Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Reva, SD

Even more remote than its buddy, Reva Gap campground over in the Slim Buttes of Harding County, Picnic Spring Campground in the Cave Hills offers its own experience. Its a short drive from Highway 85 over to the hills, then up and into the Ponderosa pine forest capped butte that the campground is situated on. Small canyons border most of the campground as its surrounded by other buttes in this ancient place that is the Cave Hills, one of the oldest geological formations in North America.

There's plenty of 'trails' in the area, just check the Forest Service provided map to make sure you're still on public land. Some areas are leased out to ranchers and have cattle on them during different times of the year, so be mindful of any gates you pass through.

Different roads and trails through the Cave Hills can offer up a bunch of different sights and views from the expansive prairie stretching away from it, the little hillsides and meadows between buttes and all the wildlife that occupies it. The history of the place is fascinating as well and worth looking into.

We absolutely loved our stay at this campground! We arrived on Saturday, July 3rd and were very surprised to find most of the sites empty!

Good place to get away from fireworks, if you have an anxious dog.

Limited shade during those hot summer days.

The scenery is spectacular and offers cross country hiking for the adventurous. Awesome sunrise if you take a 10 minute walk.

Coming in from the north on Cox Road, it's a 3 mile drive on well maintained gravel road. Easily feasible with our 26 ft RV.

We stayed here with 2 motorhomes, one with tow. Great family owned, very friendly/warm family, organized, helpful and clean. Areas to walk dogs, or yourself (lol). Surrounded by trees and farming. We bbq in the evening and sat outside enjoying the clean air. Lots of grass and trees. We even got some homemade delicious cupcakes from the hosts daughter….yum! Great overnighter and would come again. They have 30 and 50 amp hookups, lots of space. Call ahead and I’m sure they can accommodate your needs. You can fill water and a dump station avail on request.

Really liked this free spot a few miles east of the main hwy. Great if you are traveling to the Badlands from the north. Lots of spacious sites here with established fire pits and several toilets. Coyotes serenaded us throughout the night!

Great little campground nestled in the pines of the Slim Buttes. Views of more buttes and the prairie to the west with certain spots. Area is gorgeous in one of the most remote areas of SD. Can drive to campging spots a fair distance in to be away from the highway, although the traffic is almost nonexistant.

Some trails to the north of Highway 20 and on the south end of Highway 79 that can take you above and along the cliffs of the buttes with some more spectacular views. You can do some back-country camping if you camp within a certain distance of the trails (grab a forest service map at the campground for reference of trails/roads and private property).

Camping spots in the campground are clean, mowed and have a small fire pit.

Be ready to dry camp

We stayed Wednesday and Thursday nights before the 4th of July. It's a beautiful, well kept no fee campground. A not difficult path leads you upward to a beautiful view of The Castles formation in the Slim Buttes. We will stay here again.

Small campground most sites are private the vault toilets were very clean and the campground was quiet. Easy access and not far from Buffalo SD for gas and or other supplies. Very pretty scenery. We used it as a stop over on the way to the black hills and will do so for future trips

Such a quiet campground! There looks to be about 10 official spots? 6 with gravel back ins. There is 1 pull through spot. The official spots have a metal fire ring and picnic table. There are 4 vault toilets spaced out throughout the campground which is nice! They aren’t being cleaned at this time but still being stocked with TP. Extremely peaceful and not frequently used. During my 3 night stay, I had 1-2 campers I was sharing the campground with. There’s a nice picnic area at the entrance. There’s also an electric outlet up front if you need to charge something, with a donation box. I had 2 bars of LTE via ATT basically anywhere before the first camping loop. After that, 1 bar of 4G. Saw a forest ranger drive through one day. I’d definitely stay again and it’s free!

Yes, it is out of the way which makes it all the more desirable. This is a very private camping area with great access to vault bathroom facilities. Accessible It is an outcropping of rock, buttes and ponderosa forest with spectacular views of distant grazing land. It is quiet, remote and rustic. Bring your own water.

This campground is amazing. The geological formations around us are beautiful, and this place is isolated. Granted, I am here on a weeknight, but there are only two other groups camping here. The campsites are spread out so you get tons of privacy.

Free camping in Custer Gallatin NF. No water, no trash collection. Many sites are really private with long driveways. Not all had tables and/or fire pits. Only a couple other campers there. Good views of The Castle which is part of Slim Buttes. Bathrooms needed some attention. Lots of flies. There is a map of campsites at entry off of SD20.

This campground used to be on The Dyrt. I re-added it. Stayed in 2023. No water. No electricity . Well spaced sites. Vault toilets

Very Nice Primitive Campground!

Using this app I came across this Campground. I cannot believe it was not when we got here at 1:30. We had our pick of a dozen sites. There is no one else within 1/3 of a mile.

There is around 7 miles of gravel road to go up. But we were on street motorcycles and had no problem.

Note the nearest groceries or any store for that mater is 25 miles away in either direction on Route 85. There is no potable water but there is a spring where you can water to boil. They don’t test it so you are using it at your own risk.

Dead quiet. Beautiful surroundings. Clean. Pit toilets are not smelly.

I loved the calm peacefulness of this campground. Only thing missing on our site was a picnic table. Enjoy the walks and hikes around the area.

4th of July weekend and I can't see or hear my neighbors. Beautiful pines and sandstone cliffs surround the campsite

I stayed there in mid-September for 2 nights. This is first come-first served. You can not reserve a site. With this in mind, I made the trip from Medora on a Tuesday morning and I arrived around noon. I gambled that the people who came in for the week-end would be gone and the ones who were coming for the next week-end would not be there for another day or two.

The 10 sites are spacious: it’s hard to see any other campers from your site. There are no amenities here except for very clean pit toilets. No water, no electricity, no dump stations and no dumpsters for trash. Every site has a cooking style fire ring, picnic table and ample room to park more than one vehicle.

But there is an abundance of solitude, beauty and a deer and elk. As they say in Texas . . . “The stars shine bright at night”.

Wonderful area with sites far enough apart you don't have to see your neighbors. Most sites are taken as of a Friday afternoon in July but we still found a few available. Wonderful views!

Great place to stay. Very quiet. Sites were large and not many people around.

Pretty sketchy to find but very nice and the forest around is sweet. While I was here in May I saw deer and elk. Stayed here twice, once in May when there were no other visitors and once in August when there were only a few others.

Free campground in SD, not WY. Most sites are well separated. Most have picnic tables. Came over 4th of July and there were only 5 other campers when I left. Several piles of wood available for firewood (resulted from clearing trees); you will need to split it, however. Sites has been mowed for fire mitigation which also resulted in nice "lawns". I stayed in 1st on the right. It was more exposed to wind and rain, but I preferred the layout. Other sites are more protected.

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Very beautiful campsites next to Mirror Lake. It is a small city campground. They have water and electricity. Sewer dump is in town. Cost is only $20 a night with a limit of 10 nights. Very peaceful.