Cold Brook Lake Campground

Bumpy road to park. Pictures listed are dated for sure. By far the nastiest pit toilets I’ve seen. The amount of flies inside the building and in the toilets were horrible. Thankfully I have a portable toilet. There was no way I’d use theirs.

Absolutely beautiful. Arrived after a rain storm, bugs weren’t bad. Walked around lake and it was beautiful. So quiet and peaceful. Wish we stayed more nights! Dumpsters, restrooms, fire rings and nice grass. You gotta stay here!

Nice out of the way smaller campground. It’s sort of close to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Jewel Caves, and Badlands. Sites are large but not private. My truck camper was overrun by little bugs, so bring the diatomaceous earth and bug repellent. There’s no shade for most spots but they did have picnic tables. Pit toilets only. Fire rings were at each site.

Campground Review: This location is great if you are looking to be close to Hot Springs, Wind Cave, and Custer State park. It is located just north of town and just South of Wind Cave’s entrance. The campground itself is very exposed and the spots are lacking of shade. You are in a canyon like area so if you get one of the side spots, you will have shade starting in the early afternoon. 

The sites are spaced far enough apart where you feel a tiny bit of seclusion and there is plenty of space to put multiple tents on flat ground. It is in a red wall canyon so be careful of being too loud because sound travels. The lake has a large and beautiful swim beach and is perfect for a day on the water. 

There are bathrooms down by the swim beach, a boat launch, and picnic tables. It is a great lake for fishing. We were snagging them left and right. And contrary to the name, it was perfect temps to take a dip in. There are two campsites right on the lake but you need to snag them in advance. They apparently book up fast. 

The sites are only $10 a night and there is no camp host. However, the bathrooms do get regularly cleaned and the sites are well maintained. The campground is in really good shape. Nice grass and clean fire rings and picnic tables. There is also a large shaded picnic table area where you can have gatherings. 

Gear Review:

 As a Dyrt Ranger, sometimes we get the honor of being able to review gear! This campground I decided to break out my Eclipse Solstice Sun protection shirt. 

https://eclipseglove.com/collections/frontpage/products/solstice-beach-cover-up

It helped me feel protected by the sun but yet, was a light enough material to be able to move freely while paddleboarding. I like the finger design to cover the back of your hand too. Most shirts only have the thumb hole but this one has elastic around the middle of the hand to put around the middle finger to keep the back of your hands protected too. The downside to this design is the outline. It kind of just drapes over you like a poncho, so there is no real fashion design around it. The pinched sides let air flow in and out easily but also make it a bit complicated to get into. I got caught a lot in the middle gap while just trying to throw it on.

Small campground nestled in a little canyon of sorts with red rock walls on one side and green hill on other. It echos if you yell. The reservoir is a short walk up the road with a nice sandy beach and good fishing (so I hear). Good family spot. We had fun playing horseshoes in the provided pits, but you need to bring your own shoes. The biting flies were not in short supply, so bring bug spray. There was no campground host, and the vault toilets were not very clean as a result. But we still had a very pleasant experience. We would camp there again.

Nice small area that was very beautiful. Park ranger was super nice. Good people and the lake was clean and good to fish at

Loved it there