Bismarck Lake Campground, near Custer, South Dakota, is a beautiful spot tucked away in the [Black Hills National Forest](https://thedyrt.com/camping/south-dakota/near/black-hills-national-forest). This place is perfect for those who want a mix of tranquility and outdoor adventure, with spacious, wooded sites that offer a good amount of privacy.

The campground is known for its stunning lake views and easy access to hiking trails. Visitors rave about the peaceful atmosphere, with one camper noting, “The lake was beautiful, so bring your kayaks.” You’ll find pit toilets and drinking water available, but keep in mind there are no electric hookups or showers, so come prepared for a more rustic experience.

Fishing is a popular activity here, and the surrounding scenery is simply breathtaking, especially at sunset. Campers have enjoyed the well-maintained sites and the friendly camp hosts, making it a welcoming environment for everyone. As one reviewer put it, “This is one of the prettier campgrounds in the Black Hills.” 

With its close proximity to Custer, you can easily venture into town for supplies or a meal. Whether you’re pitching a tent or parking your RV, Bismarck Lake Campground offers a fantastic escape into nature.

## Overview

 Bismarck Lake Campground is set amidst a scattering of aspen groves and Ponderosa pine on the southeast edge of Bismarck Lake at 5,000 feet. This is a great place for visitors seeking recreation and relaxation in the Black Hills National Forest. Acess to this campground is through Custer State Park near the West Highway 16A entrance. Sites in the campground are widely spaced and open up to views of lakes, providing adequate privacy for visitors. 
## Recreation

 The forest offers accessible recreation for all ages and abilities. Visitors can take advantage of opportunities for hiking, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, and riding off-highway vehicles (OHVs) on moderate terrain. At the campground, a short foot trail traverses the forested shoreline, offering opportunities for birding in early morning or picnicking in the afternoon. For those seeking higher elevations, a day-long trek to the summit of nearby Black Elk Peak is worth the effort. Black Elk Peak is the highest natural point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Most of the summit is bare granite and offers expansive views of the surrounding area. An old stone tower (Harney Lookout Tower) at the top, once used as a fire lookout, is still open to hikers. Adjacent to the campground is Bismarck Lake, an ideal spot for fishing and boating. The lake supports populations of rainbow and brown trout, a variety of sunfish, smallmouth bass, northern pike, and catfish. 
## Facilities

 Bismarck Lake Campground has sites able to accommodate tents, trailers, and RVs. Access to the lake is within walking distance and there is a beautiful boardwalk and with fishing piers along the waters edge. The campground has picnic tables, campfire rings, vault toilets, and drinking water; however, electrical hook-ups are not available. 
## Natural Features

 Located in western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, Black Hills National Forest encompasses nearly 1.25 million acres of rugged rock formations, canyons and gulches, open grassland parks, tumbling streams, deep blue lakes, and unique caves. Derived from the Lakota language, the words \"Paha Sapa,\" meaning \"hills that are black,\" honor the dark, pine-covered hills rising several thousand feet above the surrounding prairie. Wildlife in the area abounds. Bighorn sheep navigate mountainous terrain, while elk, deer and pronghorn gather in forests and prairies. Bald eagles, hawks, osprey, peregrine falcon, and hundreds of other bird species can be found in the forest, especially along streams, lakes and rivers. 
## Nearby Attractions

 Possible day trips include Custer State Park with its many buffalo and other wildlife, Crazy Horse Monument and Wind Cave National Park as well as Jewel Cave which is the second longest cave in the world at 159.29 miles. It features sparkling calcite crystals and other rare formations, as well as some of the largest concentrations of passageways in the world. Bismarck Lake Campground is within a couple of miles of the start of the beautiful Needles Highway scenic drive . 
## Contact Info

 For facility specific information, please call (605) 574-4402.
## Charges & Cancellations

 No refunds will be given for weather or related events.

Bismarck Lake Campground

Custer is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Discover secluded campsites where you can reconnect with nature. Or maybe you like to bring your family and friends along. Either way, there are Custer campgrounds just for you. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your South Dakota camping adventure.

Custer

The Best Camping Near Custer, South Dakota

Beautiful camp sites. They are mostly gravel so pack a nice sleeping pad or blow up mattress. The pit toilets were very clean and the water spouts were plentiful. Many of the sites have natural rock formations as natural boundaries of the site. Many tent camp sites have raised platforms to pitch your tent. There is a small trail around the lake that was lovely in the evenings. The lake is very quiet and great for fishing or kayaking. 

