This is a first come first served campground with a small number of sites. When we got there at around 5 pm on a Saturday, there was only one site left. On Sunday, many people left and the the sites that were replaced with new people filled in in the mid afternoon timeframe. Some sites were left open. (This when there were zero reservable sites in the entirety of the Black Hills.) The campground host was very friendly and helpful.
We stayed in site 16. The ground wasn’t super level, but we made it work. It was right next to a vault toilet which was very clean and smelled great in the inside, but we did get whiffs of that gross vault toilet smell whenever the door opened and then when the wind picked up, more constantly.
Firewood is sold there, but if you come from the East there is a house before the turn in that sells firewood for super cheap (it was $3 per or 2 for $5 when we drove by). You can also forage firewood there. Dogs are $2 per dog per night.
The campground is remote, very quiet, and extremely beautiful. The sites are large and spread out. There are paths down to the lake where you can swim or stick your paddling boat in. It’s not a beach but it works well enough. You’ll want sandals or swim shoes to walk around in the water. Lots of rocks and also lots of crawfish which kept my boys endlessly entertained.
It’s less densely forested here. Still lots of trees but also tons of wildflowers, which were absolutely beautiful. We explored a small bit of trail 40L, which encircles the lake. In some spots it’s overgrown with cow parsnip and/or thistle, so you’ll want to wear pants if you don’t want to touch them.
This is my favorite campground I’ve stayed at so far, I think.
