Best Tent Camping near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, SD

We came in and got a last minute tent site on Memorial Day weekend and were treated very well with good recommendations for ice cream and willingness to help us out when we realized we left things at home. Our spot was a beautiful little tent spot right along the creek.

This campground is wonderful. It’s reasonably priced and has a gym, laundry, and showers! We got a tent site. Everyone else staying was very friendly. Bathroom facilities were clean. Laundry was great. Would highly recommend and will definitely be back if I find myself in Gilette again!

This is, finally, a KOA that isn’t covered in gravel and dust! There is real, green grass! The sites are small, and tight, but there is grass. They have mostly RV sites, with some tent sites and small cabins. Electric and water, some with sewer. There is a small store, game room and pool. The shower would be better with a real door, not just curtains. They have a good size dog park, plus an extra area for dogs to run, unfenced.

Perfectly located, South Fork creates a sense of peace and adventure. Buffalo is 25 miles away if you need supplies or a cell signal. Hiking trails are all around. Mountain vistas are prevalent. The Bighorns are mighty big. 

The campground is one road with campsites on each side. We were not next to the river but it’s sound quieted all else. The end of the loop has a parking area for tenters. Over the bridge there are a group of beautiful tent sites. 

The camp host made it a point to personally greet each camper. Shaking hands, she welcomed us to this sacred space. 

A hiking trail leaves the tent area and goes to Tie Hack reservoir. A multi-use trail is at the front of camp. A mile down the road is the turn off to Circle Park. 3 miles of bumpy forest roads and the trailhead appears. Amazing hikes into the Cloudpeak Wilderness can be found. Closer to Buffalo is the Mosier Gulch trail. All are perfect ways to spend your time. 

Don’t miss out on this place!

Crazy Woman Road lives up to her name. The road is one lane with a few wide spots to pass oncoming vehicles. It starts off flat but drops steeply and continues the downward angle. It’s 15 miles if you go all the way to 87 and 5 miles until private land starts and no camping there. I would not be comfortable taking a heavy load this way. We passed 3 camps that were not bad to get to if they are open. After a bit of driving you come upon an open area to camp. People set up their tent camp across the road too. We loved this spot! It’s right next to a river with rapids that are steep enough to be considered small waterfalls. There are 5 fire pits here that are spaced around the outside of the area. You would be hard pressed to get larger trailers in here. We loved sitting by the water on some large boulders. The water is great white noise too.

This was a fairly decent private campground; it one of the best KOA's I've stayed at. The few employees I encountered were very pleasant, and overall the campground was pretty quiet, even though it's not really in a "wilderness" area (although what KOA ever really is?). The tent sites were nicely designed, but the grouping I was in was downwind of the dump station :(

The bath/shower houses here were some of the best designed of any campground I've visited - they were very modern and clean. There were at least 4 toilet stalls and 4 shower stalls, all housed in the same building. And the shower stalls actually had locking doors AND shower curtains, so my belongings stayed dry (a rare find, let me tell you!).

If you need to stay in the area this campground would be a good choice, but you could go a few hours in any direction and be in more "woodsy" campgrounds.

Campground Review: The Sheridan/Big Horn Mountains KOA in Sheridan, Wyoming, is a clean, well-kept establishment. Whether you are an RVer or a tent camper, there is plenty of space for you to enjoy this campground. We stayed on a rainy/snowy weekend in September in our 17-foot RV and found that even though we had neighbors, there was plenty of room to move, and we heard little outside noise at night.

Just off the highway, this campground is conveniently located close to both historic downtown Sheridan and the remote Bighorn Mountains. There are about 60 RV sites, 25 tent sites, and 10 cabins. Each tent site has its own covered picnic shelter, which we thought looked unique. We had to eat inside our RV due to the rain all weekend, and were a bit envious of the tent campers being able to eat outside - one of our favorite camping activities - without getting wet! The campground sits along the Big Goose Creek, where campers can fish (mostly for carp).

There is an outdoor swimming pool and spa, which we missed out on by two days when the weather decided to dip below freezing, but it was a nice size and located next to the main building, along with showers, laundry, and a small store. The host is very nice and knowledgeable about the area’s activities. There is also a small, somewhat dated, playground at the entrance to the campground, and a cute mini-golf course near the office. Unfortunately, due to the weather over our stay, we did not get to test out either one! For those that like to stay online while camping, the Wi-Fi was tested decent for web browsing, but leave the YouTube devices at home.

Product Review: The LedLenser MH10 Headlamp was a perfect choice to bring along for our camping trip to the Sheridan/Big Horn Mountains KOA. Since it rained/snowed for our entire weekend in Wyoming, this 600-lumen headlamp was able to cut the drear and allow us to walk safely around the whole campground at night. Even with a wool winter hat on, this headlamp fit lightly and securely on my head.

The MH10 is only 5.6 oz in weight and yet has the capacity to put out 600 lumens of LED glory, which believe me, thanks to my son aiming it at me, could definitely blind someone! At the high setting, the beam can reach to 150 meters (almost 500 feet!), and spreads nicely to the sides, or can be focused with a twist of the lens. Even the medium setting at 250 lumens will give you up to 100 meters (about a football field) of glow power. There are three flashing settings that can be found by holding down the power button for increasing length of time, from one flash to three, and then removed again in the same manner. Great choice for emergency signalling.

