Elk Mountain Campground — Wind Cave National Park

Beautiful campground. Sites were mowed nicely. Close to many South Dakota tourist sites.

The campground is very nice. Facilities are clean, and you have a high chance of seeing bison from the campground. My only complaint is that site 3 doesn’t have a tent pad, while every site around it does, and it desperately needs one. It was fine with my 2 person tent, but a larger tent wouldn’t work well.

This is a lovely campground in Wind Cave National Park. Surrounded by a Ponderosa Pine forest, with a fence and cattle guard to keep the Bison out! Seasonally there are flush toilets and water, off season pit toilets and no water. No RV hookups, no generators allowed (though a couple campers violated that rule, which was annoying for 5 min). It's very quiet here, heard coyotes on several nights. 62 sites, some tent only, the sites ok for RVs held a couple that were quite large. Our trailer is only 20ft. Sites were generally roomy. There is wifi, which was surprising!

This is a small, but clean National Park Campground.  The sites were mowed, which was nice given the notice about the presence of prairie rattlers in the area. Our site was also small, and not particularly level (although better than some of the sites near us).  We had to pull into the site in the "wrong" direction so our van opened to the campsite rather than the road.  There was no dumping station either (pro tip - Hot Springs, the nearest town, has a free town dumping station and potable water station).  Wind Cave was a beautiful park and the tour and tour guide ranger were fantastic.  We saw more bison at Wind Cave than Yellowstone, Tetons, and Glacier combined.

Tent campers. Ok, if you're going to tent camp here reserve spots 7-10 and maybe 11 ish. The rest are awful for tents. Our first night was in 7, we camped next to the table because it was dark when we arrived. HOWEVER, behind the table at the top of the hill would have been a great spot. Same for #8. There was just a beaten grass path to the spot, so it wasn't obvious (could have been a deer trail for all we knew). #9 is next to the restrooms, which have water so odor isn't a problem. That spot seems to be mostly shady and a good choice if you're not afraid of being too close to the toilets. #10 is back off the road a little bit and also seemed like a good place for a tent. #11 is in the same area and little exposed, some may find it do-able, I think I would have hated it feeling like everyone was aware of what we're doing (no privacy). We had spot #6. It was awful. As far as I could tell the same #1-5. Camp host is friendly and helpful. Expect to see Bison and Pronghorns, Elk.

Very quiet. Some sites have no shade at all. This one was very nicely shaded and tucked away from the road. Elk and Coyotes sounding off all night.

Smaller campground. Tent only section is small, but sites have reasonable amount of space between sites. Plenty of water and restroom is not too far off (but needs a deep clean and update). First couple of sites have no shade. Camp hosts were great (there’s almost no signal in park so they came through to warn us on tents that a huge thunderstorm was heading our way so we could prepare—thank goddess they did: it was a long and intense storm).

Lovely little campground in a underrated park that was fantastic!!!

Host jumped right in to help you book the site. The site was right on the road which I didn't love but huge site and not a lot of traffic. Site was level. Bathroom was right next door and clean enough...no showers ..

Would definitely camp here again. Rangers came by to tell you a storm was rolling in and to stay in. They had a nighttime hike and the trails were right off campground...smaller than some parks but great!!

We arrived on a Monday afternoon without reservations, and there were many sites to choose from.  The Campground Hosts helped us to complete our reservation (no cell signal here).  Very clean and well maintained campground.  There were nightly Ranger Talks at the Amphitheater.  Campground is very close to the Wind Cave Visitor Center and the tours there.  We took a half-day trip to do a tour at Jewel Cave.  Restocked supplies in Hot Springs.

Staff and other campers were great. Even had one staff member walk around and show me their favorite parts of the grounds.

Very clean sites and easy access.

We cowboy camped here at site #11. Did not get wet during the night, and the bugs weren’t bad at all. The site had an incredibly level dirt tent pad, although most everything else (picnic table, fire ring, parking, etc) was on a slant. Beware of the pine sap!! Wildlife (particularly bison) aren’t an issue, as there is a fence with a cattle guard surrounding the entire campground. Bathrooms were close with flushable toilets and a camper sink. This campground provides ranger run evening programs at the amphitheater. While we were there, the talk was on prairie dogs. Would have stayed longer if we could have! Limited AT&T service available.

I’m blaming my low rating on it being too early in the season. Only the B loop was open and I had to tent among the RVs. Quiet time was not enforced - neither from the bass from the latest superhero movie in an RV at 11:30 PM, nor the multiple generators beginning at 5 AM. Beautiful setting with coyotes in the evening. I’m sure I’d have enjoyed it if I could have camped up on the hill.

Beautiful area which had plenty of availability. We were pleasantly surprised at how few people were in the campground considering that most of the other campgrounds in the area were booked solid.

