Even though we officially open around the end of April each year, our first celebration takes place the weekend before Memorial Day Weekend. For three days, all travelers can enjoy free entrance to Custer State Park and free fishing, where no park license is required (camping fees and fishing regulations still apply).
Activity Discount: 20% off your Buffalo Safari Jeep Tour for May 15, 16, and 17, 2026. Book your tour today!
Horse Roundup: Each morning at 7:00 am, our prized herd of horses is rounded up for the day and brought in to the stables from their night pasture. Stop by the Blue Bell Lodge Stables and wait at the picnic tables or the pipe fence next to the stables office. Our Wranglers will come out, run ropes, and stop traffic for the whole herd to cross!
Stop out to Custer State Park for live music, demonstrations, special programs, and the annual Buffalo Chip Flip contest, which takes place at the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center each year.
The 2025 event schedule is out!
Friday, May 15 - Sunday, May 17, 2026
We invite you to stop in to the pancake feeds at Legion Lake Lodge from 8am to 10am on both Saturday and Sunday morning of Open House Weekend. All donated proceeds from the pancake & sausage meals purchased support the Custer County Search & Rescue. Come one, come all and this year will be the biggest donation yet, as you enjoy some of the only lakeside dining offered in the Black Hills.
Stay at any of our four resorts in Custer State Park between opening day and Open House Weekend for some of the best savings offered all year. Stay two (2) nights save 15% and stay three (3) or more nights and save 20% on most lodge rooms and cabins. Limited exclusions apply. Inquire for details or book online today.
New for 2026! One lucky family will be upgraded to the Ponderosa Cabin at Blue Bell Lodge! All guests who are staying at a Custer State Park Resort lodge room or cabin on May 15, 16, and/or 17, 2026 will be entered into a drawing for a free upgrade!
A great spot for wildlife watching with all of the comforts and accessibility of a hotel room stay.
Tucked along Grace Coolidge Creek, just 200 yards from the State Game Lodge. Creekside Lodge is open year-round.
What a view! Perfect for a small family of up to five, we have just three of this cabin type, all nestled behind Legion Lake Lodge. Peaceful, private lake views.
Tucked in the trees near French Creek Nature Area and the Wildlife Loop, these spacious chinked log cabins with private decks at peaceful Blue Bell Lodge can't be beat.
At the top of Needles Highway, as you turn in to Sylvan Lake Lodge, this loop of cabins sits at 6,145 feet elevation...as if they were always meant to be there. One-room cabin with vaulted ceilings & a wood-burning stone fireplace.
These original log chink cabins with two (2) private bedrooms and a full kitchen are conveniently located within an easy walking distance to Coolidge Store.