Best Campgrounds near Hot Springs, SD

This was a really nice campground. Very family friendly, lots of kids running around. Not very much privacy at all between the sites, but what do you expect at a busy place like Custer State Park? The bathrooms were very clean, and had showers with hot water. The showers are free of charge, and each time I used them the water was always plenty hot.

We stayed in site 2E, and it was a nice site. Extremely flat and level. It does have a trail running next to it, so all the visitors will be walking a few feet away from your tent/camper all day and night going to the bathroom.

T-Mobile cell service was pretty much non-existent, with no 5G signal at all, and only a sporadic 1 bar of LTE signal. I was able to make a phone call, but it kept dropping out every 10-15 seconds. Starlink worked great from this site, with a moderately clear view of the sky.

this campsite has to be one of the best i have stayed at in the black hills, it was about 6:30 when we started looking for a spot we found this one right away! the road appears to only have 4 spots on the road but we only saw one other person! although you can see road from both sides very minimal traffic. and let me just say i have never found a camping spot with almost to no bugs! it was crazy i found one tic but that was it, at night we even kept our screen open! very close to wind cave! no service at all unfortunately. someone property line is right along the road unfortunately. can somewhat see some hills inside the trees!

Tent campers. Ok, if you're going to tent camp here reserve spots 7-10 and maybe 11 ish. The rest are awful for tents. Our first night was in 7, we camped next to the table because it was dark when we arrived. HOWEVER, behind the table at the top of the hill would have been a great spot. Same for #8. There was just a beaten grass path to the spot, so it wasn't obvious (could have been a deer trail for all we knew). #9 is next to the restrooms, which have water so odor isn't a problem. That spot seems to be mostly shady and a good choice if you're not afraid of being too close to the toilets. #10 is back off the road a little bit and also seemed like a good place for a tent. #11 is in the same area and little exposed, some may find it do-able, I think I would have hated it feeling like everyone was aware of what we're doing (no privacy). We had spot #6. It was awful. As far as I could tell the same #1-5. Camp host is friendly and helpful. Expect to see Bison and Pronghorns, Elk.

Nice spacious 50 amp campsites. We camped about 50 feet from the bathhouse which had four separate toilet/shower rooms which were very spacious and very clean. We were able to make the trek further down the reservoir and discovered the off grid sites. These off grid sites were very spacious and waterfront. Further down were equestrian sites with large gravel sites and private horse stalls. There was water available to fill our fifth wheel at the front of the camp where we entered along with a dump site that is not supposed to use this freshwater. We were one minute from the boat ramps. Just be aware that there is an additional fee for state parks in South Dakota. We paid $60 for a nonresident one year pass otherwise it would have been $15 per day park entry fee.

The campground is located in a beautiful and scenic area.  The road to get there is an adventure in itself but well worth it.  Our site had full hook ups, a fire ring and  a picnic table.  We were a little close to our neighbors but it worked out ok.  We were in site 55.  The campground was quiet at night.  The campground staff was incredibly nice and helpful.  The bathrooms were sparkling clean and the water pressure was great!  The shower rooms were spacious and had a private toilet.  There is an awesome short hike up the hill to the flagpole that is well worth the effort.  There were a couple of "rough" spots but the scenery at the top is awesome.  You can see Mt. Rushmore from the flagpole!  Just beware of the ticks that you may pick up on your hike.  We came into the campground from the East and left the campground on the West side through Custer State Park.  I prefer the West side.  There are lots of tight curves and narrow road but plenty of very large campers manage to get to the campground just fine.  I would recommend this campground to anyone.  It is very kid friendly and dog friendly.  Just all around friendly.  Lots of activities to do in the campground and the area around it.  Great location.  Great gift shop, Great cafe. Great staff.