Best Tent Camping near Hot Springs, SD

The Black Hills region surrounding Hot Springs, South Dakota offers diverse tent camping options ranging from established campgrounds to primitive dispersed sites. North Pole Road Dispersed Camping and Black Hills Dispersed Site along Highway 89 provide free tent camping with minimal facilities, while Wrinkled Rock offers designated tent pads closer to Mount Rushmore. Several camping areas sit within the Black Hills National Forest, providing access to hiking trails and natural attractions like Wind Cave National Park, all within 30 minutes of Hot Springs.

Most primitive tent setups require visitors to pack in all necessary supplies. "Pack in and pack out" applies to all dispersed camping sites near Hot Springs, with no trash facilities available. Sites typically feature uneven terrain on dirt or forest floor with minimal site preparation. A recent review noted, "No water sources spotted so bring enough in with you (didn't even see any water for filtering)." Many areas prohibit campfires despite previous use, particularly during dry seasons, with rangers actively enforcing these restrictions. Road conditions vary significantly, with several sites requiring high-clearance vehicles to access more remote tent locations.

Walk-in tent sites throughout the region offer greater privacy and wilderness immersion than developed campgrounds. The terrain features primarily pine forest settings with opportunities to camp near rock formations. As described in feedback on The Dyrt, "There are several areas to set up camp but pack in and pack out! Super quiet and near all the great things of Custer." Tent campers frequently report wildlife sightings including deer and coyotes, particularly at dawn and dusk. Most dispersed camping areas enforce a 14-day stay limit. During summer weekends, early arrival is essential as primitive tent camping locations fill quickly, with one visitor reporting "people were cruising looking for spots everyday." Spring Creek Road Spur and RD 356 Dispersed Site offer tent campers flatter terrain options with fewer crowds compared to campgrounds closer to tourist attractions.

Best Tent Sites Near Hot Springs, South Dakota (15)

    1. North Pole Rd Dispersed Camping

    33 Reviews
    Custer, SD
    26 miles
    Website

    "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."

    2. Black Hills Dispersed Site - Hwy 89

    5 Reviews
    Pringle, SD
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (605) 673-9200

    "Pitch black nights, and pure solitude. Love this spot"

    "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."

    3. Hot Springs, South Dakota

    1 Review
    Hot Springs, SD
    0 miles

    "Hot Springs is a quaint little town with lots of natural cool and warm springs. Several wading and sitting areas in the local springs."

    4. Rifle Pit

    3 Reviews
    Pringle, SD
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (605) 673-9200

    "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"

    5. RD 356 Dispersed Site Black Hills National Forest

    33 Reviews
    Hill City, SD
    32 miles
    Website

    "A perfect location. Plenty of spots on the bumpy main road, use 4wd/high clearance vehicles to go off some of the side routes for more privacy. Nice tree covered spots and very quiet."

    "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."

    6. Wrinkled Rock

    23 Reviews
    Keystone, SD
    31 miles
    Website
    +1 (605) 673-4853

    "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."

    7. French Creek Horse Camp — Custer State Park

    2 Reviews
    Custer, SD
    21 miles
    Website
    +1 (605) 255-4515

    "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."

    8. Camp Bob Marshall Dispersed

    3 Reviews
    Custer, SD
    24 miles

    "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."

    9. Bear Den Cabins and Camp

    2 Reviews
    Hermosa, SD
    28 miles
    Website
    +1 (605) 484-1645

    $20 - $80 / night

    "Not an RV location. Fresh water, clean showers, LAUNDRY, coffee. Just a great place."

    10. Spring Creek Road Spur

    2 Reviews
    Hill City, SD
    31 miles
    Website
    +1 (406) 233-2800

    "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."

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Tent Camping Reviews near Hot Springs, SD

1119 Reviews of 15 Hot Springs Campgrounds


  • Crystal C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 5, 2019

    Elk Mountain Campground — Wind Cave National Park

    Beauty Abounds At This Park

    Passing through South Dakota rests a very unique park unlike any other you will find.    The Wind Cave National Park in its own right is emoting of great majesty, a unique preserved ecosystem in the midst of a world which has moved in and managed to destroy so much of the grassy prairie lands through development.    Passing into the park is passing into a piece of history.   

    While the cave itself is something of a wonder, the park itself is a ground which should also be noted.     It is a place where wild bison roam free, elk pass through and can be found thriving, prairie dogs bark adamantly and so many more unique native animals and plants can be observed and appreciated.

    It is in this area that you will find Elk Mountain Campground.     

    When I drove through this area I wasn't sure what to expect.   The rolling prairie plains were beautiful however did not offer much in way of shade and that somewhat concerned me as I drove closer and closer to camp, however the world began to roll as hills turned and transitioned into a forest of wonder and lush green grasses.   

    The campground looked like a different world from the world which I had been driving in coming from Hot Springs.     Tall trees shaded sites and provided a soft bed for tent campers, large pull ins offered RVs options for a variety of sizes and styles of camping.    Each site was adorned with the standard fire rings and picnic tables and depending on your desire you could stay in a location which was completely shaded or had sun exposure.

    Bathrooms here are flush toilets with running water, including a wash basin room for dishes and though there were not showers it didn't seem to be an inconvenience with all the beauty around.

    Group sites offered large grassy knolls and in some cases pavilions for use and with winding paths around camp to differentiate the loops through sites were close together they seemed to have privacy.

    Although this campground does have an honor box there is also a campground host which does keep track of campers and park rangers patrol throughout the day and evening to ensure safety.     This makes for a very secure feeling camp in such a unique location.

    TIPS:

    • If visiting call ahead to see if the cave is open.   When I visited the elevators were not operating and this limited access to the cave itself.
    • Try hiking in the park, unlike many parks which only allow trail hiking this park encourages you to explore fully.
    • Keep your distance from wildlife.    Wildlife is wild here even if it looks tame they are not!!  Bison can run up to 35 miles per hour and most incidents with the wildlife occur from people trying to encroach upon the animals for photos.
  • Brent K.
    Aug. 5, 2018

    Elk Mountain Campground — Wind Cave National Park

    Spacious and Quiet

    This 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.

  • GoWhereYouAreDraw N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 30, 2021

    Black Hills National Forest Bear Gulch Campground

    Primitive but comfortable group camping

    A 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!

  • Sarah H.
    Jul. 23, 2016

    Sylvan Lake Campground — Custer State Park

    Primitive Camping in Custer

    Our 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.

  • Art S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 24, 2019

    Comanche Park

    Simple campground near amazing places

    Comanche 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.

  • Tonya Y.
    Jun. 25, 2017

    Horsethief Lake Campground

    Cute, Quiet, and Close to Everything

    We 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.

  • Becbecandbunny O.
    Jul. 20, 2022

    French Creek Camping Area

    Great find in South Dakota

    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.

  • Jessica F.
    Aug. 20, 2016

    Bismarck Lake Campground

    Natural and Beautiful

    Beautiful 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.

  • Hayley K.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 31, 2019

    Allen Ranch Campground

    Ranger Review: Icemule Jaunt Cooler at Allen Ranch Campground

    Campground Review:

    Allen Ranch offers RV, Tipi, Canvas, and basic tent sites located under shade along the river. Pull-thru sites are also available. All RV sites have water and electricity, with a dump station available on site. I only took a star away because of the loud road next to it. I didn't mind but some of my family mentioned it once or twice so I thought it needed to be scored. 

    Allen himself stopped by on our first day to say hi. And he is a really nice guy! He is a former Park Service Law Enforcement Officer and Fire Ranger. He bought this land a long time ago and didn't want to leave it to work at other parks. He knows everyone in town and can recommend some great spots to visit. He started this campground and has been maintaining it with his family for a long time. It's on a beautiful strip of land right on the Fall River. The Fall River is fed by hot springs so the water stays nice and just slightly chilled. Almost feels like getting into a heated pool, like where you step in say "ahh that's nice" instead of cringe with chills. Since we were the only tent campers there we offered to mow the grass or help set up the tipis but Allen wanted us to just relax since he had his family helping him. So that is what we did. I did offer him a nice cold beer out of my Icemule cooler though. He was shocked to see "such a neat contraption!"  

    There are 12 RV sites, 6 tent sites, 1 group site, and 3 tipis. I saw one canvas tent that was set up. You can call ahead and reserve sites but we found that we could just drive up and put our names on a site as put the money in an envelope at the shower house. On a busy weekend I would call ahead. 

    Cost:

    Tent sites: $25 to book and $5 for each additional person. 

    RV site: $40 for 2 people and $5 for each additional person.

