Bison South Dakota Map
Explore Bison, South Dakota, with this interactive street and satellite map.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the official USGS topographic sheets — plus USGS aerial imagery, a labelled USNG grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below.
Interactive Map of Bison, South Dakota
How to Use This Bison, South Dakota Map
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Bison, South Dakota. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture. Drag the map to pan to any area of South Dakota or beyond.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the official USGS topographic maps from The National Map — contours, hydrography, land cover and shaded relief, the same mapping used for hiking, hunting and back-country navigation in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. Imagery shows USGS aerial photography, mostly 1-metre NAIP. The search box finds any US town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Bison.
Reading the map like a paper quad. Click Grid to overlay the U.S. National Grid (USNG), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a USNG grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — USNG being the format FEMA and US search and rescue teams work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.
| City | Bison |
| State | South Dakota (SD) |
| County | Perkins County |
| Country | United States of America |
| Timezone | Mountain Time (America/Denver) |
| Latitude | 45.520265 |
| Longitude | -102.461271 |
| Population | 302 |
| Density | 117.4 /km² |
| Incorporated | Yes |
| ZIP Code | 57620 |
| Area Code | 605 |
| County Seat | Bison |
| School District | Bison School District 52-1 |
About Bison, South Dakota
Bison is a locality in Perkins County, South Dakota, United States. It is a small community with a population of 302. The population density is 117.4 people per km². Bison is located at 45.5203°N, 102.4613°W. It observes the Mountain Time (America/Denver) timezone. Bison is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 57620.Bison emerges from the expansive, sun-bleached plains of South Dakota like a solitary outpost tethered to the horizon by the relentless sweep of the wind. It lies 98.6 miles northeast of Spearfish, SD (from Spearfish, SD: bearing 43°T), and is situated 95.2 miles south of Dickinson. The landscape surrounding Bison is defined by a vast, open prairie that tilts toward the distant profile of the Boxcar Buttes, their jagged edges softened by the haze of late afternoon light. To the north, the terrain dips into the quiet passage of Thunder Butte Creek, where the water cuts a thin, silver ribbon through the earth, while the nearby Grand River National Grassland offers a sprawling expanse of native grasses that ripple in rhythmic waves under the immense, unclouded sky. At dusk, the quality of light here takes on a bruised, violet hue, casting long shadows that emphasize the stark, geological honesty of the ground beneath one's feet.
Economic life in Bison is inextricably tied to the rhythms of the land, centered primarily on the resilience of cattle ranching and the seasonal cycles of agriculture that dictate the pace of the year. History clings to the soil, a legacy of homesteaders who carved a living out of the high plains, their persistence mirrored today in the quiet endurance of the local inhabitants. A few miles away, the waters of Owen Lake reflect the stillness of the region, providing a rare, reflective anchor in a territory dominated by the texture of dry earth and the scent of sage. Life in Bison moves with a deliberate, measured gravity, reflecting a culture that values the quietude of distance and the profound, uncluttered clarity that only such a wide, high-altitude landscape can provide.
Nearby Outdoor Places
- Anna Carr Homestead (Attraction) — 0.4 mi, 306° NW
- Earl's Taxidermy Museum (Museum) — 0.4 mi, 306° NW
- Grand River National Grassland (National Grassland) — 2.7 mi, 004° N · 155k acres
- Owen Lake (State Recreation Area) — 4.0 mi, 145° SE
- Shadehill Reservoir Game Production Area (State Recreation Area) — 12.0 mi, 030° NE
- Shadehill Reservoir (Resource Management Area) — 13.6 mi, 036° NE
- Hugh Glass Adventure (Monument) — 18.8 mi, 036° NE
- Sorum Dam (State Conservation Area) — 21.4 mi, 256° W
- Vobejda Dam (State Conservation Area) — 24.8 mi, 341° N
- Custer National Forest (National Forest) — 29.0 mi, 246° SW · 1.2M acres
- Mile 290 North Dakota - South Dakota boundary monument (Monument) — 29.9 mi, 349° N
- Mile 291 North Dakota - South Dakota boundary monument (Monument) — 30.1 mi, 347° N
- Cowboy Riding a Dinosaur (Public Artwork) — 32.1 mi, 027° NE
- The Castles National Natural Landmark (National Monument) — 33.6 mi, 270° W · 947 acres
- Cedar River National Grassland (National Grassland) — 41.5 mi, 044° NE · 6,714 acres
- Bowman Haley Recreation Area (Recreation Area) — 48.1 mi, 310° NW
- Plainview School (Historic Ruins) — 72.2 mi, 215° SW
- Winkler School (Historic Ruins) — 72.3 mi, 226° SW
- Stewart Lake National Wildlife Refuge (National Wildlife Refuge) — 73.1 mi, 321° NW · 1,276 acres
- White Lake National Wildlife Refuge (National Wildlife Refuge) — 74.4 mi, 332° NW · 2,088 acres
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About This Bison Map Page
This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Bison, South Dakota. Coordinates: 45.520265, -102.461271. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.
Detailed location data for Bison includes the ZIP code (57620), telephone area code (605), county seat of Perkins County (Bison), and school district assignment (Bison School District 52-1).
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any US town, county or landmark by name; offers USGS topographic maps and USGS aerial imagery as base layers; overlays a labelled U.S. National Grid (USNG) so the map can be read like a printed topographic quad; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as a USNG grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require cell coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Location data | SimpleMaps US Cities Database; coordinates matched to USGS GNIS definitive data |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; USGS The National Map topographic and aerial imagery (public domain); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |
| Wikipedia validation | Article content matched to USGS GNIS coordinates via Wikipedia geosearch API. |