Natural and Beautiful

This National Forest campground is directly across the 2-lane "highway" from Custer State Park, a beautiful park with several campgrounds, vintage lodges and cabins, lovely small lakes and plenty of opportunities to see wildlife (we saw bison -- of course! -- mountain goats, wild burros, deer, and turtles).  Bismarck Lake campground is small and quiet (except for generators until 10 pm --- grrrr!) with several really beautiful sites.  There is water and the vault toilets were super clean.  We were in Site 2, one of the worst (right next to the campground road with a slope down to the picnic table/fire pit), but it was still pretty nice.  The best sites are 4, 5 and 8 which all have lake views; 6 and 7 which are next to each other on a large rock outcrop, with graded sites for tents -- they are close together though; and 21 (20 on one map) which is in a meadow all by itself (the Recreation.gov and Forest Service maps of the campground have numbered the sites differently; both show site 8 on the wrong side of the road).  There is a good graded path down to the lake, a sweet bridge over the dammed part of it, and a boardwalk around one side of it.  The lake is gorgeous -- so beautiful at dusk.  Across the highway in Custer State Park is Stockade Lake, which has its own little beach and a playground.  Stockade Lake South Campground has free showers (you have to pay a $20-per-car one-time fee  to get into and use any/all the facilities in Custer State Park -- totally worth it as there is so much to do!).  Mt. Rushmore is just over a half-hour away; the Badlands are about 1 1/2 hours.  Custer is a pretty cute little town (as opposed to Keystone, near Mt. Rushmore, which is a true tourist trap) with a good little grocery store (Lynn's DakotaMart) and an Ace Hardware, as well as a GREAT pie shop/bakery/cafe.

Jewel in the Black Hills!

Go! Great little hide out. Shade everywhere, beautiful lake. No mosquitoes. Don't be discouraged by the no showers, when you pay to get into Custer State Park you're able to use their showers. 

Amazing

Really nice forest service site with a beautiful lake, trout, trails and solitude. 

Amazing place 

**Campground Review: **

I chose this campground when I was looking up a quieter campground near Custer State Park. And it turned out to be the perfect spot for what we needed. It was centrally located in the Black Hills. About 10 mins down the road from the town of Custer. We camped in site 4 which was a lovely site literally just up the hill from the lake. It was a 2 min walk to the bathroom in either direction. The site was a bit rocky and hard to find a good place to put a tent but would be perfect for an RV. We were able to place a couple tents and hammocks to sleep in but if we had a larger tent we wouldn’t have found a spot in our site for a tent. The lake was perfect. 

  

There is a boat ramp to be able to put in kayaks, paddle-boards, or any other non motorized vessels. The lake is the perfect size to paddle away and feel like you have escaped society for a few minutes. The campground was secluded enough to where you didn’t see and hear all the other campers. The bathrooms were well taken care of and the camp hosts were lovely and very accommodating. 

  

The site was$26 a night with a$2 per pet per night fee. You can buy firewood from the camp hosts for $5 a bundle. 

**Gear Review:** 

As a Dyrt Ranger, we sometimes get the chance to review gear. This trip we were able to test out Eclipse Sun Sleeves. We do a lot of fishing and we are constantly worried about keeping our arms protected without getting sunscreen into the water supply or being over heated. These sleeves worked out perfectly for both of those reasons! 

https://eclipseglove.com/collections/all-eclipse-sun-products/products/sun-sleeves 

  

They stayed upright and didn’t roll down while moving around. The material was lightweight and quickdry. The fingers are halfway covered so it made it easy to maneuver with rods in hand. UPF 50+, reliably blocks 98%+ of UVA and UVB rays, chemical-free, and hypoallergenic. We were both able to wear the same size sleeves and they didn’t stretch out the whole weekend.

Ranger Review: Eclipse Sun Sleeves at Bismarck Lake Campground

This campsite was by far the most beautiful we’ve ever stayed at. Our campsite was overlooking the lake and right beside a very clean bathroom. Luckily, the campsite next to us was empty or we wouldn’t have any privacy. The bugs were minimal in early June. There was a path down to the lake from our site or a path to a bench to overlook the lake. The firepits were hard to keep fires going in, due to being so deep without much airflow at the bottom. But we managed. There are no showers at this campsite but we had a water spout on our site. The toilets are vault toilets. We didn’t see any snakes or other wildlife. We would definitely recommend staying here and try to get a site overlooking the lake. Absolutely beautiful!

