Custer State Park

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Camping and Rock Climbing

May 22-26, 2026

We headed to Hazel's Kindergarten graduation with the car already packed. Hazel said her goodbyes at an impromptu ice cream party following at Josh and Johns, we made yet another business stop just north of town, then we were finally on the road for good. We had hoped to make it all the way to Custer, SD, but after all of the shenanigans getting out of town, we opted for a hotel room in Lusk, WY. The following morning, we got an early start, ate breakfast at the hotel, were super excited to get going and.... before we could even reach the South Dakota state line, Hazel puked everywhere. Her car seat was covered, her clothes stunk and she felt terrible. We did what we could on the side of the road to clean the goop off her car seat, put her in clean clothes and get some fresh air. With a few more fresh air stops along the way, we eventually reached Custer where Justin hiked to the town viewpoint and washed her only fleece jacket in the sink of the visitor center while Hazel and I tried to relax and get some more air in the town park.

Stop for fresh air at the state line

The advantage of taking all day was that we could check into the campsite immediately upon arrival. Hazel took to relaxing in the hammock while Justin and I made several trips getting set up at our hike-in campsite at Sylvan Lake.

Hazel relaxing in the hammock

The following morning, I got up early and did a short run from the camp to the summit of Black Elk Peak. We had all been there previously and really enjoyed the trail. I managed to clock in at under an hour from the camp to the summit watchtower, catching those magical early morning views before the holiday crowds even woke up.

Laura at the summit of Black Elk peak

I made it back to camp by 9am for breakfast and we headed over to the lake. Hazel still wasn't feeling great, so she lounged on some blankets at the base of the Aquarium rock while Justin and I did a quick lap on the Conn Route.

Justin on the summit of Aquarium Rock

Justin rappelling off of Aquarium Rock

We ate some lunch and ventured around the lake to check out some other climbs below the dam. We found several fun routes and Hazel even felt up to tackling a few of them. Mostly she enjoyed sitting in her chair taking pictures of Justin and I.

Justin, Hazel and Laura on the Outlets

Justin climbing the Classic Crack

The following morning, we decided we should head out to the cathedral spires. We had climbed the first couple of pitches of Spire 4 last fall, but bailed before reaching the summit due to wind and cold temperatures. This time, the weather was ideal, but the crowds were not. We scrambled to the start of the route only to find a line of other parties in front of us. Not super keen on waiting, we traversed over to check out another highly rated route on Spire 2. No luck, a party of four had just gotten to the base of that route as well. We discussed several options, but in the end decided we should just wait.

Hazel making faces at her mom while climbing

Spire 4 was our preference, so we headed back that way and were surprised to see a couple of the other people waiting had given up and left. We were able to get on the route immediately. Justin had just started climbing right when another party showed up behind us. You could tell they were upset to be behind us expecting us to be slow. I'm always super proud of Hazel when our gangly family of 3, including a 6 year old, can easily put a gap on the people following us. Despite waiting at each belay for the party in front of us, the people behind us never caught up. The famous wormhole probably played to our advantage. Most people have a significant struggle to squeeze through the tiny hole, but Hazel popped right through with no difficulty at all and thought it was hilarious watching me squirm awkwardly through.

Hazel working through the wormhole

Hazel laughing hysterically at me trying to get through the wormhole

She was not a fan of the wide and exposed step across to reach the summit, but I was able to stem across and give her a good hand to assist her leap. We hung out for a few minutes, but were unable to open the ammo can to write our names.

Hazel checking out the cache at the summit

Laura, Hazel and Justin on the summit of Spire 4

Hazel's favorite part is always the rappels, which went smoothly and she received plenty of compliments as we rappelled past all the people still climbing the route. Looking at the clock, we had made phenomenal time and still had plenty of daylight to climb spire 2. We headed over and arrived just behind another party. We chatted with them and ate some lunch. Hazel was more interested in coloring pictures and playing with rocks than climbing, so she did that while Justin and I climbed. Justin gave Spire 2 a massive thumbs-up, declaring he liked it way better than both Spire Four and the famous Classic Crack that we had climbed the day before. We headed back to camp where Hazel made friends with the boy camping up the hill from us. They spent an hour or more trying to dig up crystals and collecting stones from around the camps.

Monday morning, Justin got up and ran up Black Elk peak, while Hazel and I tackled the rugged trek up Little Devil’s Tower to soak in the panoramic views. Hazel and I got to the top and hung out until Justin made his way past as part of his return loop from Black Elk. We ate some lunch together before heading back.

Hazel ready for the hike to Little Devils Tower

Laura and Hazel hiking toward Little Devils Tower

Hazel scrambling around the Little Devil's Tower area while we waited

Laura, Hazel and Justin on Little Devils Tower with Black Elk Peak in the distance

Hazel and I spent the afternoon relaxing on a kayak on Sylvan Lake. It was the perfect, relaxing contrast to climbing the spires. Hazel decided it was too cold to swim, but enjoyed the float. We saw some turtles and some baby geese. We even saw a nest with goose eggs that hadn't hatched yet; it was tucked away in the grass behind some tall boulders where you could only see it from the water.