Center Lake Campground — Custer State Park

All campgrounds in Custer State Park require a reservation (either online or via phone), but this campground is same day reservations ONLY, which is nice for travelers like us who don’t plan and reserve spots in advance. Since these sites cannot be reserved in advance, you’ll have a good shot at getting a spot for the day.  Don’t forget it costs $20 to enter the park as well.

There are no hookups and not many amenities here. There are vault toilets, trash dumpsters, and recycle bins. There are water spigots throughout the campground as well. There’s a dump station in Custer SP. 

The roads in this campground are paved, driveways are somewhat level. Lots of regular spaced out trees, and no real privacy between sites. Other than one extremely loud group in the lower loop (that seemed like a one off), the campground was quiet and peaceful, though the flies were really obnoxious here. 

There is zero cell service at this campground, though cell receptions everywhere else in the park is good. Also, there is a phone at the info board that connects directly with the reservation desk, so even without service you can come to this campground and reserve your spot.

If you are able to manage the same-day reservation, this campground is a great option for Custer. I planned my trip too late to stay at Sylvan Lake campground, but wanted to be near the Needles Highway since that was the reason this park was on my itinerary. There was plenty of vacancy on a late August weeknight. My site was next to the creek, which provided nice white noise at night. The showers were a short distance away, and even had hot water. The lake is a no-wake lake, and had I stayed for longer, I would have loved to paddle on it.

Stayed in upper loop. Sites were spaced out slightly more than in the lower loop. Nice tent pads at all sites. Most back in driveways were fairly short. By nightfall, all but 2 sites were taken . More than 50% of users were tents, not RVs or trailers. Toilets well maintained.