Just home from a fall camping trip in Custer State Park, Dave Batura and Dede Fay are already planning another trip to Custer in 2009.

"Next year, we're going to come back for the Buffalo Round-up," said Batura.

The Colorado husband and wife enjoy camping in the fall when campground crowds are smaller and wildlife more plentiful.

Craig Pugsley, visitor-services coordinator for Custer State Park, hopes other campers will follow Batura and Fay's lead.

"One of the goals of Custer State Park … has been to broaden the tourism season," he said. "Hopefully someday, we will have a tourism season that runs 12 months a year."

As a way of promoting such a plan, Custer State Park will keep the Game Lodge campground facilities open through December for the first time this year. Campers will have access to the bathrooms/showers and electricity.

The 11 camper cabins at the Game Lodge, which have only heat and lights, will also remain available, and the Peter Norbeck Visitor's Center will stay open through November.

Pugsley said the change is in response to the growing number of people choosing spring and fall camping. A small segment of campers even opt for winter camping, which means they will have a good chance of seeing wildlife, he said.

"Wildlife is much more visible in the winter when conditions are a little harsher," he said.

After a long winter, Pugsley explains that wildlife are drawn to the lower meadows to find food, providing an optimum time for wildlife viewing. "The greenness acts like a magnet to draw wildlife out of the hills," Pugsley said.

While the camping season once ran from Memorial Day to Labor Day, more state parks and campgrounds are seeing the potential in the shoulder seasons, Pugsley said.

If demand is high for this first season, the Park may consider keeping its Game Lodge campground facilities open past December, Pugsley said. He hopes that eventually, people will consider Custer State Park a perfect winter holiday destination as well.

"We think people might even come down and spend New Year's Eve here," he said.