Best Equestrian Camping near Badlands National Park

The other reviewers had it right. Sage Creek is a sweet little spot within Badlands National Park. Definitely pay your park entrance fee! BUT it’s true - this spot is completely free. Lots of people dig this spot. Doesn’t feel too crowded though. Tons of tents, vans, and car campers fit into this somewhat small but open space. Bison are common visitors. Plus, there is a prairie dog town right in the center of the loop the road creates in the camp. They are so fascinating to watch! There are two basic but clean restrooms. Several pic nic tables with small shade shelters. A nearby creek for water filtering / road trip baths. Make sure to bring lots of water or a filter people! We saw folks asking around for extra water. Be prepared. Definitely would highly recommend for anyone traveling through South Dakota. Badlands National Park is so unique and so special.

Close and convenient spot for easy access to Badlands National Park.

We had a FHU site for our travel trailer. The sites are level, although a bit close to each other. There is some shade which was welcome! We had great views of the Badlands National Park since this campground is located just outside the park. Bathrooms are a bit dated, but adequate.

A crowded, but nice, site right in Badlands National Park! A great scenic drive in on awesome and well maintained gravel roads. Large loop site with tons of space for tents and parking. Definitely noisy, but well worth being inside the park. Overall well maintained bathrooms, tons of little trails, and a creek nearby. Stunning sunset views and distant views of Badland choss formations! One thing to mention—there is a massive prairie dog CIVILIZATION living in the campsite, so be prepared for squeaky little neighbors.

This campground on the edge of Badlands National Park is totally in the middle of nowhere, and it takes quite a drive down gravel roads to get there. The roads are well-tended, but they still keep the large RV's out. This is an unusual campground. It is free camping, since it's totally primitive. It's basically a circle drive around an open space, and you just put your tent wherever you want to put it. The whole inner circle is level and well-tended. There are also horse corrals available on one side, and the smaller RV's and trailers pretty much gather there. There are a few covered picnic tables within the circle, and there are pit toilets on each end. The NPS website says that this place rarely fills to capacity, and that's because you just fill in an empty space. We were expecting total solitude, but there were quite a few people. There were vehicles parked around the whole circle, and there were probably 30-40 tents set up, but the space is so large that it didn't feel too cramped or close. The campground is so far from everything that it gets perfectly dark; it's wonderful for stargazing. We watched the moon come up over the hills, and it would have been perfect Milky Way viewing, but as one other camper said, "the full moon [was] shitting on it." We woke up in the morning to a couple of bison roaming through the campground grazing on the grass and wildflowers.

Perfect location for visiting Badlands National Park. Jussstttt outside the park entrance and the Ben Reifel visitor center. Could not ask for a better location. The campground is a no frills, perfectly adequate base for exploring the area. 30 amp (some sites have 50) and water with a dump station. The staff is super friendly and there is a small store and cafe. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Sites are gravel and pretty level. Can’t beat it for $38/night! We had a spot at cedar pass for one night and extended here because it wasn’t worth moving (see pic of how close they are to one another) and CP doesn’t have water hookups.

The views are spectacular from the campground. Great spot for sunrises, sunsets and stargazing.

Sage Creek is a free and primitive campground in the Badlands National Park. It is absolutely beautiful and surrounded by grassland. The only amenities are vault toilets-there is no water at the site, but you can fill up at the outside faucet at the visitor center before heading down the road to the campsite. There are 12 miles of gravel roads (some great pull offs along this road for pictures) to get to the site, so low clearance vehicles may want to watch out when it rains. The early morning is awesome at this campsite, its quiet, the sun is rising over the hills and sometimes wildlife can be seen munching away.

The bison frequently roam through this site and I urge all campers to stay a safe distance from the bison as they are wild and unpredictable.

The only complaint I really have about this site, is more of a concern. In recent years there has been a problem with over crowding at the site, for example, more people staying than allowed, people driving and camping outside the designated campgrounds, being loud, crowding other campers, etc. While we were there, we saw a truck barrel over a prairie dog town, parents allowing their children to throw things at the prairie dogs or stick things into the animal's dens and an argument over a campsite. I just hope that those who choose to camp here keep the park rules and the leave no trace principles in mind. This is a beautiful place and a joy to visit the quiet grasslands.

