Horse Thief Campground and RV Resort

Small campground with small sites. Water on site no dump station.

Like the location… it is in the middle of all the attractions…. Needle HWY, Hill city, Rushmore/crazy horse, Custer,etc.

This place was quiet, a bit crowded but the office staff was helpful and it was quiet at night.

Our stay in the Black Hills for four nights at the Horse Thief Campground was relaxing, enjoyable and convenient. We were in our class C while slowly making our way across the country. The park is reasonably large. We had no problems getting a spot here. Sites are gravel for the RV, reasonably level, and very well maintained. Most are pull through. Hookups are in very good condition. Each site had plenty of grassy area with tables and fire pit.  Staff was very friendly and helpful. There are tent sites available, some were secluded.  Cabins were also available.

There was a heated pool that we observed being used daily. Two playgrounds are available along with a large grassy area for play.  Showers and laundry are available and in good condition.  The campground store offers ice, firewood, snacks, and other basic supplies.  There is a wonderful hillside where we saw turkeys and deer.  We were told by another camper that mountain goats have been seen on the mountain behind the hillside. 

Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument are within 15 miles. A steam train ride is available at nearby Hill City.  The area features many other attractions and activities and the campground is in the middle of it all.

The campground is conveniently located a few miles off the highway. There is no noise other than the campground and sometimes turkeys in the early evening..

We had 1 bar LTE with Verizon. Our hotspot was unusable. Cell internet was poor or nonexistent. There are several wifi connections available in the park.  These were okay and allowed us to do basic internet.  Downloads took a long time.

The only reason we give 4 star instead of 5 is the wifi service could be better, though they have made more effort than most places we have stayed.  The playgrounds could use a little maintenance, but were very usable.

We found this to be an excellent place to stay.  We will stay again when traveling this way.

Overall the campground was great. Showers, washing machines, places for kids to play, pool area, kind neighbors. We did run into a couple problems when it came to tent camping here. The bathroom closest to us had 2 toilets and 2 showers which were nearly always full and we had to walk across the campground to another bathroom. Another thing, some of the tent sites are slanted. The blood was either rushing to my head or I was sliding down the bottom of the tent. It is a little bit awkward and not ideal. Having a campfire was a nice plus though (they even had water to put it out with).

I had high hopes for this campground in Hill City based on other reviews i had read, but overall it was a disappointing campground. Positives: Central location in Hill City, very close to Needles highway and Sylvan Lake. The pool is heated and the campground has a nice layout with play equipment and 2 bathhouses. Negatives: there is NO wifi or cell service, yet they advertise as having it. We have Cell plans with Verizon, At&t and Google Fi (which bounces off multiple tours) and none of our services worked except right next to the main bathhouse. Prices in the camp store are incredibly high, cheap apartment-sized washers and dryers, and owner and employees seem annoyed when you come into the store, even at check in. The icing on the negative cake were the three teenagers and a young boy that were staying with a lady running the camp that were allowed free reign of the campground. I had to remove my kids from the pool because of their nasty talking, f-bombs, calling each other b***h. I will not stay here again. There are way too many campgrounds in the area with better service.

We needed a one night stay after exploring the Mammoth Site and Mt Rushmore in a day and were lucky to find this campground. It is incredibly close to Mount Rushmore (and Crazy Horse). We were in a spot with zero shade, and it was VERY hot by breakfast, so recommend an awning or canopy if you have one!

Spacius sites about half and half primitive to full hookups showers available, Amazing views and hiking and lake close by. Horseshoe pits and basketball court. Cabins available to. Very Quiet well Maintained Store at park entrance

We really enjoyed our stay. My only caveat is that the sites are very close together. It has cute on-site store and is located in lovely valley that is close to everything. I recommend sites on the very ends to have the most privacy.

Very friendly staff. All the amenities needed. Clean bathrooms and showers. Ample laundry facilities! Don’t forget your roll of quarters! (They have change too) We tent camped in 106 (closest to bathhouse so you can hear air hand dryer but quickest bathroom access). All the tent sites appeared to be very nice. They are drive up! Surrounded by mountains and deer walk right through campground. Location was perfect and within miles of all attractions! We saw some of the other campgrounds in the area and are more than pleased we chose this one! RV sites in the front appeared a little more crowded than those towards the back. Also, had some small cabins and there was ample room for the tent in front of it. We would choose this campground at our next visit! Kids loved the on-site “gold mining” activity!

Very friendly staff and tons of amenities for a campground. Shower and laundry for guest and non-guest. 5 star showers!!! $3 for non guest

The tent sites have lots of space and don’t feel tight.

We had a great time here and the owner and his helper where very helpful and accommodating. Will be going back!

We spent a week at the end of June here!! Wonderful weather! On the needles highway and close to everything.

This campground was a pleasant surprise for us. It is bordered by the Black Hills Natl. Forest. It has site for tent camper, pop-ups and bigger RV's and cabins. Due to the topography you will have to do some leveling. It is off a major highway so nighttime is quiet. There's a mix and tree and open areas The open area is great for night sky watching The bathroom was great for me, grab bars in the ADA restroom plus a great easy access shower. Bathroom was very clean. It's about 4 miles from Sylvan Lake and near the famous Needle's Highway. I also liked it because they don't use every inch of real estate to cram people in to like some KOA's. We camped after Labor Day but they have a nice pool, playground etc. We loved camping in our Sylvansport GO there but as I alluded to leveling can be challenging in some spots. But, we now have a better idea of flatter sites for a 2019 visit. I opted for more privacy so that was the trade-off. The campground is also close to Hill City, SD (The Heart of the HIlls) so restaurants were near should one not want to bother with cooking on a short visit.

Horse Thief has beautiful, big tent camping sites with gorgeous views of the Black Hills all around. The staff was friendly and helpful. The kids loved playing catch in the large field. Showers were clean, modern and had hot water. The general store had firewood and all the supplies for s’mores a girl could ever need. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and still wish I was there, watching the sunrise and waiting for my coffee to bubble in my camp stove percolator.

Close to many attractions, this quiet campground boasts spacious wooded sites, newly renovated shower houses, and beautiful views! Our family will definitely be back!

Perfect campground nestled between Custer State Park and Mt Rushmore. 3 miles from Sylvan Lake and all the hiking you could ever want. Hot showers, free WiFi (although you need to be at camp store to get a signal), playground for the kids and a pool. 2 miles from Mickelson trail- hop on your bike and ride 6 miles up to Crazy Horse! We’ll definitely be back!

the “WiFi” is basically non existent, bring cash if you want to do laundry. they have quarters but no cash back using a card so you need to have cash to get quaters

This was a large, clean campground. The hosts were very friendly. We had a bumper pull RV, our son joined us next day. The spot we were assigned had plenty of room for his tent, we parked his car in the main lot. There was no cell service and the wifi was not useful for uploading photos.

It is located centrally (north end of needles hwy) so we were close to all the things we wanted to do; Mount Rushmore, Custer State park, Needles Hwy, Jewel Cave, Crazy Horse, & Praire Berry Winery.