Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Lake Oahe

We are on an east/west/east trip. We were looking for a state park on the water that was on our route. We were so lucky to pick this one. A beautiful state park on Lake Oahe. We lucked out and had a site right on the water. Campsites were big with plenty of room to tie out both of our big dogs. Hubby could walk out of the camper and fish. Campground 3 would be my choice overall as it has a row of sites right along the river. Bathhouse immaculate. Showers great. Good walking paths for humans and dogs and saw many folks cycling. Only downside which couldn’t be helped are all the flies. Take a fly swatter and fly traps/ tape. Days later and down the road we are still finding flies in our camper!

The full name of this place is Fischers Lilly Park, operated by the city of Fort Pierre. To correct the previous review, these sites are water/electric (20/30/50A) only, although there is a free dump station on site. These sites are right on the river, and contrary to the previous reviewer we found some of them near the entrance to be exceedingly spacious, including ours #12. There are 12 sites total, and ours was immaculate. Cell signal on Verizon was a solid 3 bars.

The location right on the banks of the Missouri River can't be beat, and it's the perfect location for exploring all that the Pierre area has to offer: the state capitol complex, the museums, even walleye fishing in the river or nearby Lake Oahe. We spent Memorial Day weekend here and loved it -- my wife was wishing that we could stay longer. Even on the holiday weekend the campground was wonderfully quiet and serene.

Many thanks to the City of Fort Pierre for making this location available.

This location used to be called Indian Memorial Campground but now it is operated by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. It is now called “ the Bay at Grand River Casino & Resort”.

The campground is beautiful. Lots of large trees offer shade to most of their 81 RV slots. Grass surrounds each site and a picnic table and fire ring complete the accommodations. There is 30/50 amp service at every pad. They have recently added water to 28 of the 81 sites. No sewer hookups are available on any of the sites. There is a dump station available on the premises. Most of the pads are of good size. Our RV is a 32 foot, 5th wheel and we had no problem with parking it and our long bed truck. On the property are two bathroom facilities with showers that extremely clean and up to date! Some tent sites are available along a large park within the campground. A resident flock of wild turkeys reside at the campground and are regular visitors as it gets dark. Nearby boat ramp gets you on Lake Oahe is just a few minutes. Across the lake is the town of Mobridge SD. Everything you might need is there. The staff are awesome and very welcoming!!

Regular charge per night is $25.00 but the charge for seniors 55 and older is $15.00. That’s a bargain for what you get in return.

This is an extremely nice campground and the price is right.

We highly recommend “the Bay at Grand River!!

 Driving down muddy, rural roads brought up thoughts of this year’s extra snow and rain totals. It’s nice to immerse yourself in the results to open viewpoints. 

Michael met me and walked me over to the camp area- after letting his 3 dogs greet me. He has a large gravel lot with an electric hookup. He spent time leveling it off so set up was a breeze. Nobody was staying in the guest house so we were able to use a bathroom that reminds me of a fancy hotel. 

Looking around you find yourself surrounded by farm life. An old barn houses a group of cats. Hay is in this one for their horses to add to their diet. The land goes forever and life slows down. 

Michael walked over with his dogs and invited me to walk the property line. This ended up being a couple hours of education and conversation. Michael has worked with government programs to make portions of this retired farm natural grasslands. He planted rows of cedars, plums, chokecherry and pear to attract pheasants- deer appreciate it too. He showed me his endless battle with wormwood crowding out the native species. Water formed a lake where there never is one and almost flooded out their neighbor. Lazy Sy is elevated but they are still fighting the water off this year. My dog found companionship with the farm dogs and we felt welcome and right at home. 

Besides walking around the farm, we stopped in town right on the Missouri River. There are a number of restaurants and stores as well as a few State Recreation Areas to explore. 

Our stay was very comfortable and easy. Welcomed into another lifestyle, conversation bridged the gap quickly. You will love this simple slowdown of life.

Please note that this is NOT the designated Sage Creek campground but the wilderness area that allows for very primitive tent camping. You park off of Rim Road where there is a small lot and a place to register (whether you're day-hiking or staying over night). You hike down into the high prarie and keep wide eye out for bison ( there are over 600 in the badlands!). Make sure that when you do come across wildlife, especially bison, that you give them ample space, do not appear aggressive and definitely don't try to pet them. You must hike in with your food and plenty of water, because the water in Sage Creek is not able to be filtered. It is very easy to spend hours and days exploring the beautiful land and jagged rock, but you must be prepared. From what we saw and what we researched, rarely do people go out and backpack and camp in this wilderness area. I would recommend this to only those who have enough experience backpacking and who know how to prepare themselves, as you will not be near any people or amenities.

The campground and reservoir is nestled away in the wooded hillls south of Timber Lake, SD. Campsites and shelters are spread out along the southern and eastern sides of the water. Little clearings along hillsides with plenty of shade from tree cover. The dam is a nice place to go canoeing, boating or you can do a little bit of swimming near the dock, though there isn't a great 'beach' like area.

There's a couple of campsites right across the road from the main dock. Or you can get further away from the water with sites farther up the road closer to the entrance. ATV trails in the hills surrounding the area.