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JEEP Bison Safari - Public - Half Day Tour

Badge of ExcellenceRapid City, USA

From $349.00

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

6 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Hop aboard 'Buff,' a Jeep Wrangler specially modified to resist excited bison, with this private tour through Custer State Park. You'll visit all corners of the park, including Mt. Coolidge, Iron Mountain Road, Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake, and the Custer State Park Wildlife Loop, with a stop along the way for a picnic lunch served with beer/wine (on request) at Stockade Lake.

Visit Custer State Park with a professional guide
A picnic lunch will be provided at no extra cost
Private tour for a personal, flexible experience
Price is per group of up to six passengers

What's Included

Driver/guide
Fees
Bottled water
Snacks

Gratuities
Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Type to search

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

We pickup at any Keystone hotel Or you can meet us at 519 1st St Keystone + 8:30am

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Service animals allowed
Stroller accessible
Most travelers can participate
Not wheelchair accessible

Other rates apply only when sharing with 2 paying adults
A minimum of 2 Adults per booking is required
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Layered clothing, comfortable shoes, and a hat are recommended
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Butch_l

Julie was the best tour guide you could ask for. Very informative kind and knowledgeable. She went over and above for us and the other (very nice and friendly family). I would recommend this tour to everybody

Reviews

4.5

18 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 18 reviews

A great experience

Joyce_Q, Apr 2024

Loved seeing the baby bison, cinnamons, were so cute and the tunnels that all framed Mount Rushmore. Thank you for the tour!

Response from Host, May 2024

Hi Joyce - You picked a great time to tour. Springtime is 'calving' season for the wildlife and the crowds are much smaller. I'm very pleased you enjoyed your tour with Kevin. Thanks and Be Well - Rich

Safari

Marsha_B, Apr 2024

You should not ever require a minimum on this section. You are discouraging people from sending a review. We had a great experience. That should be enough.

Response from Host, May 2024

Howdy Marsha - I'm not sure what the minimum is . . . but I'm extremely pleased your had a great time! Thank you for taking time for reviewing. Be Well - Rich

We had a great experience...

Linda_K, Aug 2023

We had a great experience with our driver Doug. (a.k.a Big D) Hbe knew the geology, history of park, good recommendations, safe driver and let grandma sit inside the cab.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Hi Linda - I'm glad you had a good tour with Doug. We are fortunate that our Jeep Gladiators have dual seating choices. The front two rows have convertible tops (with AC and heat). And the rear seats are a great open platform for viewing and photos. Our guests have the option to chose. Thanks for your review. Be Well - Rich

Worth the money! Do it!

Amy_G, Aug 2023

Take the Jeep tour!!! We were a family of 7, and wouldn’t have seen half of what we did without doing this tour. Doug was an awesome tour guide and so helpful! Lunch was great and there were tons of stops to take pictures. Highly recommend! Especially if you don’t want to try to navigate the sites on your own.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Hi Amy - I'm pleased you enjoyed your Jeep Safari tour with Doug. We are glad to have Doug on our team this season he knows the southern Hills extremely well. Thank you for pointing out our tours make lots of stops for restrooms and photo ops and include a picnic lunch. I hope you have an opportunity to join us for more adventures in the Hills! Thank you for taking time for your review. Be Well - Rich

The Nature of it all!!

Cheryl_M, Aug 2023

We had a good time on this safari ride. Wished Doug, our driver could’ve planned lunch by one of the beautiful lakes instead of the Bison Center. Doug needed to use his microphone on the trip as it was very hard to hear him. Felt Doug’s speed was excessive on some parts of our tour.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

HI Cheryl - I'm glad you had a good time. I'm sorry the picnic lunch was not at the lake as usual. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally bikers are arriving, so we moved the Needles Highway to first stop on the tour in order to avoid the congestion. For a short time this has the timing off for lunch not at the lake and at the Bison Center. We will adjust back to lake picnic after the Rally. I apologize for any concern you had about the driving speed and the PA system. I will investigate both and make sure corrections are made. We want our guests to feel safe and enjoy their tour. Thanks and Be Well Cheryl - Rich

Great Tour!

BrittanyRojas, Jul 2023

Doug our tour guide was amazing! He was very informative and stopped all the great spots. Pick up and drop off was easy. Would def do this tour again. Thank you for the great experience!

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Hi Brittany - I'm very pleased you enjoyed your Jeep Bison Tour with Doug. Doug is new with us this season but has lived in the CSP region for many years. He is our 'Beast' Jeep Bison Safari guide and knows the Park very well. Thank you for taking time for your review. Be Well - Rich

Are driver Doug was very...

