South of Custer - Wind Cave, Evans Plunge, and a Chuck Wagon Dinner

After so much exploring in the park over the past two days, we decided to venture a little farther afield. Our first stop was Wind Cave National Park, which borders the south side of Custer State Park. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit of a dud—we couldn’t get into the cave without a guided tour, and those were sold out for hours. Still, we made the most of it by touring the visitor center, watching the short films, and checking out the replicas.

From there, we headed to Hot Springs, South Dakota and Evans Plunge. Just like The State Game Lodge, I have vivid childhood memories of this place. I’m not sure if it was the passage of time, the difference between being 12 and being 43, or if the place had actually gone downhill, but it didn’t feel quite as grand as I remembered. Annie called it “very low budget,” and she wasn’t wrong—it’s basically a smaller version of Splash Village.

Evans Plunge is built around a natural spring that has been visited for hundreds of years, and has operated as a water park for over a century. It has slides, games, and pools—sort of like Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, but not as hot and definitely not as nice. Still, on the way out, Faith told us, “That was really fun,” so maybe it’s just one of those places that hits perfectly for a 12-year-old.

We didn’t stick around long because we needed to make it back to Blue Bell Lodge in Custer State Park for the Chuck Wagon Dinner—a worthy trade-off for missing our Wind Cave tour. When we arrived, they handed out cowboy hats and loaded us onto a truck-pulled hay wagon for a ride through the Wildlife Loop. This wagon even had a musician on board, playing guitar, telling corny jokes, and pointing out wildlife along the way.

When we reached the dinner spot, we were treated to steak and burgers, more music, a little dancing, and a group echo call into the wilderness (which worked—so cool!). It was the perfect way to wrap up our last night in the park.