First- the coordinates take you to the visitor center, which then allows you to drive through the park on your way to the campground. I highly recommend entering Sage Creek Campground into your GPS at the visitor center, because it was a very long and winding road after that! Or, if you're short on time, put Sage Creek Campground in from the highway and you'll get there a lot more quickly (but miss out on some spectacular views!). Second- the campground was full when I got there, but I'm glad I had this app/read the reviews. People were very accommodating and you really can just pick an open patch of grass if it's full when you get there. Even though it was full, it was reasonably quiet. And I got to see bison and prairie dogs up close and personal...so COOL!!

Came in and saw bison, prairie dog, and rattlesnake! The Backcounty was nice and quiet aside from the prairie dogs squeaking.

Gravel road to get there but so worth it to camp for free in the national park. Definitely a lot of buffalo around. Vault toilets, no running or potable water. Covered picnic tables are great for shade but terrible for rain.

If you keep in mind that this is a primitive campground, you'll be just fine.  Concrete vault toilets, no water, nice covered picnic tables and phenomenal views.

Note that the co-ordinates take you to the visitor centre. The campground is another 30m on windy paved roads, and 12m on gravel roads.....but the journey is worth it. Not only the many stop off points along the way, but the campground is large and spacious, with a single vault toilet at each end - which are very clean, and many garbage cans. Some of the picnic tables have a sun shade over them. Prairie dogs and bison are right in the campsite with you. Saw large wild turkeys and a coyote as well. Would recommend staying at least 2 days, to enjoy.

It’s a holiday weekend and I got here at 7pm. All the spots were filled, but many people still camped and shared spots for tents if asked. That’s what happened for me and it worked out.

As far as wildlife, there are a ton of buffalo around and will sometimes get uncomfortably close. Overall, definitely recommend.

This campground is not just amazing because it's free, although that certainly helps. This campsite is one of the most unique places I've stayed. Wildlife sightings are abundant. We stayed just one night but loved the trails leading up to wonderful sunrise/sunset viewing vantage points. During our stay we were entertained by dozens and dozens of prairie dogs that are active throughout the camp ground. We were also excited when bison appeared out of nowhere and began grazing in the camp. The view of the stars at night is also beyond mesmerizing. Can't wait to visit again.

This FF campground exceeded our expectations. Easy access to the park. You're surrounded by beauty with the likelihood of a bison sighting or two (we had a herd walk through the campground twice). Most sites have ramadas to provide shade. Pit toliet bathrooms were well maintained. No water available. No cell coverage.

Different kind of camping but being beneath the stars in the badlands was great!

Decided to spur of the moment camp in our car in this lot, while the car is uncomfortable this camp ground is just so pretty with wildlife all around.

Really can’t complain about free camping, but this campground is just a small circle. Cars park on the outside, tents in the middle. Bison roam around, which adds a certain excitement. 12 miles of gravel road to get there. Vault toilets. Shaded Picnic tables. Beautiful views. The circle shape is the main bummer bc it affords zero privacy. Sun is brutal most of the day, and we encountered a rainstorm that collapsed half the tents and sent many people packing. I would probably go back, but only as a free spot I’m familiar with.

Right for some, but not for us. It is free…awesome. We did a drive through and decided “no”. Nice chamber toilets…perk, but it felt cramped to us. We went to Buffalo Gap dispersed camping.

25216 Ben Reifel Rd is NOT the address!!! That is an employee RV campground! Do not camp there, you will be fined $200.

Campground is 12 miles down a maintained dirt road inside the National park. Vault toilets, very clean. Picnic tables. It’s one big circle with 20+ campsites. Breezy, but in a shallow valley.
Many prairie dogs and Buffalo. Stayed two nights.

Not very full, quiet, decent bathrooms, good access to trails, lots of wildlife jut keep a close lookout for bison, they are everywhere and get VERY close

The road getting to camp was 12 miles of washboards. We stayed for 2 nights. First night stayed in the rv area. Was very nice. We were one of two vehicles in the area. The second night we stayed in the loop due to rain. The rv area turning into a mud pit with a good soaking so be careful. Both days had the loop pretty packed by 5 pm. There was space available still both days. Had bison walking right under our roof top tent. And prairie dogs yelling at us. Great time was had by all. We stayed may 29-30

There was absolutely nobody else there the night I stayed. They have vault toilets, and tables which is a nice touch for a free campground.