George_G, Jul 2023

Are driver Doug was very knowledgeable and explained many things. Favorite for us was pretty much everything. Seeing bison up close

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Hi George - Thank you for taking time for your review. You came at the right time as the rain has greened up the park. I'm glad you enjoyed your Jeep Safari with Doug. Be Well - Rich

A great time had by all

Butch_l, Jun 2023

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Hi Butch - Thanks for taking time for your review. Julie is a world traveler and knows the Hills extremely well. And she's a great person. I'm glad you enjoyed your tour with her. Be Well - Rich

Beautiful Tour

bbjackson53, Jun 2023

Great tour and guide. This is a Beautiful park!! Rock formations are super. Strongly recommend this tour.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Howdy bb - I'm happy you enjoyed your tour. I hope you can return someday and see more of the Hills. Thanks for your review. Be Well - Rich

Amazing views! Highly recommend!

Veronica_B, Aug 2021

Joe was an amazing tour guide, very nice and knowledgeable. This is a great, relaxing way to see the Black Hills. It was so nice to enjoy the time with the kids, worry free. The kids loved being in the back of the jeep, wind blowing, and eating lunch while buffalo passed by. I would have never gone on the dirt roads and would have missed some amazing views. Highly recommend!

Response from Host, Aug 2021

Hi Veronica - When Joe came back today he was explaining what a fun day he had with you and your family. I'm glad to hear you all enjoyed your time in the Park and got to see that many buffalo. The Safari Jeeps allow us to travel the secondary gravel roads looking for the bison. Exploring deeper into the 'Winderness' provides better odds than only driving along the Wildlife Loop. Thank you so much for taking time to review your tour! Be Well - Rich

Best to Avoid

John_B, Aug 2021

My wife texted and called the day before our tour tom confirm. Rich, the owner, said we were all set for 8:30AM tour, which was the Buff tour. We arrived at 8:30AM and met what we thought was our guide. We jumped in the jeep and we were off. About 10 min in the driver gets a call saying he has the wrong group. We go back to the starting point only to find out Rich did not have a vehicle or driver for us. He got Barry, his mechanic, to come out to provide the tour. Barry arrived at 10AM, an hour and a half later than we scheduled. We had booked an early tour because we wanted to avoid the heat of the day. Subsequently we also had some other sightseeing planned for the afternoon, which we passed on because we were 2 hours later than we expected and it was very hot in the jeep as it’s an open air jeep. To make matters worse, the jeep is in very poor condition. The outside looks decent but the inside is horrible. Barry was professional, polite and really tried hard to help out. He appeared to be pretty knowledgeable. That is why I gave this a 2. I contacted Rich about our displeasure. He said he refunded us 20%, which I found out he did do. However, I said given all the issues including the very poor condition of the jeep that was insufficient. He said that was the jeep we rented and he appreciates my perspective. I should also note, we were under the impression that the jeep could go off road closer to the Buffalo. That is not the case. The only Jeep’s that can go on special trails are the ones run by Custer Park. This is just an FYI. Those are Buffalo Safari Jeep Tours. I would look for a more reputable company if I were going to book another tour.

Response from Host, Aug 2021

Hi John. I'm very sorry we were late for your tour. Your tour information was entered into our booking calendar on the wrong date. We had your Jeep ready at the Keystone office but a guide was not scheduled. When I was informed about our error I asked Barry to drive and meet you for tour. I apologize for the late start and I refunded 20% of your payment in a effort to make amends. Barry said he had a good time with your group and said you enjoyed your tour and that you saw a lot of wildlife and a big herd of buffalo. I'm disappointed to find out that was not the case. To clarify a few things. Barry - I'm not sure were you got your information about your guide . Barry is one of my part time mechanics and also part time guide. He has been trained for the Jeep Safari Tour and has been providing three or four tours a week for the last month. Buff - The tour you booked was in our Jeep Wrangler "Buff". It is a Wrangler Unlimited and seats 5-6 adults. It's not as large as the new Jeep Gladiators (they seat up to 10 adults). I have not had any previous complaint or bad review about this Jeep. It's understandable that you might be disappointed . . . at first touring in a the bigger Gladiator and then switched to the smaller Wrangler you reserved. Once again I apologize for the mix up with the date. Be Well - Rich For our future guests - The Jeep Bison Safari from Open-Top-Tours is a 6 hour tour to all of Custer State Park. It includes the drive along Wildlife Loop (we also travel the Parks secondary gravel roads searching for the buffalo), State Game Lodge, Mt Coolidge Fire Lookout, Sylvan and Stockade Lakes, Needles Highway and Iron Mtn Road. Tour includes: fees, bottled water, snacks, picnic lunch and beer/wine on request. Custer State Park Buffalo Jeep Safari is a very good tour and is popular. It is 1.5 hours long and travels the Wildlife Loop in search of buffalo and has access to some Jeep roads that other vehicles are prohibited. Tour includes: fees Thanks - Rich

Fun family jeep tour

Fedeles, Jul 2021

I would recommend this excellent fun jeep tour to everyone! Kevin was so knowledgeable and accommodating.

Response from Host, Jul 2021

Hi Fedeles - I appreciate your taking time for your review. I'm very happy you enjoyed your Jeep Safari tour. This time of year we have been fortunate to find huge bison herds along the roadsides. Thanks again. Be Well - Rich