North Pole Rd Dispersed Camping

About 8-10 spots along the road, all flat and plenty of space for whatever you’re camping with. Chances are you’ll be a ways away from other campers. Great spots to get away from the crowded campgrounds.

The sites are located about 2 miles from the main road at the top of the hill. It is a dusty gravel road in good condition. There are open areas and areas in the scattered pine trees. Great views. The traffic along the road is sparse. You don’t feel crowded but can see some other campers. Great area!

I value the work you put into sharing your knowledge slope run

Pretty area with several sites. Quite busy when we went but we did find a spot. No amenities but very quiet and easy to access. No bugs.

Nice sites with campfire rings. Enjoyed the sunset. Nothing super fancy about this place but a nice location and flat sites!

Black Hills can be hard to find cheap or free camping during busy season. Great free camp down a gravel/dirt road with cows on both sides and one in the road (it moved eventually). Go a good ways down the road and up a hill which did have a couple of spots that I would be Leary of if you have a low to ground vehicle. We stayed in the first spot once clear of the trees, and while on a slope, it was a fantastic view. Our neighbors had made it towing a full size 5th wheel travel trailer, so it can be done, but I wouldn't try on a muddy road day with a huge trailer. Too risky. Still we camped on top of one of the highest mountains in the Black Hills, for free. It was fantastic until about midnight when the rainstorms came and our old tent had a catastrophic failure. We nearly froze from being fully soaked. So no second night for us, we had to push on, wash and dry everything, and buy a new tent to continue our travels. It was a great camp tho. But I recommend a bug canopy for just chilling in, and go ahead and invest in a good ground tarp and throw one over your tent as well to keep rain from soaking thru. You will thank me, and be a little warmer. Happy camping.

Stayed at this campsite over Labor Day weekend.  This is the first site on the right once you get through the forest.  It was quiet and the view was great.  Cell service faded in and out.  I could only send green imessages if any at all.  Just down the Hwy about 10 minutes West is Hell Canyon Trail (3rd picture).  5.5 mile loop. Highly recommend!

Great location and very quite! Amazing views of Black Hills!

This was a great spot despite the thunderstorm I got caught in and nearly destroyed my tent. There were a lot of people in trailers/campers/buses what have you but still plenty of space to be away from other campsites. In the morning there seemed to be some work being done by the adjacent property so it is a somewhat active service road. I also got cell reception up there (AT&T).

The drive up the road is 5-10 minutes so not too far away from the highway, which you can still hear from up above. Since it’s already in a very desolate area, there really isn’t that much traffic tbh

Gorgeous views and peaceful. There were people camping all along this road at other dispersed sites. No cell service though.

Like the title says. Perfect views. 4 other vans and campers but plenty of room. Trails to walk on at the top. Highly recommend

A couple miles on a dirt road outside custer, there are several spots available. Was motorcycle camping with a hammock but saw several 5th wheel rvs. Elevation is ~6000 ft, very good view.

My Fiancé and I loved these dispersed camping sites! They’re scattered all along the drive of the mountain. The roads are all dirt going back to the sites. They’re plenty big for a 20ft camper, we have a 16ft pull behind and our truck and we still had plenty of room on our site and it wasn’t even a group site. There are a few extra big spots for groups. No fires, but your dogs will love this area.

The view is pretty and just a decent place to spend the night. It's a little bit outside Custer and the the road goes about a 2 miles in before you get to the spot. I camped in a tent but there were others in a 5th wheel, a class A, and a subaru. No amenities but a nice quiet place to camp. It connects to other trails so there are occasionally other vehicles that drive by.

We had 4 35 foot fifth wheels. Found a spot where we all fit with room to spare. Road was somewhat narrow, but only met one truck on the way up the road. This was literally the first campsite we cam to. Others in our group went a little further and found a good group site. However, someone was already in it. Great place!

I only saw about 4 spots along the entire road that were obviously sites, but we found an amazing one. There was only one other camper and they were in an RV. It is very quiet, but there are a fair amount of cars that pass by. When we went it started snowing, so we didn’t get to enjoy it as much as we wanted to. Amazing view of the black hills.

Thanks to others for the lead to North Pole Rd! We were in a 4 wheel drive vehicle with a roof tent. We kept going and explored logging roads and found a spot on a hill with spectacular sunset and moon rise views…didn’t want to leave.

There are 7 or so spots there. Top of Mountain. Views are pretty good. Spots spaced out. Phone service was okay “Verizon”. About 8 miles to Custer.

Renegade Pass is a private road and is NOT an option for the dispersed campers on North Pole Road.  Fires are NOT allowed at all in this area. Please keep this information in mind when in that area.

Entered North Rd off of 16 coming from Custer. No problems driving up to camping area with our 39ft fifth wheel. At the top there are some great and large spots for bigger rigs. We found a spot on the right side of the road in a little meadow, across from the hill on the left. Like others mentioned, cell service is best near the “front” so when you get to the top pull out your phone to check service! We drove a few miles further down the road and the road was great the entire way. Zero issues! Highly recommend! Also, please don’t park right next to someone... it’s dispersed camping for a reason! Spread out, enjoy the mountain :)

We rolled into camp a little after 4:30. This time of year it starts to get dark at 530. We came in off Custer Limestone road. The forest road is a little rough, be aware if you are driving a car or a vehicle with bad off roaring capabilities. It took a little imagination where to camp, I’m guessing it’s easier come summer time, but it being fall we were the only people here..

It’s a special place, away from all the sounds of cars and lights from the cities. We heard coyotes and saw deer prancing away as we approached our site.

Where we camped was populated by bison pies (poop). No big deal! The weather here has been good, but the elevation is pretty high and could probably be effected by the mountain mood swings.

Bring everything you need, (Food, water, etc) and pack everything out.

This isn’t a spot for someone looking to camp with Amenities.

We are off the ground in a rooftop tent. Makes it easier to find a spot.

Thank you to the other reviewer, you are great for helping us find this place!

Love this dispersed campsite, beautiful views of the sunrise, secluded but off a main road.

We've been fulltiming since January and this was the first place we actually stayed the whole 14 day limit. Perfect location for exploring the Black Hills and so much fun exploring to do just at camp. There's a homemade sign that says no fires upon entering and a ranger confirmed that fires are not allowed out here, pit or no pit.

For starters, take North Pole Rd from 16. Renegade Pass is also an option, but we liked the other road better for the motorcycle. I believe you can camp along the whole road, but the real RV camping starts just past the Renegade/North Pole Rd junction.

I'm sure the best site for phone service would be the first site on the left on the top of the hill, but it gets windy up there. That's also the best spot for group camping. We camped nestled in the trees in the second campsite on the right, just past the one that goes down the hill.

There is room for multiple rigs in that area, but the spot just to the left when you pull in had the best service and was our favorite. We originally were in the turnaround at the end until a 40 ft 5th wheel showed up one night and set up right next to us, bringing their tent camping friends and zoo of children along. Upon moving the next morning we learned that the service was much worse at the first spot.

There are plenty of spots all the way down the road for rigs of all sizes, but don't expect to find a good spot on the weekend. People were cruising looking for spots everyday we were there, with some disrespectfully cramming in.