Located in the southeastern side of the Black Hills, this 70,000 acre property is controlled by Custer State Park and the hunting here is strictly managed.. Other than the Bison hunts all other species are RESIDENT only.

Probably because this is a resident only option for all species except Bison, there is really no chatter at all about the deer hunting located here. The Bison hunt on the other hand has lots of information, as well as videos that hunters can look at to get a feel for the area even though the focus seems to always be about the Bison located in the park.

This unit is a very broken landscape as it is the foothills that lead up into the Black Hills. Stretching from north to south the elevation drops as you move from west to east with large cuts and ridges giving way to smaller and smaller ridges and cuts as it makes its way towards the prairie floor.

A mix of short and tall prairie grass for miles in all directions as well as countless species of wildflowers can be found in most areas of the unit that haven’t been turned for agricultural purposes. Very sparse timber which is primarily a mix of Cottonwood, American Elm, Green Ash, and Bur Oak can be found along the small creeks throughout the unit. As you gain elevation towards the western side of the unit you can expect to run into more and more conifer and other forest trees leading up towards the edges of the Black Hills as well as some pockets of aspen.

Highway 16A moves east and west across the northern half of the unit. Coming off of this route and looping across the entire southern half of the unit is Wildlife loop road this loop has multiple two tracks that go in all directions and will get you into just about anywhere you would like in the southern half of the unit. If you are looking to hunt further north. Again coming off of Highway 16A is South Playhouse Road on the more western side of the unit, and Iron Mtn Road on the farther east side of the unit are the same, and have many different two tracks that will allow access into the deeper parts of the unit.

There is no primitive camping allowed in the state park, but there are a number of established campgrounds that you can utilize when planning a hunt in this area. If you are looking for something more like a hotel and restaurants then the most logical place to look would be Custer, SD which is located just outside of the unit along Highway 16A. These two although small have a little bit of everything and should be just what you are looking for.