Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup 2026
Roughly 1,300 bison, about 20,000 spectators, and a parking gate that closes at 9am sharp
Updated: July 20, 2026 | 2026 date confirmed by SD Game, Fish & Parks
Quick Answer: The 2026 Buffalo Roundup
The 2026 Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup is Friday, September 25, with the Arts Festival running September 24 to 26. It is always the last Friday in September. Riders move approximately 1,300 free-roaming bison about five miles into the park corrals while roughly 20,000 to 25,000 spectators watch. Admission is free, no tickets are needed, and the park entrance license is waived that day. Parking areas open at 6:15am and close at 9:00am, the herd starts moving at 9:30am Mountain Time, and you cannot leave until the herd is corralled, generally around noon. There are two viewing areas, north and south, you must choose before you enter, and you exit the way you came in. Most visitors base in Custer or at the in-park lodges, which sell out well in advance for this weekend.
Gates open
6:15 am
Lots close
9:00 am
Herd runs
9:30 am
Admission
Free
When Is the 2026 Buffalo Roundup?
The roundup is Friday, September 25, 2026. South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks has confirmed the date on its official event page. The Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival runs the surrounding three days, Thursday September 24 through Saturday September 26.
The pattern is reliable if you are planning further out: the roundup falls on the last Friday of September every year. It was September 26 in 2025, September 27 in 2024, and September 29 in 2023.
Watch for stale dates elsewhere
Several regional event listings still show September 26, which was the 2025 date. If a page you are reading does not say 2026 explicitly, check it against the official Game, Fish & Parks roundup page.
Hour-by-Hour Schedule
This is the part most visitors underestimate. The roundup itself lasts about two hours, but the day around it runs from before dawn to early afternoon.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| ~10:00 pm Thu | Barricades go up on Wildlife Loop Road at both viewing areas. |
| After midnight | You may enter the park and line up on Wildlife Loop Road, but not enter the viewing areas. There are no restrooms or food along the road while you wait. |
| 6:15 am | Parking areas open. Pancake and sausage breakfast starts at both viewing areas, for a fee, cash only, served until it runs out. |
| 9:00 am | Parking areas close. If you are not in by now, you are not getting in. |
| 9:30 am | The roundup begins. Riders start moving the herd roughly five miles toward the corrals. Start time depends on the bison cooperating. |
| ~11:30 am | The roundup is usually finished. |
| ~12:00 pm | Herd is corralled. Only now may guests leave the viewing areas. Free shuttles begin running to the Bison Center and corrals. |
| Until ~1:00 pm | Bison lunch served at the corrals, for a fee. |
| 1:00 to ~3:00 pm | Testing, branding, and sorting at the corrals. Far less crowded than the morning and worth staying for. |
Schedule per South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks. The 9:30am start is explicitly weather and bison dependent.
What Time Should You Actually Arrive?
Every guide tells you to arrive early. Almost none of them tell you what each arrival time costs you. Here is the honest tradeoff, built from the published gate times and the fact that roughly 20,000 to 25,000 people funnel through two entrances in under three hours.
| Arrive | What you get | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Before 6:15 am | First into the lot, first pick of position, and you can sit down to breakfast before the line builds. You will be waiting in the dark and the cold. | None, other than sleep |
| 6:15 to 7:00 am | The sweet spot. Full choice of viewing position, breakfast still being served, and enough daylight to see where you are walking. | Low |
| 7:00 to 8:00 am | You will get in and you will see the roundup, but the closer fence-line spots are gone and you will park further out on the prairie. | Moderate |
| 8:00 to 8:45 am | Entry queues are at their worst. You may spend most of the remaining time in the car rather than choosing a spot. | High |
| After 8:45 am | Do not plan for this. Lots close at 9:00am and a queue that has not cleared by then does not get in. | You may miss it entirely |
The one number to plan around
Game, Fish & Parks does not publish parking capacity or a time when the lots typically fill, so treat anyone quoting one with suspicion. What is published is that the lots close at 9:00am. Plan to be parked by 7:00am and everything else takes care of itself.
North vs South Viewing Area
There are two viewing areas and you have to commit before you enter the park. You cannot move between them during the event, and all vehicles exit the way they entered.
“North viewing is where the bison will be coming at you (you will be behind the fence line) and then they turn into the corrals. South viewing is a more panoramic view of them coming over the prairie.”
North Viewing Area
Approach by heading south from the State Game Lodge area on Wildlife Loop Road.
- Bison come toward you, then turn into the corrals
- You watch from behind a fence line
- Closest to the Arts Festival grounds and State Game Lodge
- Overflow lot here for RVs, with a shuttle
South Viewing Area
Approach by heading east on Wildlife Loop Road near Blue Bell campground.
- Wider panoramic view of the herd crossing open prairie
- Better for landscape photography
- Closest to Blue Bell Lodge
- Where motorcoaches park
The park refuses to name a better one, and that is genuinely the right answer. The bison pick their own line across the prairie, so some years favor the north, some the south, and some give both a good show. Game, Fish & Parks advice is to choose the area closest to the entrance you are coming from rather than drive across a dark park at 5am to reach the other one.
If you are bringing a motorcoach, note that buses park in the south lot but the published access route has differed between recent park documents. Confirm with the park directly before the day. RVs and campers are discouraged outright, and the prairie parking is hilly and rough enough that low clearance is a real problem.
Drive Times and When to Leave, by Base Town
This is the question that actually decides your morning, and no other roundup guide answers it. Where you sleep determines what time your alarm goes off. The departure times below target being parked by 7:00am, the practical sweet spot.
| Base town | Approx. drive | Leave by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-park lodges | A few minutes | 6:00 am | State Game Lodge sits on the north route, Blue Bell on the south. The shortest possible morning. |
| Custer | About 15 to 25 min | 6:15 am | The most practical town base. Short hop to both approaches. |
| Hill City | About 35 to 45 min | 5:45 am | Workable, and often has rooms when Custer is full. |
| Keystone | About 30 to 40 min | 5:50 am | Closer than it looks on a map, via US-16A. |
| Hot Springs | About 45 to 55 min | 5:35 am | Good south-side option, natural fit for the south viewing area. |
| Rapid City | About 50 to 60 min | 5:30 am | Most rooms and best rates, but the longest pre-dawn drive. |
These are normal-traffic estimates
Roundup morning is not normal traffic. The drive times above are approximate for an ordinary day and do not include the queue at the park entrance or the crawl down Wildlife Loop Road, which can add substantial time. Build in a cushion, and if you are choosing between leaving 30 minutes early or 30 minutes late, leave early. See our Black Hills driving distances guide for the wider region.
What the Buffalo Roundup Actually Costs
Every guide says it is free and stops there. Attendance genuinely is free, but a roundup trip is not, so here is the real accounting.
| Item | Cost | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Roundup admission | Free | No tickets, no reservations. |
| Park entrance, roundup day | Waived | No park entrance license required on roundup day itself. |
| Park entrance, other days | $25 | Custer State Park seven-day per-vehicle license. Needed if you are in the park the day before or after. |
| Breakfast at viewing areas | Fee, cash only | The park does not publish a price. Bring cash. |
| Bison lunch at the corrals | Fee, cash only | Served until about 1pm. Also unpublished. |
| Arts Festival entry | No fee listed | Vendors sell goods. The Saturday pancake feed is priced separately. |
| Lodging, roundup weekend | Surge pricing | The single largest cost. This weekend competes with the Crazy Horse Fall Volksmarch. |
One correction worth making, because it is wrong in a lot of places including some older park PDFs: the Custer State Park entrance license is $25 for seven days per vehicle, not $20. The current Game, Fish & Parks fee schedule is the source to trust. Note also that Custer State Park is a state park, so the federal America the Beautiful pass does not cover it.
What to Bring
You are standing on open prairie for several hours in late September, in the dark to start with. There is no seating provided and no shade.
Bring
- Folding chairs, there is no seating
- A flashlight or headlamp for the walk in
- Layers, mornings are cold but not usually freezing
- Rain gear
- Binoculars
- Camera with a long lens
- Sunscreen, the sun arrives fast once it is up
- Water and snacks
- Cash for breakfast and lunch
Leave at home
- Umbrellas, specifically called out as not allowed
- Drones, prohibited during the roundup
- Pets, and if you must bring them they stay in the vehicle
- RVs and campers, strongly discouraged
- High heels or smooth-soled shoes, the prairie is very uneven
On footing: you park and walk on open prairie that the park itself describes as very uneven. The grass may be wet, and there can be snow on the ground. Port-a-potties are available at the viewing areas, but there are no restrooms or food along Wildlife Loop Road while you are queued up waiting for the barricades to lift.
Accessibility
Across the ten pages currently ranking for this event, accessibility gets about two sentences in total. Here is what the park actually provides, and what it honestly asks of you.
What is available
- Display your handicap parking emblem and staff will direct you to designated accessible parking.
- Golf carts shuttle visitors with disabilities to the viewing area. The park describes the ride as bumpy, and it can still be a distance.
- Rides back are offered, though they are slow because of the crowds leaving at once.
- Once the bison are corralled, vehicles displaying an emblem may drive to the Bison Center and corrals and park there. They are the only vehicles permitted to do so.
The honest caveat: this is an event on unimproved prairie with no seating, a multi-hour wait, and a mandatory hold until roughly noon. If standing for three hours on uneven ground is not realistic, the Visitor Center Panoramic Theater shows the South Dakota Public Broadcasting live feed, and that same feed streams online. It is a genuinely good way to see the roundup, and it is the option nobody writes about.
Why the Park Rounds Up the Herd
It is not a show put on for tourists, though it has become one. The roundup is grassland management. Custer State Park runs approximately 1,300 free-roaming bison, and the park's rangeland supports about 1,000 through the winter. Rounding up the herd lets staff weigh and health check the animals, brand, ear tag, and vaccinate the calves, and pregnancy check the mature cows. Roughly 400 surplus bison are then sold at the November auction at the park visitor center, with revenue supporting the state park system.
A detail that surprises most first-timers: the biggest bulls are deliberately left out. They are too aggressive and too hard to move, so they stay scattered around the park. If you drive the Wildlife Loop that weekend you will still see them.
Riders move the herd about five miles into the corral system. Up to 25 volunteer draw riders are selected by application each year, alongside park staff and experienced veterans. For 2026, applicants were notified by June 12, so that window has closed.
The Arts Festival, September 24 to 26
The Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival runs the three days around the roundup, on the festival grounds across from the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center near the State Game Lodge on US-16A. Expect roughly 150 vendors, Western and Native American entertainment, food, and a Saturday morning pancake feed.
Two practical notes. First, the festival is the reason to make this a full weekend rather than a single brutal morning. Second, if you want souvenirs, buy them early. Vendors have been known to sell out and close before the roundup itself finishes.
If You Cannot Make It on September 25
No other guide covers this, and it matters, because most people searching for the roundup are not able to be in South Dakota on one specific Friday morning. You have real options.
The herd is there year-round
The bison do not disappear after September. Wildlife Loop Road is open 365 days a year, and the herd is often in the southern part of the park. Ask visitor center staff where they were that morning.
Corral work continues into October
Crews work the remainder of the herd through October, well after the crowds have gone home.
Watch the live feed
South Dakota Public Broadcasting streams the roundup live online, and the park shows it in the Visitor Center Panoramic Theater.
The Bison Center is open regardless
The park Bison Center explains the herd management program any day of the year, without a 6:15am alarm.
If your goal is really seeing bison rather than seeing the roundup specifically, you have far more freedom than you think. Our guide to the best time to visit Custer State Park covers when the herd is most visible, when the calves are on the ground, and what time of day actually works on the Wildlife Loop.
A Crowd Warning Nobody Mentions
Roundup weekend 2026 is heavier than the roundup alone suggests. Three things stack inside four days: the Arts Festival, September 24 to 26, the roundup itself on Friday the 25th with 20,000 or more spectators, and the Crazy Horse Fall Volksmarch on Sunday, September 27, one of only two days a year the public can walk up to the carving.
That means the lodging market across Custer, Hill City, Keystone, and Rapid City is competing for one weekend. If you are planning this trip, book the room before you finalize anything else.
Where to Stay for the Buffalo Roundup
Your lodging choice and your viewing-area choice are the same decision. Staying inside the park is the shortest morning: State Game Lodge sits on the north route and is next to the Arts Festival grounds, while Blue Bell Lodge sits on the south route. Custer State Park Resort says plainly that in-park guests save travel time and tend to secure good viewing spots, and that rooms fill up fast. See our full guide to all five in-park lodges for how to book them.
When the park lodges are gone, and for this weekend they go early, Custer town is the best base. It is the shortest drive to both viewing approaches and has the most rooms within 25 minutes of the gate.
Bavarian Inn, Black Hills
Custer, about 12 minutes from the park entrance
Exceptional
(1,265 reviews)
A European-inspired resort with 64 rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, and a playground. The most complete family property in Custer, and close enough that a 5:15am departure is realistic rather than brutal.
Comfort Inn & Suites Custer
Custer, near the US-16A park approach
Very Good
(655 reviews)
Large family suites, free breakfast, and a 24-hour fitness center. Sits on the US-16A side of town, which is the approach you want if you are heading for the north viewing area.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Custer By IHG
Downtown Custer
Very Good
(704 reviews)
Modern suites, heated indoor pool, and complimentary breakfast within walking distance of Custer restaurants. Breakfast opens early, which matters more than usual on roundup morning.
Rocket Motel
Downtown Custer
Excellent
(450 reviews)
A preserved mid-century motel with neon signage and owner-run service. Usually holds availability later than the chains, which makes it worth a call if you are booking late for roundup weekend.
Other bases for roundup weekend
Buffalo Roundup FAQ
When is the 2026 Buffalo Roundup?
The 2026 Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup is Friday, September 25, 2026. The herd starts moving at 9:30am Mountain Time. The Buffalo Roundup Arts Festival runs September 24 to 26, 2026. The roundup is always held on the last Friday of September.
Do you need tickets for the Buffalo Roundup?
No. The Buffalo Roundup is free and no tickets or reservations are required. South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks also waives the park entrance license on roundup day itself. If you are in Custer State Park the day before or the day after, you need the $25 seven-day park entrance license.
What time should you arrive at the Buffalo Roundup?
Parking areas open at 6:15am and close at 9:00am, and the roundup begins at 9:30am. Arriving between 6:15am and 7:00am gives you the widest choice of position. Arriving after 8:30am is a real risk because once the lots close at 9:00am you cannot get in at all.
Which Buffalo Roundup viewing area is better, north or south?
Neither is officially better and Game, Fish & Parks declines to recommend one. The north viewing area puts the bison coming toward you from behind a fence line before they turn into the corrals. The south viewing area gives a wider panoramic view of the herd crossing the prairie. The park advises choosing whichever area is closest to the entrance you are coming from rather than driving across the park in the dark.
How many bison are in the Custer State Park roundup?
Approximately 1,300 bison. The park grasslands support around 1,000 animals through the winter, so roughly 400 surplus bison are sold at the November auction. The largest bulls are deliberately left out of the roundup because they are too aggressive and too difficult to move.
Can you leave the Buffalo Roundup early?
No. Guests must stay in the viewing areas until the entire herd is corralled, which is generally around noon. The roundup itself is usually over by 11:30am. All vehicles exit the way they came in, and the exit is slow.
Can you bring dogs to the Buffalo Roundup?
Game, Fish & Parks encourages you to leave pets at home. Current official guidance is that if you must bring them, they have to remain in your vehicle. There is no shade on the prairie and the wait is several hours long.
Are drones allowed at the Buffalo Roundup?
No. Drones are prohibited during the roundup for the safety of the public, staff, and the bison.
How many people attend the Buffalo Roundup?
Game, Fish & Parks puts average attendance on roundup morning at roughly 20,000 to 25,000 people. That crowd arrives through two entrances within a three-hour window, which is why arrival timing matters more than anything else on this page.
Where should you stay for the Buffalo Roundup?
Custer is the most practical base because it is the shortest drive to both viewing-area approaches, at roughly 15 to 25 minutes to the park entrances. In-park lodges at State Game Lodge and Blue Bell Lodge sit directly on the north and south routes respectively but sell out well ahead. Rapid City is about 50 minutes away in normal traffic, which means leaving around 4:45am.
Sources
- SD Game, Fish & Parks: Buffalo Roundup for the 2026 date, schedule, viewing routes, and pet policy
- SD Game, Fish & Parks: Buffalo Roundup FAQ for attendance, terrain, accessibility, and drone policy
- SD Game, Fish & Parks: Park Entrance Licenses for the $25 seven-day fee
- Custer State Park Resort: Buffalo Roundup for in-park lodging guidance
- Crazy Horse Memorial: Volksmarch for the September 27, 2026 date