The headlamp comes with two color lenses that can be placed in the installment ring and snapped to the front of the beam. It seems to fit securely, and they snap in and out with ease. Red LED is a great way to keep your night vision intact if you need to read a map or spot an animal making noise around you, and it will allow you to see again in the dark even after turning off the headlamp. It is also great at a campground like the KOA because it will not shine into your neighbors’ tents or RV’s and wake them up! We had to do some research on the green lens, and it turns out that green will not scare wildlife, including fish, and in fact could attract them. We also read claims that a green LED is useful for trailing a wounded animal, as the blood trail may be easier to spot. Regardless of the real reason, we thought it was fun to run around seeing everything in a green tint!

The MH10 is USB rechargeable and comes with everything you need to get using it right out of the box. At the high setting, this headlamp will last up to 10 hours on one charge. We used ours for two nights, about 1-2 hrs a night, and never charged it out of the box. It lasted the entire time and even back at home another hour or two over the next week. At the lowest, 10-lumen setting, this powerhouse can last for 120 hours. That’s five DAYS of constant use!

The head strap is completely adjustable. My husband, my 10-year-old, and I were all able to make use of this product with an easy transition between us. The set comes with a nice carrying sleeve for the cords, battery, instructions, and lenses, which can be attached to your belt or a backpack strap. As with any tool, be sure to read the enclosed warnings - 600 lumens is NOT an LED strength to shine in the face of others!

Campground Review:

This KOA is easy access from I-90. That being said, bring your ear plugs, you are near the interstate. I stayed here for 3 nights while attending the American Legion State Baseball Tournament. I chose this campground because they have WiFi and shower facilities.

The camp ground managers are very nice folks! I talked baseball every day with the host and he shared stories of his baseball days. Very nice man who had his work cut out for him battling all the down branches and mess from the thunderstorms that rolled through each day. Cost was $32.88 w/ tax each night for a tent site without power (add $5 if you want a power source). Considering the WiFi and free shower facilities and only 1 mile from the ball park, it was the best value for me. If traveling with family/friends, the campground offers quite a few activities on site. They had a basketball court, horseshoe pits, mini golf, swimming pool, and some fun looking tricycles!

This place was very clean! The bathrooms were spotless each time I used them, regardless of time of day. The showers were very clean, the temperature fluctuated some while using, but nothing to complain about. Free coffee in the office. Laundry facilities do cost, but i didn't use these during my stay, so I can't say much about them. Sites are close together, that would be my only disappointment, but that is very normal for these kinds of commercial campgrounds. Which is the only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5.

The Big Horn Mountains are very close by and full of adventure. The town of Sheridan has a very nice downtown area with quaint shops and cafes. There are numerous museums in the area with relics of the history of the area.

Product Review: Natures Coffee Kettle - Brazilian Mountain Blueberry https://nckstore.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/nature-s-coffee-kettle-brazilian-mountain-blueberry-with-1-mountain-blueberry-refill-pack Bear with my product demo video…i was half asleep. Round 2 went much smoother! So, how this works: You are provided a Mylar bag that had a spout and a zip-lock seal. There are 2 compartments, in the upper compartment you will find a large bag of coffee grounds tea bag style. The slower you pour the water over the grounds, the stronger your brew will be. Once you have your water added and it has ran through into the bottom chamber, you can seal the zip-lock and hold the bag upside down to brew the coffee even stronger. I highly recommend doing this. The Mylar bag is not insulated, so I would recommend storing the brewed coffee in a thermos or insulated mug once you've completed the brewing process. I wasn't a huge fan of the Mountain Blueberry flavor, but really enjoyed the Guatemalan coffee I tried the next morning. I will be taking Natures Coffee Kettle with me in a couple weeks when I climb the Grand Teton! Coffee at Base camp and at the high camp on summit day! Cheers!

We were referred to this campground by some friends who had stayed here previously. We were on our way to Yellowstone during a 10 day road trip through South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado and they insisted we stop and camp here at least one night and I’m so glad we did! This was my first time ever camping in the mountains and I got spoiled! Island Park is small and quiet with only 10 sites. It is near a river with crystal clear water and the most beautiful backdrop. Our friends had stayed here a year or two before we did (we were here in 2017) and mentioned there were moose in the campground. Sure enough, we had not even got our tent sat up and there they were! The Bighorn National Forest is on my list of places to return and if we do, we’ll camp at Island Park again for sure!! I am not a photographer...these pictures were taken with my iPhone and they still don’t do justice.

This is a great spot. Wide open area for camping so you’re not right on top of anyone. The views were amazing. Pretty windy as others stated, but was nice during the hot days. Nights were a tad chilly. Downside is there’s absolutely no shade and horseflies are in plenty. Thankfully I have a screen tent that provided some shade and relief from the flies. Overall a great spot, not too far from town. Better if you have a camper over a tent.

Rolled on in and was really disappointed. We literally are the only ones in a tent. The rest of the people here seem to be long term RVs. It does have any shade. Close to town for those who like that. The bathroom and shower were okay. Felt like a pool bathroom/shower lol. Out tent is right under a light so not much for darkness. Served it purpose. Oh and no fire ring or table.

This campground is in town and backs up to a hospital. All the tent sights are about 50' from the parking garage. It was so we'll lit I could have read a book without a flashlight. It was hot but we had to leave our rain fly on just to block the light. When we got up the next morning we realized the ground was covered in ants. LOTS of ants. All over our tent. The pull in sites looked nice, the showers were HOT, clean and free. Check in was easy.