The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Pierre. Discover secluded campsites where you can reconnect with nature. Or maybe you like to bring your family and friends along. Either way, there are Pierre campgrounds just for you. Find the best campgrounds near Pierre, SD. Read reviews from campers like you and find your perfect campsite.
This recreation area is part of Lake Oahe
$19 / night
Want seclusion and serenity? Come nestle under the whispering pines at Big Pine Campground where we strive to make every guest a return guest. Your Ideal Campground for Visiting the Beautiful Black Hills of SD.
$25 - $100 / night
Left Tailrace Campgound at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Big Bend Project, sits on the shore of Lake Francis Case on the Missouri River below Big Bend Dam. Just upstream of Left Tailrace, Lake Sharpe, a popular recreation destination in the Great Plains,was created by the completion of Big Bend Dam in 1966.Today, approximately 80,000 acres of public lands and water provide a variety of benefits to the public including flood control, recreation, conservation of our natural resources, fish and wildlife habitat, irrigation, and hydropower production.It is possible to view many types of wildlife on the Missouri River at Lake Sharpe. Tribal bison herds can be seen grazing the lake area's grasslands north of the towns of Fort Thompson and Lower Brule. The shoreline areas of the lake also offer excellent waterfowl, upland game birds and big game hunting opportunities. Big game animals include whitetail and mule deer, elk, bison, coyotes and wild turkeys. Waterfowl and upland game birds include ducks, geese, pheasants, prairie chickens, and grouse. Hunting regulations are established and enforced by the State of South Dakota, and the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Tribes. For more information, visit the Big Bend Project website .
Lake Sharpe provides many opportunities for outdoor recreation. Recreation areas vary from primitive to highly developed areas like the Left Tailrace area located below the dam. Facilities at the Left Tailrace include campsites with electrical hookups, comfort stations with showers, a dump station, boat ramp, fish cleaning station, courtesy dock, picnic shelters, tables, grills, drinking water, disc golf, etc. Fishing is the main attraction to the area, with walleye being the primary sport fish, although sauger, smallmouth bass, white bass, channel catfish and northern pike also provide great fishing action.
Lake Sharpe provides many opportunities for outdoor recreation. Recreation areas vary from primitive to highly developed areas like the Left Tailrace area located below the dam. Facilities at the Left Tailrace include campsites with electrical hookups, comfort stations with showers, a dump station, boat ramp, fish cleaning station, courtesy dock, picnic shelters, tables, grills, drinking water, disc golf, etc. Fishing is the main attraction to the area, with walleye being the primary sport fish, although sauger, smallmouth bass, white bass, channel catfish and northern pike also provide great fishing action.
Left Tailrace Campground is located in central South Dakota, three miles from the town of Fort Thompson, 20 miles from Chamberlain and 65 miles from Pierre, which is the state capitol. Lake Sharpe was the last of the Missouri River reservoirs completed and follows a serpentine course of 80 miles between Big Bend Dam and Pierre, SD.
For facility specific information, please call (605) 245-2255.
Reservation changes and cancellations can be made on Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.______ For more information on rules and policies regarding reservation cancellations and changes, please visit: https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies.________
$22 / night
Nice place. Lots of boaters and fishermen. It's not a parking lot but there's not a ton of space between most spots.
110-30-50 amp hookups plenty of space between sites. Bathrooms with showers. Playgrounds located throughout the campgrounds. Along the Missouri river. Some sites back into river view. But not a long walk to the beach area. About 10 cabins right on the river. Tent/RV/Cabin camping you will enjoy yourself
We camped here one night on our way to Kimball SD . It was very secluded and had a great view of the water . The bathrooms were very clean. There was a siren that kept going off near the dam. But it didn’t bother us
Great sites with room to breathe. Beautiful treed area. Staff is awesome. Clean bathrooms.
We stayed one night and the staff was of great assistance with our reservation and suggestions on places to eat. Very nice place and great people
I wish we could have spent another night here. Very clean and well organized campground. It is on a peninsula so great views from some spots. They have very nice windblocker screens beside picnic table which is necessary as the wind can blow and adds a bit of privacy. Not really accommodative for shore fishermen as need boat to get out past rocks but handy fish-cleaning site available. Only thing I did not like was the campers are on same pad end to end and the one next to us had a dog that barked through the open window everytime he saw us move.