This beautiful location is wonderful to wake up to. Bison on the hills around. Prairie dogs galore! Coyotes howling in the distance. Wonderful scenery!

However, this site offered no water and no availability for cooking unless you brought your own stove. There were however bathrooms and specific places to hitch up your horse. Hopefully your horse will not need water.

The Tilson’s keep their campground and motel well maintained, have hookups for campers, and fire rings for campsites. Can purchase wood from them. Amazing view of the Badlands, and can walk into the park. beautiful pastures with horses surround. minutes from Highway 90.

Very peaceful but small campground. Each campsite has a Ramada, picnic table, grill and fire pit. No water. Pit toilet. Limited cell coverage. Free.

All sites are walk-in tent only.

The only issue we experienced were the horse flies but this would not deter us from staying again.

On the drive in and out to Sage Creek, I saw all the major mammals of the park (bison, prairie dogs, deer, bighorn sheep, pronghorn), and there was even two bison grazing at the equestrian site in the morning. 

The campground is nice and dark and had a great view of the Milky Way. There is no water at camp, which was made very clear on the park website and map. Sage Creek did have some water flow when I went, so I could have filtered some if I needed more. 

My main criticism is that only a handful of the sites had shades for the picnic tables. When I arrived, the campground was less than half full, but none of the remaining sites had a shade. For a park that gets this hot and doesn't really have trees or other shade, I think this should be provided at each site.

The campground per se is not exceptional- a roundabout with picnic tables for each site. Also an area for horse trailers. But the location IS exceptional!! We had a bison herd of 26 meander by on the other side of the river bed. Two bison hang out at/ in the campground for an afternoon, evening, morning (and possibly later- we had to hit the road). It’s a prairie dog metropolitan center, not town. AND two resident coyotes waiting for a lucky moment with a prairie dog appetizer. There were soundscapes (prairie dog and coyote) as well as landscapes…. And stunning starry night skies. Amazing place.

Great free campground in the Badlands Wilderness area. Follow Sage Creek Rd and watch for signs for the campground. Made it no problem in a 26’ motorhome, but it is a 12 mile dirt road with a lot of washboard so things get rattled and covered in fine powdery dirt. Totally worth it though because on the way out you get amazing views from the top along the ridge of Badlands plus bison, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, coyotes, and hundreds of prairie dogs along the road on the way. 

The campground is a loop that has parallel parking around it and sites are designated by numbered posts. There is a horse camp area to one side and toward the right as you pull in and many people just made up spots not in the loop but behind the bathroom and along near the horse camp, so if you made the long drive out you should have at least somewhere to squeeze in for the night.

There are picnic tables, some which are covered and two pit toilet bathrooms. Also there is garbage and recycling. There is no water here so be sure to bring enough as temps can get quite hot. Some reviews mention the wind being an issue and though it was windy at first it died down and was calm all night. 

It was nice when we were there in late Sept. There were plenty of empty spots in late afternoon but filled up through the evening. Bison frequently come through the campground and use the posts to scratch themselves. Don’t be an idiot though (we saw some of that) these are huge wild animals and do not want selfies with you! 

There were also a lot of coyotes that came through at night so be aware if you have a pet. 

Weak and spotty cell reception with ATT and Verizon and no TMobile.

I LOVED my time here at Sage Creek. It is quite the drive from anywhere else in the park, but it is amazing. As we were setting up our tent on the first night, a lone bison walked through and checked out what was going on. It was incredible. There is bison poop throughout, so watch your step. Also, there is no running water on site or anywhere nearby, so be sure to pack your own. There are pit toilets. There aren't really designated sites, everyone sets up somewhere in the middle. Additionally, there are some horse facilities, but I would check on the NPS website for the particulars on that. Overall, it was a phenomenal place to camp. We got there around 4 p.m. and there were still plenty of places to set up. (We went in late August.) There is not a lot of privacy, but I didn't mind. It's free, so you really can't beat that.

Sorry I forgot to get pictures. We stayed here for two days. The campsite allows pets has two toilets at both ends. No running water or electricity. The vibe at the site was great with the other campers. Weather was a bit extreme but we got unlucky picking a week when a huge storm column was coming across the US. The buffalo were all over the campsite. Really recommend if you enjoy camping a little more off grid but still having others to hangout with