Our favorite campsite yet!

August 23-25, 2019 Beautiful park and most of all it is located within Custer State Park. No showers or flush toilets, but we understand that you can shower at Legion Lake if you have a State Park Pass. There is a $2 per DAY pet fee collected when you arrive. We had Antenna TV reception. Elevation 5,249 ft. Mice were looking for somewhere warm to stay for the winter. We saw a few. We surrounded our RV and truck with rope lights at night. Either they worked or we got lucky.

Bismark Lake Campground - South Dakota

This campground is beautiful. We had a lovely two weeks here in mid-July. The sites are wooded and spaced far apart. The lake is within walking distance of all sites. No electric or water hook-ups. Several sites are same-day reservations only, but we had no trouble reserving one, just had to arrive first thing in the morning...Custer is a 7-minute drive away with plenty of coffee shops, restaurants, and shopping. Highly recommend a stay here.

Absolutely Beautiful

We had the place to ourselves, not another person in the campground for two days albeit it was cold and started snowing pretty heavily. Would definitely go back next time we are headed out West.

Nice campground right in the heart of Custer

We loved this campground, all sites give you a little privacy and it was so quiet.  The lake was beautiful, so bring your kayaks.  There is a hiking trail around the lake and several benches to just sit and take in the sunsets.  Very clean!  

Beautiful Lake & Sunset Views! 

Very nice flat gravel back insights with heavy duty Picton tables short walk to the lake all the reserve sites was booked up for a long time. But there is first come first serve so happy for me

Nice spot

Only stayed one night, but wish we had stayed longer! Great big spots with rocks to climb for the kids (like having your own personal playground). No views of the lake it self, but a short walk to enjoy the views (had the most fantastic sun in the evening). A lot of people were fishing, but we only saw turtles. No hook-up or water. 

Magnificent place!

Quiet, spread out tent spots. Rv spots little closer together. Great camp hosts, everything was very clean including the bathrooms and water fill stations. Right next to Lake bismark and very close to all the attractions in the black hills. Had Verizon phone service. Only about 15 min. Drive from the town of custer too. Beautiful campground/are definitely plan on going again.

Beautiful campground in custer state park!

This is one of the prettier campgrounds in the black hills. Most of the sites are well separated. We stayed in #6, which is close to #7. But the views are worth it. The table and tent pad are down the hill a bit from parking which is right next to the toilet.  I had nice neighbors and it appeared that it was just the 2 sites using the vault toilet, so that was not too bad.
Camp hosts was nice. Lots of water taps. Toilets was pretty clean for end of season.

Pretty campground 

This was a great forest service campground with 6 1st come 1st serve sites for $28 per night but with the America beautiful pass, It was $14. Great cell phone reception, water, pit toilet, is pit toilet and trash. Camp host at entrance an after October 3rd, reserved sites are closed with a gate.

Great campingbin the CSP.

Hilly wooded camping, rock out crops, boarded walkways around the lake. Looks like a good place to fish.

Great camping and fishing around the lake

The pit toilets were… pit toilets, but the site was beautiful and a short walk to the water. Not too crowded and quiet neighbors. Good Verizon service also

Very private beautiful campground

We stayed here for 3 nights during the off-season. The main campground was closed but there are six FCFS sites year round with a pit toilet. Loved the solitude and location this campground offers! Short drive into Custer and centrally located to the many parks and attractions in the area. Bismark Lake is beautiful- especially at sunset! 

Off-season Stay

Site 7 is perfect for tent camping! We were able to fit 2 6-person tents on this site. There's great lake access near all sites for fishing and paddleboarding, and our kids loved climbing all the huge boulders here. Our site was a little close to site 6, especially considering how spread out most of the others are, but it didn't bother us and our neighbors were chill. Very close to the vault toilet and water spigot. The camp host was wonderful and super friendly. The location is right in the middle of all the fun stuff to do in the Black Hills. My favorite campsite ever!

Photos of Bismarck Lake Campground

Real photos from real campers