Season May 1– Sep 30 Off season Sep 3– May 1
Fees $18.00 standard electric $14.00 tent non electric
Reservations 877-444-6777 or recreation.gov
Sites 81 campsites electrical (30– 50) 12 campsites non electrical
PROS Fishing hunting water sports family camping heritage
CONS Bugs at time Wind
Sites are pull thru if you are the first, otherwise back in with each rv tail to tail there are some sites that are just back in
Electric showers dump station boat ramp fish cleaning station courtesy dock picnic shelters picnic table grills disc golf fire ring firewood paved sites pets allowed water horseshoe pit ice
There are a few gas stations and little shoppets just before the entrance of the park otherwise bring your supplies with you.
Lake Sharpe was formed by the building of the Oahe Dam and runs 80 miles south of Big Bend Dam at Fort Thompson. The lake encompasses 56,000 acres and offers 200 miles of beautiful shoreline. The Brule Indian Reservation western shore is along Lake Sharpe and the Crow Creek Indian Reservation is along the eastern shore. Hunting fishing and boating of all types provides an abundance of outdoor activities If you want to check out the beauty of this area outside the lake area a beautiful drive is the Native American Scenic Byway. It is 101 miles that will take you to the edge of the bluffs to the river bottom. Watch out for a treasured view of a tribal buffalo herd.
Fireworks prohibited
Stop AIS (google for info) DRAIN CLEAN DRY Don’t move firewood
All Federal lands at Lake Sharpe are governed by regulations in Title 36, Section 327, State, local and Tribal laws apply on Corps of Engineers lands and waters.
GPS 44.21’26.9999 99.26’21.9998
We had a wonderful experience! Sites were spacious, tables had shade. Bathhouse was spotless and showers were wonderful with plenty of hot water and good water pressure. The camp host was welcoming, friendly and helpful!
If you’re looking for a place to quickly crash for the night I’d recommend this. It was $30 and close to the highway. Plus only had 3 other campers. Not very level on any of the sites.
30 minutes off 90 along the Missouri river. Situated on a tiny peninsula is the campsite. We opted to camp in an electric site with our tent to be closer to the water since we were in for just one night. With double sites it's pretty tight, however everyone was super quiet while there and we were lucky to have another tent on our double pad. At check-in we were given hand sanitizers, which was nice. Bathrooms were centrally located in the campsite. Tent sites were past the park and playground, did not see where bathrooms were on that end. Definitely would camp here again.
This campground is great for an overnight stay. There was machinery and farm equipment in some of the RV sites. The property has not been mowed in some time. It is W/E only with a dump station for the majority of the sites. There is not a host on site and no one from the hotel that owns the campground came by. There is a bathhouse with showers (dirty) and flush toilets and sinks. The RV site we had was level gravel. This property is next to an interstate so beware of the noise.
Just a simple campground with full hookups, both 30 and 50 amp. Most sites have some trees. We didn't use the showers or bathrooms. No play equipment if you have children. Very reasonable at $28 on a Friday night. Would stay here again.
We reserved site #63 for two weeks. It’s a great site in that it is at the end of the row, giving us a ton of green space, is close to the well kept shower house and bathrooms, as well as being just across the street from the beginning of Lake Sharpe, below the Big Bend Dam. Concrete picnic tables and benches and the greatest curved wooden “clam shell” like structure that offers shade (for the most part) during the day. There are mature trees, which are spaced out in the Rec areas/day space and each site appears to be home to at least one such tree. They have fire pits with concrete bases. Ice and firewood are for sale at the camp host booth which has great hours (like 10 am to 8 or 9 pm?). The hosts are plentiful and most helpful. It’s clean and truly a breath of fresh air in every way.
Update: We had some vehicle issues that meant downing an additional 3-4 days beyond the maximum 14 days. The ranger and hosts were very accommodating and helpful. We sure appreciated their willingness to let us stay a few more days, even after the work on our Silverado was completed. We wanted to “test” the repairs before leaving for Wisconsin. This was a great campground to be “marooned”. You could not have found more friendly people who were willing to help in any way they could. Our dog makes a bee line to the camp host cart whenever he sees Bob coming — loves him!
Stopped for one night on way to Mt Rushmore. Convenient and cheap. Close to interstate. No wifi.
