Looking for the best campgrounds near Buffalo Gap, SD? Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Buffalo Gap, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.
"If you have time drive 16 miles out of town to a roadside stop of Cascade Springs to dip in the cool pools and the main attraction Keith Memorial Cascade Falls."
"We've been fulltiming since January and this was the first place we actually stayed the whole 14 day limit."
"The forest road is a little rough, be aware if you are driving a car or a vehicle with bad off roaring capabilities."
"The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because while it is National Forest the spots for dispersed camping are very limited because there is a lot of privately owned land so please be aware"
"My Son and I stayed here while visiting Mount Rushmore and the surrounding area's other attractions. There's a lot of dispersed spots here but most spots don't have a fire ring that I could see."
"Flat, we didn’t run into any wildlife, and easy to set up a tent !"
"We were planning on backcountry camping in the park, but the amount of bugs and the inability to find a flat spot out of the trees pushed us to try and hike back to our car."
"great location just 5 minutes away from Mt. Rushmore. free site but no fire rings. it does have toliets. There is just a parking lot with a large open area to pitch a tent."
"We rode side by sides out on some trail, found a great spot to camp with beautiful views of the plains below and could see the badlands off in the distance. The skies were beautiful at night."
"Lots of space. Quiet with no traffic. Google gets you close but not exactly there. Gps route was a little off. Just an hour from Rushmore."
"It is open to vehicles in the summer and equestrian and hike in during the winter. Road is rough but was passable in our truck. We towed in a small teardrop but I wouldn't recommend a large rig."
"We went a bit more off the path by turning right, going up past a water treatment plant and parking near the end of the road. It was secluded and pretty. Lots of coyotes in the area."
"Notes: Don't camp at the first sites you see driving further. There's better ones I assure you. Signs are posted everywhere, stating no campfires allowed."
$20 - $80 / night
GuideThis is the only campground in Wind Cave NP and has four loops with just over 60 sites. Loop A is for tents only and is the only loop with designated tent pads. Loop D has group sites that are reservable.
Some sites are in or near trees, but many are in grassy areas with little to no shade.
Each loop has restrooms with flush toilets and running water. There are water faucets for every couple of sites, however at the time there were a few that were not working.
Each site has a fire ring and picnic table.
There is a shed at the entrance where firewood/kindling are available for a donation.
There were lots of wildlife in/around the campground: mule deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and bison.
Just south of the campground is the visitors center where tickets for the cave tours can be purchased.
This campground is centrally located for visiting Jewel Cave, Badlands NP, Mt. Rushmore, and exploring the Black Hills region.
My only complaint is that many of the sites (on loops B-D) are more for RVs just to park and don't have much space for tents. As a result, several sites can only accommodate small tents because there's not much space with a fire ring and picnic table too.
LegendA former individual campground now turned group campsite. Eight individual tent sites (each has a picnic table and fire ring) around a central camping area. Vault toilets and a hand pump for drinking water. There is no electrical hookup.
Vehicles must travel down nine miles of dirt roads to reach the facility. Hill City is the nearest town for additional amenities, and Rapid City is 20 miles away. Nice fishing and kayaking. 3 stars because it's groups only!
GuideOur family stayed in a walk-in primitive tent site located on a woodsy hill at the top of Custer. Campsites have a decent amount of privacy, but you are still aware of your neighbors. Portable toilets were available at the bottom of the hill near the parking lot with shower facilities a short walk away. Showers and laundry facilities were well maintained. Sylvan Lake is beautiful and provides a full day of activities without having to drive anywhere else in the park. Our family enjoyed hiking, paddle boating, and swimming with gorgeous scenery all around.
LegendComanche Park is just outside Custer, South Dakota. It’s open seasonally but it looks like a few spots are before the gate. The campground was pretty empty during the week but the host said it was full on the weekend- consider making a reservation. The sites are large without much vegetation between them. We were far enough apart that it still felt private. A picnic table and fire pit are standard. Vault toilets are spread throughout. There is water available but I would consider your options. The host said they get bottled water when I asked about the quality.
The draw to this campground is that it’s close to Custer State Park. We arrived midday, set up and still had time to drive the wildlife scenic highway and the scenic drive out of Custer towards Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We were feet from a bison herd and arms length away from donkeys. Returning in time to make dinner was great. Tomorrow we’ll leave early and do another drive and hike in Custer State Park.
Comanche Park is a good campground to use as a base when you explore the area.
GuideWe arrived at Horse Thief Lake late on a Wednesday afternoon. Actually VERY late. It was around 7:00 pm on June 7, 2017. We were on a road trip and didn't have a firm schedule. We arrived without a reservation and were thrilled that they had three or four walk-ups available.
This campground serves both RVs and tent campers. The walk-up are was beautiful and quiet. We were in site 34, which is the closest to the road that circles through the campground, but it was above our site and we never noticed traffic.
It was early in June so many sites had reservations on them for the weekend, the walk-in area was less than half full. The sites are far enough away from each other that we were not bothered by any other campers.
The site had a great pad and nice wooden picnic table with a great fire ring. The fire ring was great in the morning as it was still pretty cool in early June.
Firewood was sold at the campground by the hosts for $5 a bundle. The hosts were very kind and kept the campground immaculate.
The vault restrooms were very clean, but there were MANY flies by the afternoon outside of the restroom.
We had some HEAVY rains while camping here and the people in the site closest to the lake, and near the top of the hill (amazingly) were flooded out and had to dry everything in the morning and move to another site.
We had no problem with critters bothering our camp. There are no bear boxes and the camp hosts told us they had never heard a report of bears being in their campground.
This was a great base camp for us. It is only 2 miles to Rushmore and we went to Custer's campground (and drove though TONS of animals including buffalo, prong horns and others, the Crazy Horse memorial and the Iron Road.
RangerVery 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.
ScoutBeautiful 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.
RangerThe sites were decent, our fire ring didn’t have any flat spots to put chairs around. The were lots of vault toilets bathrooms, they were a little smelly but not as bad as some. Most of the campground was empty on a May week night. We could hear the cars from the road. The camp host was a nice lady. Convenient to Mount Rushmore and Wind Cave National Park.
ScoutGreat campground with kind hosts and staff. The pit toilet was well maintained. We had lots of space in our site (#21) for our vehicle with rooftop tent, a separate shade tent and table, and large picnic table. We could have for a lot more! People were respectful of quiet hours and felt safe with lots of families, but spread out enough there wasn’t too much noise. We definitely want to try a site on the lake side next time, it’s beautiful over there. The swimming lake was great for bathing. Because of the shade and elevation it never felt too hot, even in late July.
Tent camping near Buffalo Gap, South Dakota, offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the stunning natural beauty of the Black Hills. With a variety of options available, campers can find the perfect spot to set up their tents and enjoy the great outdoors.
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Buffalo Gap, SD is Hot Springs, South Dakota with a 4-star rating from 1 review.
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