We visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.
Just a quick visit, after a long drive of our coach on a one night stop.
Map:
Temporary visitor center:
Custer National Cemetery:
Battlefield drive:
Battlefield markers show where soldiers fell:
Custer’s monument:
We stayed at a Love’s RV Stop in Hardin, Montana. (Campground Reviews listing.)
An easy one-night stop; our first stay at a Love’s RV Stop.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
You can check out, but you can never leave
This was our first stay at a Love’s RV Stop, and it will not be our last. It was convenient on/off the interstate and the self-service check-in went without an issue. As some other folks have mentioned, the sewer hookup is a bit far back (we had to use 3x 10-foot hoses, which is more than most people would have), but the other utilities were convenient and worked well. The only issue we had was when we went to leave. The automatic exit gate refused to acknowledge our presence, and since we had our tow vehicle hooked up, we couldn’t back up and try it again unless we unhooked, which is a bit of a hassle. However, I called the help number, and someone came right over to let us out. He also mentioned that they were working on this issue, so it may not still be a concern. We camped at Love’s RV Stop – Hardin MT 679 in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Excellent Indian Tacos at Custer Battlefield Trading Post & Cafe, across the street from Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, which is also worth visiting….
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
I didn’t hook up the sewer until the next morning. Some reviews complained that it was too far back on the site, and yes, it is a bit; I needed three 10 foot sewer hoses, which is more than the usual one or two (and more than many people would have), but certainly not the worst I’ve ever experienced:
The other utilities; the electric had to be enabled via a link we received via email:
A notice on the faucet:
Other sites:
One major hassle: we exited just fine in our truck, but when we tried to leave with our coach, the exit gate wouldn’t open:
We called the Love’s store (using the number in the text we received to check in), and someone came over on a golf cart to open it for us. He said that the sensor under the concrete is calibrated badly, so if you go too slow it doesn’t trigger. He said they’ll have someone recalibrate it soon. It’s a brand-new park, so I’m willing to cut them some slack for teething issues. Still, super annoying for us, since we can’t reverse to try again with our truck hooked up; we would have had to untoad and re-toad.
An easy one-night stop; we would be happy to stay here again, especially for a one-night stay. And hopefully they’ll fix the exit gate before that!
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 308 miles from Custer, South Dakota to Hardin, Montana.
We drove our coach 308 miles, about five hours of driving, from Custer, South Dakota to Hardin, Montana.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading northwest:
An interactive map:
Our truck was rather dusty from a dirt road in Custer State Park:
Kinda looks like it’s snowing:
Interesting rocks on the highway out of the park:
Bismarck Lake:
An RV park we might stay at next year:
More interesting rocks:
Buffalo art in Custer:
Purple Pie Place in Custer, which we enjoyed on our previous visit:
Narrow Winding Road, No Shoulders:
Bighorn Sheep Crossing:
Entering Jewel Cave National Monument:
Curves:
US-16:
Fuel stop:
59.898 gallons of diesel for $200:
Hills:
Nice overpass:
Rest area:
Welcome to Montana:
Our destination, a Love’s RV Stop:
A handy tweak: to be able to leave bottles on the upper shelf in our shower, even when traveling, we added a self-adhesive shower shelf bar (Amazon link):
A closer look:
It works really well. One less thing to have to worry about on travel days!
A scenic drive up Mount Coolidge in Custer State Park, then anti-clockwise through Wind Cave National Park (which is still not available for cave tours), and back through Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, with lots of bison seen.
A fire lookout at the top of Mount Coolidge, at 6,020 feet elevation:
Views:
Bison in Wind Cave National Park:
Pigtail loop in Wind Cave National Park:
One lane bridge in Wind Cave National Park:
More bison in Wind Cave National Park:
Out of the park, along a dirt road:
To an entrance back into Wind Cave National Park:
Then joining Custer State Park’s Wildlife Loop:
Bison Center:
A map showing where the wildlife was at the time. We told the ranger that the burros were actually in the corrals in front of the Bison Center (the fence was open, so they wandered in to eat the tasty food):
Wild burros and fans:
Following that map, we found a large herd of bison:
Nice.
We enjoyed a super scenic drive though Custer State Park, along Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway, with multiple narrow tunnels, fun twisty roads, and impressive views. Then went along the Wildlife Loop.
The map from their website; click or tap to see larger:
An interactive map of our route; we started at the Legion Lake Campground, heading northeast towards the Norbeck Overlook waypoint along the Iron Mountain Road, continuing anti-clockwise to Sylvan Lake, where we had lunch and a walk, then through the middle and clockwise around the Wildlife Loop, back to the campground:
A narrow and low tunnel:
Two narrow and low tunnels:
The second tunnel emerges to a bridge and corkscrew:
Another narrow tunnel:
This one has a peek of Mount Rushmore:
We went past Mount Rushmore on the route (been there before; not worth stopping again):
The first tunnel on the Needles Highway:
A selfie at Sylvan Lake:
We strolled along the lakeside after lunch; one of our favorite places:
Needle’s Eye:
Needle’s Eye tunnel:
More interesting rocks:
Wildlife:
While staying at the Legion Lake Campground in Custer State Park, we wandered across the road to the Legion Lake Lodge and the Dockside Grill for dinner, followed by a stroll along the lakeside.
A view of our coach from the lake parking lot:
Lake and lodge:
Turtle:
Gift store:
Dockside Grill:
A stroll along the lakeside:
A nice lake.
We stayed at Legion Lake Campground in Custer State Park, South Dakota. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Custer State Park is perhaps our all-time favorite state park. We enjoyed staying in the park, though the lack of water and sewer was inconvenient. Especially since we hadn’t noticed that it didn’t have water, and only arrived with a half-full tank.
We do have a water bladder to fetch water, and a tote to dump waste, but coped without using them, since only three nights. The lack of a dump station in the campground would be very inconvenient for a longer stay, though.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
In the middle of everything
Custer State Park is one of our favorite places. The scenery, wildlife, and general ambiance are magical, and staying inside the park makes it even more special. All the sites are electric-only, and that’s okay as it’s the hookup we rely on most (especially when it’s warm). There is a water spigot by the bathrooms if you need to fill up, but the nearest dump station inside the park is in a different campground halfway across the park. The site was a bit unlevel, but not so much that our hydraulic levelers couldn’t cope. A nice view of the lake across the road and a tree-filled hillside behind our site made for a picturesque stay. We camped at Custer State Park – Legion Lake Campground in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
Only an electrical hookup:
Our coach from across the road:
Elevation 5,010 feet:
Paladin was most fascinated by a taunty chipmunk that hung out around our site:
Entrance sign:
Path to the lake area:
Other sites:
(We wondered how they got the left-hand trailer into that position.)
Bathroom:
Info sign:
We are currently planning to visit this area again next year. But we’ll probably stay outside the park, so we can have full hookups, and explore other areas.
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 313 miles from Mitchell, South Dakota to Custer, South Dakota.