Great spot for an over night or extended stay. Close to the highway, there’s restaurants and gas stations within walking distance. Perfect for what we needed, a quick, friendly stop. Cheaper than most too!
Nice campground in Murdo, SD. The directions take you the wrong way, it is actually located at 303 E 5th St. They have laundry and showers. The office opens at 4 pm but if you get there earlier the owner will check you in if you call to let him know your there, very nice people. We enjoyed our visit and would stay there again.
We went here last minute on way to Badlands SD. Easy to find with full hookup. Not pricy. Good for a short stay. Quiet and safe ( on premises of hotel). Showers OK but could have been warmer.
We enjoyed our stay at Big Pines June 2020. There were very attentive and helpful. I also liked the delivery service they offer, so as we packed our lunch for the day, they brought us ice. I also had lots of questions as a first time camper puller and they were helpful, gave us an easy back in site and made it work for our little family group.
Stayed here one night on the way to My Rushmore. Checkin super easy and she made a great dinner recommendation for the best burger in Custer. Campground was peaceful, set in the trees, and we saw hot air balloons over head in the morning with some friendly wild turkeys walking through. Overall, awesome with clean bathroom shower. Will stay again for sure.
Nice place with very friendly and helpful staff. The camp was very full when we were there but oddly very quiet. The breeze blowing through the pine trees was very peaceful and relaxing. We would definitely stay here again!
Had a peaceful and relaxing time staying at Little Bend RV park. The views of the Missouri River are absolutely stunning. You can also access the river via a 10 minute drive down to the docks and there is a restaurant very close by.
We stayed for a 3 days and would recommend for anyone looking to get away for a few days, weekend or longer.
Management is very friendly!
This was a great campsite . Water and electric hookup . Clean bathrooms and showers . Super friendly hosts ...seriously helpful and service was amazing. Very close to Custer for stores and restaurants. Just a wonderful camp site . Nice trails to walk . One of my favorite finds!!!!
It was a clean campground with shaded tables and pull through spots. Some spots are split in half so you’re right next to neighbors. Boat launch is right next to the campground. Showers and flushing toilets were clean and free.
Camping, pull through, picnic tables, fire pits at each site. Sites are very spacious. The Campgrounds also offer fishing, fish cleaning station, boat ramp, biking, frisbee golf, a playground, horseshoes and bean bag toss. Something for everyone. Bathroom are very nice and clean. Showers are also very clean.
We stopped at Oahe Rec Area during our family vacation in Aug. 2019. Nice, well kept campgrounds with playground & good places for the kids to run/explore. Only drawback was, when we were there, the swim beach had a bunch of dead fish everywhere. Someone had picked all of them up from the beach, but you could see the indents of the fish & see them on both sides of the swim beach area. On our way out, we stopped at the butterfly/flower garden where a park staff was tagging butterflies. We got to join in the fun - was such a cool experience for both my son & me!
We love going to Oahe Downstream Campground every year. We have camped in both Campgrounds. Campground # 2 is closer to the river so it feels much cooler than Campground 1. Lots of things to enjoy if you have kids or even Teens. They have a 18 hole Disc Golf coarse . Bring your bikes because you can ride to the trailrace area or around the campgrounds. There are other biking & hiking areas with in the area and Pierre Sd. You can go kayak or visit the beautiful Butterfly garden. If you love to camp in the fall this is the place beautiful foliage and always quiet.
There are 2 campgrounds in this area. They are Electric only, have picnic tables and fire rings and are fairly level. The area is clean and well kept and the showers and toilets are also clean. The hosts were friendly and welcoming. We were able to get cell service here and there was plenty of room between sites.
This area is great for Bird watching, hiking, fishing, and relaxing. We stayed in Campground 2 for a bit the 3rd week of May and I would advise people to go earlier or a week after. We couldn't control nature but the cottonwoods were dropping their seed pods and they were sticking to everything, including in between my dogs pads of their feet and it was hard and painful to remove them. Just 1 week and it would have not been a problem. Otherwise this is a wonderful place to visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Pierre, SD?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Pierre, SD is Campground 2 — Oahe Downstream Recreation Area with a 4.5-star rating from 4 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Pierre, SD?
TheDyrt.com has all 5 glamping camping locations near Pierre, SD, with real photos and reviews from campers.
