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Officials at Custer State Park are asking
visitors to the 42nd Annual Buffalo Roundup on Monday,
Oct. 1 to plan their travel route ahead of time. This year
spectators will need to decide upon the viewing/parking
area they plan to watch the roundup from prior to Monday
morning.
Visitors who want to watch from the North viewing area
should travel down the Wildlife Loop Road from the State
Game Lodge side (green route). Those wishing to watch
from the South viewing area should travel down the
Wildlife Loop Road from the Blue Bell side (red route).
Note: Buses and RVs will need to travel down the Wildlife
Loop Road from the State Game Lodge side (green
route), but will park in the South parking area.
“The Buffalo Roundup brings over 10,000 spectators to
Custer State Park to see the park’s herd of 1,500 buffalo,”
said Richard Miller, Custer State Park superintendent.
“In order to get all the spectators to the corrals to see
the buffalo be rounded up we have made changes to
allow for more efficient traffic flow.”
The Buffalo Roundup begins at 9:30 a.m. near the corrals along Wildlife Loop Road. The parking areas open at 6:15
a.m. and close at 9:00 a.m. For safety reasons, spectators are asked to remain in the viewing areas until all the buffalo are corralled, around noon. The public is then invited to take free shuttles into the corral area where testing, branding and sorting of the buffalo will begin at 1 p.m. in preparation for the Nov. 17 auction. Food, art and craft booths and entertainment will also be available near the corrals on Monday.
In addition to Monday’s Buffalo Roundup, Custer State Park will host a weekend of entertainment, craft and art booths and fun for the entire family at its Annual Arts Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 29 and 30. Both days start at 8 a.m. with a pancake feed, entertainment kicks off at 8:30 a.m. and the arts and crafts booths will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Arts Festival takes place near the State Game Lodge.
There is no cost to attend the Buffalo Roundup or Arts Festival. A South Dakota state park entrance license is required to enter the park on Saturday and Sunday. A park entrance license is not required on the Monday of the Buffalo Roundup.
To learn more about the roundup and arts festival or to request a brochure, contact Custer State Park at (605) 255-4515 or e-mail custerStatePark@state.sd.us. More information can also be found online at www.CusterStatePark.info .
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