my kids’ faces!

PRO TIP:  Bring full-size carrots (not baby carrots) for the begging burros. It is less nerve-wracking to hand feed them large carrots.

I had brought baby carrots to feed the burros. However, the carrots were so small that we were scared to hand feed with them (as other park visitors were doing). So we dropped the carrots on the ground for the burros to eat. Then, we petted the friendly creatures as they enjoyed the snack.

It was a really neat experience and the highlight of the day for my seven-year-old daughter. As we hopped back into the minivan to continue along the Wildlife Loop, my daughter said, “Thank you for bringing me to this awesome place!”

RELATED:  Burros in Custer State Park – USA Today

 

Other Wildlife at Custer State Park

The best time to drive the Wildlife Loop is in the early morning or late evening. In general, wildlife is most active at dawn or dusk.

Our family traveled the Wildlife Loop Road in the early afternoon (around 1pm), and we still found it to be a worthwhile adventure. As it turns out, you can see the bison and burros pretty much any time of the day.

Besides the bison and burros, we also saw a few pronghorn, some deer and a couple of prairie dogs during our mid-day drive.

Other wildlife in this area of the park include elk, bighorn sheep, burrowing owls and coyotes. There has even been occasional sightings of mountain lions! We did not have the pleasure of seeing any of these other creatures during our drive… but maybe we would have if we had driven the Wildlife Loop at daybreak or sunset?

 

Don’t Miss the Visitor Center

Midway through the Wildlife Loop Road, you will find the Wildlife Station Visitor Center. It is very small but definitely worth a visit.

It has a couple of interesting exhibits, and there was a ranger on hand to answer questions. (This is the ranger that had mentioned the begging burros’ dislike of rutabagas.)

One of our favorite things at this small visitor center was a large magnetic wall map. Visitors place magnets on this map to show where they have found different animals along the Wildlife Loop that day. What a helpful resource!

 

Your Kids Will Thank You

So, if you have an opportunity to visit Custer State Park in South Dakota, our family highly recommends you go check it out. We especially recommend driving the Wildlife Loop Road. It’s a super fun adventure for the entire family, and if your children are anything like mine, they will thank you for it!

“Thank you for bringing me to this awesome place!” –my seven-year-old

Oh, and please tell the bison and burros that our family says hello while you are there.

• Would you like to visit Custer State Park?
• What wildlife would you most like to see there?
• Would you enjoy getting stuck in a Buffalo Jam?
• Were you surprised to learn that the burros don’t like rutabagas?

 

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