You would think that visiting Wind Cave National Park would entail actually entering a cave, but unfortunately the elevator there has been out of commission for over a year. We knew this beforehand, but decided to drive through the park anyway as the above ground part of Wind Cave is full of wildlife much like the rest of the Black Hills. So the trip report here is officially incomplete until we visit again and take a trip into the cave.
We visited Wind Cave in August 2020
The Park
Above the Cave
Almost immediately after passing the park entrance sign, we got stopped as a large herd of bison had taken up residence along and across the road. They were an active bunch, rolling in the dirt (that gets rid of the flies) and making all kinds of noise. I think it was a mating ritual, but many of the bison were sticking our their blue tongues and making this “BLEHHHHH” noise that lasted 3-5 seconds, before catching their breath and starting again. Maybe it wasn’t a mating ritual, but a couple of males squared off and tussled a little bit. Nothing crazy, but cool to see anyway. Finally, after the herd allowed us to pass we drove into and through the park. We took a brief hike up to a fire tower. It was good exercise, but it was crazy hot. We stayed in the RV the rest of the way through the park. Although we didn’t see a lot of wildlife, we did spot a badger and a coyote actively trying to catch prairie dogs. There were tons of prairie dogs, but from what we could tell, they all survived the day.
So Wind Cave gets an incomplete for now. I wouldn’t go out of my way to drive through the park, but if you’re vising Custer or Mount Rushmore and the elevator is in working order, head over to Wind Cave.