Quiet spot that we had to ourselves in mid November. Room for maybe 30 but more than 12 or so would feel cramped. It was quite cold and very windy. The BEST vault toilet I have ever used! Only 4 stars because inside the loop, and outside in the surrounding area is inundated with prairie dog mounds, which is fine, but we had dogs that are supposed to be on leash as we are still in the national park here (I think) which made for interesting potty times

Nice, clean campground. We got there early to make sure we would get a spot and there were plenty to choose from, but as the day went on they started to fill fairly quickly. There were no camp fires permitted but some campers had them, for the most part all the other campers were very respectful and quiet, there was a large group that was kinda loud but then again it’s a large group. For a free campground it’s perfect, tons of prairie dogs running around the tent to provide entertainment, easy hikes with rolling hill views and pretty sunsets are all around. Some bison nearby as well which was cool. Would definitely stay here again.

It was a bit chilly but what do you expect in October? The reviews about seeing wildlife caught our eye so we thought we'd check it out and it did not disappoint! There are tons of prairie dogs & their holes all over the site - so fun to watch! We also had Bison constantly strolling through and using posts to itch themselves lol we also saw rabbits and a coyote. Free of charge to spend the night. Clean vault toilets with trash and hand sanitizer. Well worth the stop!! 10/10 would recommend.

The campground per se is not exceptional- a roundabout with picnic tables for each site. Also an area for horse trailers. But the location IS exceptional!! We had a bison herd of 26 meander by on the other side of the river bed. Two bison hang out at/ in the campground for an afternoon, evening, morning (and possibly later- we had to hit the road). It’s a prairie dog metropolitan center, not town. AND two resident coyotes waiting for a lucky moment with a prairie dog appetizer. There were soundscapes (prairie dog and coyote) as well as landscapes…. And stunning starry night skies. Amazing place.

I don’t know if the roads got new gravel or what but the my Honda Crosstour made it just fine. It’s a Beautiful campground. With prairie dogs everywhere & you can walk up & feed them though it’s not recommended.

We were initially planning to dispersed camp in the Black Hills National Forest, but quickly realized we were going to spend more time in Badlands NP than we initially planned, so we stayed here instead. We arrived in the early afternoon to set up camp and there were plenty of sites available. The campsites are out in the open with no shade, but many sites have covered picnic tables, which was nice. We loved seeing all the prairie dogs throughout the campground and the herd of bison that walked right past several times. Be prepared for wind since it is in an open, flat area. The vault toilets were very clean. This was perfect for our one night stay.

The view of the night sky was incredible. Driving past Buffalo to get into the camp was wicked cool. Being woken up by Prarie dogs... I guess pretty cool and part of the experience. A coyote was 100 yards from the tent in the morning. So if your looking to see some wildlife I definitely recommend. It was clean and quiet but so small you can hear a conversation that someone is having across the camp.

Lovely way to see the Badlands. Several sites on one open loop; probably wouldn’t want to post up for more than a night but it was perfect for us, with a little trail up a peak to see the sunset and sooo many outgoing prairie dogs!

It’s very exposed…no shade.Hot in July. It’s a 1 night stay kind of place. It says up to 25ft trailer, but campground says 18’. If any other options,take it…I’ll leave it there.

Great flat spot within badlands. The bathroom was really clean and there a prairie dogs everywhere! We saw a bison in the morning as well.

We were going to explore the backcountry but saw a rattlesnake eating a prairie dog which put us off. Be careful if you leave the campground!

Road to site was a little rough but my Honda hrv was fine. Safe camprground for two women.

Was a great site especially for being free. Love how close it is to badlands. It does get crowded but free is free. Idk if this was just our experience but it was insanely windy. 

For being a campground in the NP, this is really nice!  The vault toilets were well stocked and very clean.  Trash bins throughout the site.  The sites are along a loop and while you can see your neighbors, they had a little more space than I thought due to the small size of the loop.  Beautiful scenery all around.  Saw a couple of bison just roaming through the campground which was so cool.  Prairie dogs are also everywhere so you may have some visitors!  No AT&T cell service.