Best time to go
The store generally operates from May into mid-October. Treat it as a warm-season convenience, not a year-round place to resupply, and check current opening before routing around a meal or rental.
Overview
About Sylvan Lake General Store & Eatery
Why stop
- Quick food, gifts and boat rentals at the lake’s edge.
Heads up
- Seasonal operation makes it unreliable as an off-season supply stop.
Map
Where it is
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Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Best time to go
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Custer Tour Guide
Your drive to Sylvan Lake General Store & Eatery, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Custer State Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Sylvan Lake: Rocks and Water0:00 / 0:34
“You're coming up on Sylvan Lake, where tall granite outcrops rise straight beside the water. I'd stop here for the one-mile shore loop; allow about an hour to see the rocks and little coves up close.”
Plays as you drive up to Sylvan Lake General Store & Eatery in the Parkwolf Custer Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Sylvan Lake Lodge: A Meal Above the Lake
- Little Devils Tower: The Summit Scramble
- Why It’s Called Black Elk Peak
- Needle’s Eye: The Rock and the Tunnel
- 82 audio storiesacross Custer’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bison, Wapiti, Bighorn Sheep, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 40 trails, 49 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“We recently toured Badlands, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and more! We learned so much from this app as we toured each of these sites. The audio tours are worth the money.”
Guide
More about Sylvan Lake General Store & Eatery
A handy stop on Sylvan LakeSylvan Store is Custer State Park’s lakeside general store, fast-casual counter eatery and…
Sylvan Store is Custer State Park’s lakeside general store, fast-casual counter eatery and watercraft-rental check-in. Stop here for a quick meal, ice cream, snacks or lake gear before or after time on the water. It is separate from Sylvan Lake Lodge’s restaurant, so expect counter service rather than a dining-room meal.
Food and lake essentialsThe counter serves fast-casual and grab-and-go food, with coffee and ice cream.
The counter serves fast-casual and grab-and-go food, with coffee and ice cream. The shop also carries gifts, apparel, hiking essentials, ice and fishing supplies. The current store was rebuilt for 2023, with an open patio beside the lake; take a few minutes outside if you want your snack with a shoreline view.
Rent before you launchCanoes, kayaks and single-person paddleboards are checked out here.
Canoes, kayaks and single-person paddleboards are checked out here. Rentals are first-come, life jackets are provided, and weather can affect availability. If paddling is central to your plan, make this an early stop instead of assuming a boat will be waiting. Bring valid ID; anyone under 18 needs an adult to sign and supervise them on the water.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Custer
993 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
91 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
258 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
85 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
256 sightingsBurroMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
707 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Custer. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
