Big Rock Park
Park
62 acres1 mi of trail
Custer Skywalk
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Custer
Custer has 88 acres of parks, 37 for every 1,000 residents
4.6 miles of mapped trail cross Custer, 1.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Big Rock Park (1 mi). 67% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
50 acres · of 2.6 sq mi of land
Trails
4.6 mi
1.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
88 ac
37 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
2.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Custer?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Custer have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Custer is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Custer’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical SD town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · SD 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land37 acres of park per 1,000 residents (88 acres) · SD 13 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home67% of residents within a half mile of a park · SD 87% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 78%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Big Rock Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Harbach Centennial Park
Park
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
50 conserved acres
3% of Custer’s land. Who manages Custer’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service50 ac
National Forest · 50 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hills National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 50 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Custer
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Custer
Custer City Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Custer
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Custer
Big Rock LookoutIn Big Rock Park
DirectionsSunrise PointIn Big Rock Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Custer
Bearded Buffalo Resort
DirectionsBuffalo Ridge Camp Resort
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Custer
Custer Disc Golf CourseIn Big Rock Park · Harney Disc Golf Union
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.8 mi
Custer Skywalk0.2 mi
Biking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Beach volleyball
3Baseball
3Tennis
1Football
1Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Custer County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itWay Park MuseumBuilding · listed 1973
About itFirst National Bank BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itFrancis Averill (T. A.) and Janet Leach Towner HouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itNewton Seymour Tubbs HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itGrace Coolidge Memorial Log BuildingBuilding · listed 2001
About itGarlock BuildingBuilding · listed 2004
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Custer: August and September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 37 | 45 | 51 | 61 | 72 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 55 | 44 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
January is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Custer →
Questions about parks and trails in Custer
Where can I hike in Custer?
The longest trail networks: Big Rock Park, 1 miles; Harbach Centennial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Custer is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 3% for a South Dakota town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Custer’s trails?
Big Rock Park and Gates Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Custer?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Custer?
177,397 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Custer or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 139 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Custer have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Custer neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →