Searching for the best camping near Philip, SD? There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that South Dakota camping has to offer. Ready to plan your adventure? Check out our campgrounds near Philip and user-submitted reviews.
Surrounded by the vast, open prairie and featuring expansive views of the Badlands, Cedar Pass Campground is a great base camp from which to explore Badlands National Park. Featuring 96 sites, this seasonal campground is open from late March through mid-October, and is conveniently located within easy walking distance of Cedar Pass Lodge & Restaurant, and the Ben Reifel Visitor Center.
An evening program led by park rangers is held nightly at the Cedar Pass Amphitheater. This event runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, beginning each evening with a half-hour educational talk about the Badlands, covering a wide array of topics that change every evening. Once the educational part of the presentation finishes, the rangers begin a guided night sky viewing program. Interesting facts and features of our night sky will be explored and pointed out for you via laser, and telescopes are often provided to view star clusters, planets, and the Milky Way. The Ampitheater parking lot is conveniently located at the entrance to Cedar Pass Campground, in easy walking distance for most campers! For evening program start times, please see the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, Cedar Pass Lodge, or the host kiosk at the campground entrance.
Cedar Pass Campground is surrounded by prairie grasslands and Badlands buttes, or geologic formations. These formations contain sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, claystone, limestone, volcanic ash, and shale. The natural beauty of this landscape makes for stunning sunrises and sunsets, while low population density and very little light pollution creates a beautiful night sky most evenings.
Ben Reifel Vistor Center Cedar Pass Lodge Minuteman National Historic Site Prairie Homestead Mount Rushmore (1 hour, 45 mins) Custer State Park (1 hour, 45 mins)
$37 - $47 / night
The Wall is a part of Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. It is near The Badlands National Park and is dispersed camping. There is only one small developed recreation area on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. The National Grassland Visitor Center is located in Wall, South Dakota. This site provides the history behind the system of the National Grasslands located across the West. While there is only one developed campground, there are plenty of open spaces to camp. Bring your horse, your bicycle or your OHV and spend some quiet time in the wide open spaces of the Grassland. https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nebraska/recarea/?recid=30333
Just a mile from the iconic Badlands National Park, our hotel and full-service campground offers a great base camp to explore South Dakota’s Badlands, Black Hills, and the historic small town of Interior.
With a variety of rooms, RV sites, and tent sites, we are ideal for couples getaways, family vacations, or traveling groups. We also offer an on-site restaurant, outdoor pool, fire pits, and complimentary WiFi.
Your Badlands getaway awaits. What are you waiting for?
$24 - $174 / night
Sage Creek Campground is a primitive campground. There is no charge to stay here and camping is available on a first come first serve basis. The campground rarely fills to capacity.
Welcome to the oasis of the Badlands! This KOA is just 4 miles from Badlands National Park. The rugged beauty of the Badlands includes a rich fossil bed and the nation's largest protected mixed-grass prairie, where you'll find bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs. The campground is in a quiet rural setting with hundreds of large shade trees beside the White River. Enjoy the pool, fun-bike rentals, mini golf and a large pet park. Pancake breakfasts, Indian tacos and more are served Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Choose from Deluxe Cabins, Camping Cabins, full-hookup Pull-Thru RV Sites, tepees, Premium Tent Sites (with shelter, sink and electricity), standard shaded Tent Sites and big-rig friendly sites with a patio area. Free Wi-Fi! Stop by the grocery store and gift shop. Max pull thru: 120 feet
Sleepy Hollow is located one block from the world famous Wall Drug! The city of Wall, The Window to the West, also the west entrance of the Badlands National Park Loop and bordering the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. Mount Rushmore and Sturgis are 65-70 minutes away! All of our 59 RV sites are pull thrus. We offer a heated swimming pool and cable TV. Pets are welcome and we have a new dog park. We are a Good Sam Park and AAA approved. Our restrooms were rated 10 out of 10 in 2015 for the 5th consecutive year by Trailer Life/Good Sam Club
This area is divided into two areas located in southern South Dakota. One area is south and northeast of Hot Springs and the other is south and west of Wall. There are few developed recreation sites, but plenty of space for all kinds of recreational opportunities.
$25 - $40 / night
Legend
This campground is weird in that you pull along the side of the road(like an extended shoulder) through the campground and that's your site. It should be easier to tell in the photo showing the camper and truck. There are some back in sites available, but I think most of them are this weird park on the side of the road type site. The amphitheater nearby sometimes has presentations on the stars/planets/space and brings out telescopes. We did go to one of these while we were there as they were nice enough to have a ranger walk through the campground to tell anybody they saw there would be telescopes out and what time the event started at. We got to see a couple planets and their moons if I remember correctly...likely Jupiter or Venus. It was very nice to stay in the park and have electricity! Most national park campgrounds don't offer sites with electric, but this one did! Nice views of the badlands from the campground! Was hazy due to wildfires.
Guide
Really liked this place, had good neighbors and a good time overall. The campgrounds were clean as were the facilities, well worth the money for the convenient location. Great spot to see the blood moon from!
Guide
Plenty of sites available! Not too far from the national park or from a town. No matter what site your at it is breathtaking!!
Traveler
Stayed here one night. No running water. Trash and picnic tables. Two vault toilets are located at each end of the campground. No cell service. It's winter and snowed early the morning I arrived to Badlands, so had the place to myself. Park rangers did rounds a couple of times during the day. Plenty of Buffalo crossing the road, roaming about, hanging out in surrounding hillside trees. Saw a fox, heard the howling wolves at night. Quiet and peaceful this time of year.
Traveler
This location is Sage Creek Basin Overlook and trailhead. It is beautiful up here at higher elevation. 4g and 5g cell service is available here on Tmobile. There are no toilets. The two toilets, one at each end of the campground, are located a few miles away at Sage Creek Campground. A few fellow park tourists stopped to see the views and hike. I spent two nights here.
ScoutEasy to access gravel drive; clean outhouse; can’t believe more people don’t use this spot.
GuideSpent one night here after exploring the park. less than a third full in early november. vault toilets clean-ish. wide open spaces, not really any privacy here. pretty sunrise.
GuideThis is a great dispersed site right next to The Badlands National Park. In October, there were only about 20 campers at most (lots of available space). The views from here are amazing, as well as sunrise and sunset. It can get quite windy. Very quiet!
Scout
Just outside Badlands Nat’l Park. Great view and found a level site.
ScoutThis was an our first time dispersed camping so we weren’t sure exactly what to expect. There were lots of campers (probably 20 other cars), but the views are unmatched. Waking up at dawn and watching the sunrise over the Badlands is breathtaking! Really easy access. We saw people with all size trailers parked. Lots of space to spread out. Not much for privacy, but with views like that, who cares!
ScoutThere were signs up along the freeway. Nothing indicate that it was closed. Is it for the season? Not sure date of visit was October 19, 2024.
GuideMy boy Palo and I camped in my Outback for a night. It was a great experience. They have the cleans best smelling bathrooms I have venture into.
GuideLoved the close proximity to the badlands literally just down the road from the scenic loop. Plenty of spaces this time of year had my pic. Only downside was the wind which died down in the evening. Stars were fantastic. Wall drug had free water. Oh and I came in from Mitchell SD from the east and skipped the highway and took HWY 248 which runs paralell but I had the road to myself for 2 hours what a peace scenic ride.
RangerSpent two nights here in the Butte loop. Tried to make reservations on the same day, but they weren’t available to do so I had to just show up and hope there was a site available. We lucked out and got the last electric site. The one quirky thing about the campground is all of the sites are sort of parallel park. So your door will open up onto the pavement. Only paid $46 for two nights thanks to the hubby’s senior pass. Park itself is amazing with beautiful views and we also got to see some Buffalo. The visitor center has a nice gift shop and displays. Showers were $.50 for four minutes and $.75 for six minutes although I only got five minutes for my $.75 and I had a lukewarm water. There is a dump station available as well as potable water.
Guide
Great spot, lots of campers here, but still found a spot. Watch out for grumpy old coot who parks right where everyone drives in and then tells you to slow down coz it’s too dusty. Hey mate drive further in and there’s no traffic! Duh.
GuideA lot of campers of all kinds as it is free and right outside the park but it’s easy to get to and views are amazing. Regardless of the amount of people there tons of area to set up so doubtful someone won’t get a spot.
GuideWe camped here on a Sunday night. Lots of campers along a road which was about 6 miles long along the top of a cliff. We thought we found a nice spot away from others, but two huge campers pulled in after dinner right next to us on the opposite side of the road. Beautiful view of the badlands and we enjoyed watching the sunset from our site. After we went to bed, the wind picked up big time and howled for several hours. It was strong enough to shake the trailer. It died down before midnight. You can't really hike down into the badlands from the cliff so the only place to walk is along the top of the cliff past the other campers. No services, but free.
GuideThis was a free site in the Badlands. It's a dirt road to get there, washboards, but OK.
The cg is in a prairie dog town so we kept the dog close.
It was full on a Saturday night in September, but we got one of the last sites. Very basic campground with a few trails to hike. Views were OK, but nothing great.
Buffalo wandered through camp at dinner time. We basically camped on the road that circles the campground.
Some picnic tables had a shade covering. Pit toilets were clean.
TravelerGreat location to set out to explore the Badlands? Low reception with Verizon in the valley bye still have good contact. Great reception, small hike to the top of the hill.
TravelerFree dispersed camping, with clean vault toilets. no water or power you will have to bring your own. Quiet and tranquil location, Surrounded by prairie dogs as you sit in the valley with low rolling hills around you.
TravelerWe stayed for 2 nights in the group loop. At first we were sure about the quality of the site - the group loop also serves as the entrance to the dump site - but we’re convinced the site is great. Our site faces into the badlands with a great view, it is very quiet and you are very private (there were no groups around us). The campground is very clean and every evening there is program prepared by the rangers as well as a presentation of the stars.
We would always come back here.
RangerOnly 7 miles south of Wall, SD. It was windy but beautiful views. And Free!
Legend
It’s a nice place heading east or west to land for the night. We’ve stayed at sleepy hollow before and find it and the proximity to wall drug a fun landing stop for the night on our trek across SD. Dinner, ice cream and splash pad fun at wall drug is the perfect end to a day on the road for our family.
TravelerFabulous! Views and several spaces both on the edge of grassland dropping off into the badlands wall and farther back. At least 25 campers there last night. It was breathtaking. Do be prepared for I tense wi d; this is prairie with no trees to cut wind. Well worth a visit.
RangerI camping here from 8/15 to 8/21. Far, the weather has been amazing. I moved spots about 3 days in. The first spot was great except for Cell Service (t-mobile) that exact spot was a dead spot. After moving south one spot about 60 feet, i went from 1-2mb/s to 40-60mb/s. Roads are rough but do-able I am pulling a 29ft toyhauler with a Chevy silverado 1500. I cecomend taking the north entrance or if taking the main (by Radio towers) then turn left when you get to the wall.
GuideThursday night you August was busy. However, the sunrise the next morning made it worth the stop.
ScoutWe have stayed here twice, it was easy to find and lots of available spots but it’s just on a cliff’s edge so there are TONS of strong gusts of winds, it caused our tent to cave in and I ended up sleeping in the car. There was a goat, that was cool, but otherwise I don’t recommend for tent camping (go to sage creek campground, also free)
Camping near Philip, South Dakota, offers a mix of stunning landscapes and unique experiences. Whether you're looking for a quiet spot to unwind or an adventure-filled getaway, this area has something for everyone.
Camping near Philip, South Dakota, offers a unique blend of adventure and relaxation. With stunning views, friendly campgrounds, and plenty of activities, it's a great spot for your next outdoor getaway.
Frequently Asked Questions
What camping is available near Philip, SD?
According to TheDyrt.com, Philip, SD offers a wide range of camping options, with 21 campgrounds and RV parks near Philip, SD and 8 free dispersed camping spots.
Which is the most popular campground near Philip, SD?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Philip, SD is Cedar Pass Campground — Badlands National Park with a 4.2-star rating from 111 reviews.
Where can I find free dispersed camping near Philip, SD?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 8 free dispersed camping spots near Philip, SD.
What parks are near Philip, SD?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 6 parks near Philip, SD that allow camping, notably Bankhead National Forest and Chugach National Forest.
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