Parking
Park in the Bison Center lot on Wildlife Loop Road; the Red Dog loop begins just east of the center.
Overview
About Red Dog Trail
Why go
- A short climb reaches an open, all-around prairie view.
Heads up
- The standalone loop is only about a quarter mile.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Custer map
Full mapElevation3,891–3,930 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Custer Tour Guide
Your drive to Red Dog Trail, 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 trailhead
Bison Center: The Herd’s Story0:00 / 0:34
“The Bison Center is coming up beside the Buffalo Corrals. Stop here if you want to understand the herd you're looking for on the drive.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Custer Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Beaver's Underwater Door
- Who Mowed the Prairie?
- Wildlife Station: The Herdsman's House
- The Woodpecker Hunting Ants
- 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.”
Trail guide
Hiking Red Dog Trail
A quick prairie loopRed Dog is a 0.
Red Dog is a 0.24-mile loop, about a quarter mile, just east of the Bison Center on Wildlife Loop Road. It climbs through mixed-grass prairie to a 360-degree view; allow about 15–20 minutes for the walk and a pause at the crest. This is a short viewpoint outing rather than a day hike.
Keep the two trail distances straightPublished mileage differs: the trail-specific park diagram marks Red Dog as 0.
Published mileage differs: the trail-specific park diagram marks Red Dog as 0.2 mile and the adjacent Bison Trail as 0.7 mile, while a general park guide lists Red Dog at 1 mile. This entry follows the separate short loop; add the Bison Trail only if you want a longer walk, and do not count it as part of Red Dog.
Prairie view and a bison nameThe climb crosses native grasses and seasonal wildflowers before opening onto an all-around…
The climb crosses native grasses and seasonal wildflowers before opening onto an all-around prairie vista. The crest is the best place for a broad panorama. “Red dog” is a name for orange-red bison calves, typically born from late March through May. The park's herd traces to 36 animals brought there in 1914; the Bison Center is a separate nearby stop with exhibits about that herd.
Starting access and wildlifePark at the Bison Center along Wildlife Loop Road; the Red Dog loop begins just east of the…
Park at the Bison Center along Wildlife Loop Road; the Red Dog loop begins just east of the center. Pets may join the walk on a leash no longer than 10 feet, but cannot enter park buildings. Bison and other wildlife are wild: remain in your vehicle or stay at least 100 yards away.
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.
