Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Pierre, SD

We stopped here on our way across South Dakota, and it was the perfect place. It’s right off the interstate and is extremely well-managed and clean. They have lots of yard space to walk dogs along their property, and the staff was incredibly nice and helpful throughout our stay!

This campground sits on a hight overlooking Pierre, the capital, and the Missouri river. Beautiful at night. Campsites are close together with full hookups. Many amenities are offered on site such as horse shoes, Egg grills, mice playground dog walk, showers, laundry, and cable TV in the clubhouse

Please note that this is NOT the designated Sage Creek campground but the wilderness area that allows for very primitive tent camping. You park off of Rim Road where there is a small lot and a place to register (whether you're day-hiking or staying over night). You hike down into the high prarie and keep wide eye out for bison ( there are over 600 in the badlands!). Make sure that when you do come across wildlife, especially bison, that you give them ample space, do not appear aggressive and definitely don't try to pet them. You must hike in with your food and plenty of water, because the water in Sage Creek is not able to be filtered. It is very easy to spend hours and days exploring the beautiful land and jagged rock, but you must be prepared. From what we saw and what we researched, rarely do people go out and backpack and camp in this wilderness area. I would recommend this to only those who have enough experience backpacking and who know how to prepare themselves, as you will not be near any people or amenities.

The full name of this place is Fischers Lilly Park, operated by the city of Fort Pierre. To correct the previous review, these sites are water/electric (20/30/50A) only, although there is a free dump station on site. These sites are right on the river, and contrary to the previous reviewer we found some of them near the entrance to be exceedingly spacious, including ours #12. There are 12 sites total, and ours was immaculate. Cell signal on Verizon was a solid 3 bars.

The location right on the banks of the Missouri River can't be beat, and it's the perfect location for exploring all that the Pierre area has to offer: the state capitol complex, the museums, even walleye fishing in the river or nearby Lake Oahe. We spent Memorial Day weekend here and loved it -- my wife was wishing that we could stay longer. Even on the holiday weekend the campground was wonderfully quiet and serene.

Many thanks to the City of Fort Pierre for making this location available.

Super helpful and friendly staff, clean bathrooms, well-maintained sites. Gorgeous views of the Missouri River. The only negative was the amazing number of flies. It was hard to cook with the flies diving into our pots and pans and biting us. It was my first trip to South Dakota. Maybe flies are a thing there??

Very nice site with clean bathrooms and showers. Some sites have shade. Well maintained and the owners are very friendly. Convenient location and just a short drive from the highway. Some road noise but not bad at all. The wind was very slack the day we stayed so the mosquitoes were out at night. Would 100% stay again if traveling thru South Dakota.

This was our first stop on our way thru South Dakota. Not a lot of shade at spots. Few trees and little to no privacy but good spacing of sites. The bathrooms are updated, clean and well maintained. This is an ideal campground for those with a boat for fishing or playing on Lake Oahe (which was beautiful by the way). Be out on the water all day and then relax at the campground at night.

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

Lila is an amazing host. She called before we arrived and then texted detailed directions. On arrival we were quickly checked in, given a bag and told to fill up with candy from a wide selection. Halloween! Then we got to our site which has a wonderful view over the Missouri River and the city of Pierre.

This KOA in Kennebec has been a good stop over for us when traveling through South Dakota. Kennebec is a sleepy town off of I-90, and this KOA seems to be the life of the town.

The staff has been welcoming, friendly, and accommodating. The facilities seem well cared for and clean. For our stays we have just been passing through and have opted for pull-thru sites with full-hook ups to keep it easy and we have never had to disconnect from our TT to get level for the night.

This KOA will probably not a destination for us, but it is a great stay along the way.

We already have a trip planned for next year across I-90 and Kennebec is on the itinerary.

At the meeting of the Missouri River and the Bad River a small campground is found. Sites are close together and in the sun but there are full hookups. A spacious park is next door. The bike path leads into historic Fort Pierre and beyond. Museums await you as you explore Lewis and Clark’s stopover. This is an ok place to camp but being near town and the beautiful river and bike path make this a nice possibility.

We happened upon this while up for a wedding in Pierre. It is a free campground! There are RV and tent sites, a dump station, water fill up, bathrooms, and even a park. The tent sites are right on the river and there is even a beach that you can hang out at. You are right on the Lewis and Clark Trail for riding. 

The tent sites are pretty secluded for it being a city park. It was a little noisy at night but it was perfect for waking up in the morning and watching the clouds flow over the river with a cup of coffee in hand.

A new campground that sits on a hill overlooking the Missouri River and Pierre, SD. Beautiful views and there are benches placed around the campground to enjoy them. Level sites with full hookups. Large, spotlessly clean bathrooms. Helpful and friendly owners. Wish we were staying more than one night.

Only two washers and two dryers for laundry but they are in the nice, air-conditioned lobby area. Has a table for games or visiting and a collection of books and games to use. Snack machines if you get hungry.

Playground, basketball goal, sand volleyball for the kids.

Showers are pay showers, but I don’t mind paying a dollar or two for a clean, spacious shower. Partial gravel road to get to the campground but it was in good shape. This is a good one!

• Reservations 800-710-2267 or westbend@state.sd.us 
•  GPS 44.17075  -99.72102
•  Sites 120 campsites 4 camping cabins 
• Fees   Daily $8.00 entrance   Annual $36.00 entrance   
• $23.00 electrical campsites (50 avail) 
• $19.00 non electrical
• Open year round Between Oct 1– Apr 30 water systems may be shut down Boat ramp 

Camping Electric Drinking water Showers Flush toilets Pit toilets Picnic shelter Picnic table Grill Swim beach Playground Dump station Fish cleaning station Telephone Camp host Birding Fishing Pull thru Firewood Biking

This campground is mainly used by hunters in the fall. Sites are mostly for small RV’s, trailers, or tents. The park has a lot of mature trees which causes problems with overhanging limbs in the road. One side of the park has younger trees and it is easier for larger rigs to maneuver and there is more of an open feeling. Pads are fairly level. Bathrooms and even the pit toilets are very clean and did not smell, even had hand sanitizer.

Site was well maintained. There are several water sites for great views. There are hiking trails in the park. Camp is set amid the rolling hills showcasing the beautiful crops and ranches of SD.

35 miles southeast of Pierre off SD Highway 34. Nearest town is Harrold, SD

LNT

Better than when you found it

Stay safe Happy travels

Quaint little park with clean rr's. They have a great field out back to walk the dog and staff was nice

Nice little fishing spot. Dogs allowed we day camped here and enjoyed it alot. There was not a ton of traffic.

We were just there for the night, driving through. We found friendly staff, very clean bathrooms, and a good location, close off I 90, and east walk to a corner store. Would stay here again.

And, as our dogs woke us early, and the sunrise really was lovely.

Up a hill is this campground. You can see the town and river down below. We visited in March and it was soooo cold. Didn’t come out of camper except to walk dogs. The grounds were kept up and clean. We did not meet any staff. When we came in our water hookup was frozen so they moved us to a spot where the had a heated cover on water pipe. Didn’t have any issues after.