Where the buffalo roam: Visit the roundup

In movies and stories, the thunder of buffalo stampeding across the American plains remains an iconic memory.

In the 1700s, tens of millions of buffalo dominated the West — and were driven nearly to extinction.

Luckily, even today, you have a chance to thrill to the thunder of hooves on the rolling plains. The iconic animal of the Old West still rumbles across the prairies in South Dakota, and you can be there for the roundup.

Every September, park rangers and volunteer cowboys round up the Custer State Park buffalo herd to give them their annual vaccinations and to check the health and size of the herd. It’s an event witnessed by 20,000 spectators from all over the world.

The Custer State Park buffalo herd spends the year wandering freely through the 71,000-acre fenced park. Along with the buffalo, there are bighorn sheep, elk, deer, mountain goats, antelopes, coyotes, foxes, and mountain lions.

The buffalo herd began in 1914 when the state bought 36 buffalo from a rancher. The herd expanded, and later the state bought 100 more buffalo from a Native American reservation. Today the herd numbers 1,450. The roundup has been an annual event for 56 years.

The 110 miles of parkland also have vast trails and scenic views.

In 2021, the roundup is Friday, September 24, 2021, with activities beginning on September 23, 2021.

American bison by the numbers – (National Bison Association and U.S. Dept of Interior)

* Estimated size of the North American herd: 385,000.

* Estimated size prior to 1600: 30 million to 60 million

* Estimated number in the mid-1880s: 700 to 1,000.

* Bison on tribal land today: 20,000

* 2025 Bison herd goal: 1 million.

* State with the largest bison population: South Dakota, 33,000

* The oldest bison herd: Yellowstone National Park, 4,800. The herd has continuously existed since prehistoric times.

* Bison bulls weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand six feet tall.

* Baby bison are called red dogs.

* Bison run 35 miles an hour.