    Group site: $8 per person for groups 10+

    Tipi: $70 (plus $5 per additional person) for basic (you furnish), $130 per couple for everything included (including breakfast)

    Glamping tent: $130 per couple (min 2) and $25 for each add person for everything included (including breakfast)

    RV sites: Sites are within walking distance to the shower building with hot water and restrooms. They are right when you pull into the campground so you don't get the generators bugging you at night. They are far enough away from the tent sites to create good space. 

    Tent sites: There is a large group site across from the shower house. There isn't much shade for the group site but it is large enough for a good sized group. 

    The other tent sites are right next to each other so when it is busy, it would be packed. We got lucky and we were the only ones there so we got our pick of the sites. We chose sites 2 and 3 since they were perfect for our sized group and had the best flow section of the river right at the site. We were able to walk right into the water and hang out on tubes without feeling like we were sucked into cattails or "rapids". 

    The sites hadn't been mowed, so the grass was a little tall, but we came at the end of a very rainy and snowy week and Allen hadn't had a chance to mow since were there the first day it stopped snowing/raining.

    Other than being right next to the main road, the sound of the creek and the cottonwood trees blowing in the wind was lovely. The road wasn't too noisy and the sound went way down at night. 

    There are tables at each site with 3-4 wooden round seats. The seats weren't super sturdy but the tables were great for keeping our food off the ground and away from our dogs. 

    Bathrooms:

    The tent sites are pretty far away from the bathroom and there isn't a place to properly go to the bathroom near the site without being seen from the main road. So that is the only big downfall. 

    There is a port-o-potty up by the tipis and the canvas tent. 

    The showers are free and hot. They aren't the most up to date facilities but they are functional and easy to use. 

    There is a grill on site but it wasn't open when we were there, I think it is mostly open for Summer. They also offer catering for large groups, reunions, weddings and celebrations of any kind. As Allen says: "Come join us for a fun filled , relaxing camping experience near Hot Springs located in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota Mountain hiking, Interpretive talks and warm water river tubing down gentle Fall River, which runs through the entire campground."

    Inner tubes are provided FREE for the guests too. They are located right next to the playground. 

    There is also a big stage on site where i'm guessing bands or events can play or take place. 

    Product Review:

    As a ranger we sometimes get the opportunity to review products that would benefit the camping experience. On this trip, I decided that floating down a river with family was the perfect time to review the IceMule Jaunt Cooler from https://icemulecoolers.com/

    I chose the Jaunt because I wanted something that was easy to carry just a few beers instead of my whole fridge in a bag. Icemule does a great job of creating lots of options for cooler sizes and the Jaunt seemed to be the perfect fit for my lifestyle. Plus, I LOVED the colors! 

    It says that it can hold a six pack or 3 bottles of wine. At first It seems like it can hold a lot more than that based on it's height, but I quickly learned that it won't properly keep chilled or stay leakproof if it is filled too much. OOPS! Once I learned to fill it properly, it worked like a charm. Even floats when you need to pass it between people on the water. 

    There is a front pocket on the bag that is supposed to be waterproof but the zipper is lined along the outside with no real way to close it fully so I wouldn't trust it to keep things inside perfectly dry. It is also hard to zip with one hand (see video) which is something that would make it easier to use. 

    Other than that, it was a great addition to our basecamping and day trip gear. It sites comfortably on my back and isn't too heavy being filled with liquid. It is WAY easier to carry than a cooler and way more more enticing to drink cold beer that wasn't just shook up in a warm backpack while out snowshoeing.


Guide to Hot Springs

Tent camping near Hot Springs, South Dakota, offers a unique blend of natural beauty and outdoor adventure, making it an ideal getaway for nature enthusiasts.

Local Activities to Enjoy While Tent Camping

  • Experience the tranquility of nature at Rifle Pit, where you can hear elk rutting at night and explore nearby Wind Cave.
  • Discover the stunning landscapes and wildlife at Camp Bob Marshall Dispersed, perfect for hiking and observing local fauna like coyotes.
  • Enjoy the scenic views and trails at North Pole Rd Dispersed Camping, where you can find secluded spots away from crowded campgrounds.

Tips for Tent Camping Near Hot Springs

Prices for Tent Camping

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Hot Springs, SD?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Hot Springs, SD is North Pole Rd Dispersed Camping with a 4.5-star rating from 33 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Hot Springs, SD?

TheDyrt.com has all 15 tent camping locations near Hot Springs, SD, with real photos and reviews from campers.