This campground has an interesting set up. The sites large enough for our 24 ft Class C were gravel pullouts along the main road and one small loop. There is a separate loop for tents only.

The campground is FCFS, but didn’t seem to fill completely in mid September.

There are water spigots throughout the campground, but the one closest to us wasn’t working.

It was one of the quietest campgrounds we’ve stayed at and is in a great location to explore the area.

Really liked the vibe of this campground.  First come, first serve, but plenty of sites available when we arrived mid day.  No hookups, but plenty of potable water spouts and clean bathrooms (no showers).  Great hikes and cave tours in the NP

I checked on this campground for our stay and the campground told me there are no electric hookups.  The Dyrt website says there is.  FYI

Stayed the first week of May.  Sites are road side pull offs, there were some back ins the other loops were closed since it was early in the season but it was a nice place to camp for a few days while we visited the area and Wind Cane NP.  No water camping fee was $4.50 Some great hikes in the area and the cave tour was excellent.  Not the typical wet damp cave tour. Since it was early in the season with not water (water was available from a spigot at the NP Visitor Center.  Close to many attractions if you can handle a 30 to 45 minute drive to Custer Mt Rushmore etc..  If in the area again I would definitely stay there.

This campground is located in Wind Cave National Park and hardly ever fills to capacity. It is first-come, first-serve and $9 a night until they turn the water on and it increases to $18, but it’s a nice serene area with bison just outside the gates! You are surrounded by wildlife, and they have wonderful trails, 2 of which are pet-friendly. I stayed overnight to camp and got in line early to get tickets to the Entrance Cave tour. The tour was wonderful!

I only stayed for one night but it sure was beautiful! It’s a mile from the Wind Cave visitor center. I was there during the off-season so was only $9/night so no flush toilets or water. The vault toilets were very clean though. The sunset was beautiful and it was fun to watch the bison and prairie dogs. Be sure to pack in everything you need. Closest grocery is 15 minutes away. No cell service but loved unplugging and meeting neighbors!

This is a great campground within the wind Cave national Park. It has both tent and RV parking. The RV parking is somewhat limited and mostly the RVs park along the road. Each campsite has a picnic table and fire ring and the bathrooms have running water and flushing toilets during the warm seasons. There are no showers available. The campground is in the middle of the national park and just outside of the campground there are hiking trails everywhere. You will see herds of Buffalo and herds of deer everywhere. The cave was not accessible due to a mechanical problem with the elevator. It has been an ongoing issue and I would check the website before you go. Not a big loss to see the cave as the hiking was fantastic

Holy cow we would go back here again and again. First of all, as you drive into the park you’ll just see plains of buffalo hanging out! So cool to see them up close. Secondly, the camping was nice a secluded from the traffic of the park and there were plenty of options. We picked a site on the end of the campground and were able to hike around to see different landscapes etc. We woke up the next morning and walked to the visitors center which is just full of cool information! We signed up to do the cave tours before we departed and it was just the coolest experience.

Very spacious campground that, according to the ranger, has filled to capacity maybe three times in the last decade. I got in during the evening and found a great spot up from the road on a small hill. I imagine it would’ve been hot during the day because there was no shade there, but good for just one night I figured. Unfortunately, a t-storm rolled through around 2am (my fault for not checking the weather before - no service here - nor did I check the bulletin board for weather) and I figured it was best to move my tent to the wooded area. Not fun to do in the middle of the night but at least I staked it back in about ten seconds before the storm reached me (next 1.5 hours was rough though).

The wind cave itself was closed for exploring while I was there which was too bad. A knock on the park, though, not the campsite. Was right around the corner from the visitor center/cave entrance otherwise which is convenient.

I arrived in August 2019 to find the caves closed until September. I was very disappointed as coming back wasn't an option. I did camp at Elk Mountain--you find your site and then reserve it. There are few options for sites that aren't in the sun. Although according to the ranger the camp doesn't fill up, I would recommend getting your site early to ensure some shade. Bathrooms are nice and clean. No showers (at least where I was). Pleasant stay overall.

Really spacious campground with plenty of spots. Didn’t feel as crowded or too close to each other like a lot of other national park campgrounds. The Elk Mountain Campground is conveniently located to the visitor center and cave entrance. The Elk Mountain hike starts at the campground and is a nice little hike to do before you settle in for the night.

Simple campgrounds in Wind Cave National Park. The campground was well maintained and in great condition. The location can't be best as you're only 1 mile from the visitor's center and central to the park.

There is a hiking path nearby that gets you up so you can view the amazing area surrounding you. We heard lots of animals through the night and loved it.

Our only complaint was that the lights from the very simple bathrooms were so bright at night they ruined our night vision. Do not choose a site near the bathrooms.

The campground is secluded and quiet. You can see the bison as you come into camp if you’re lucky. There was also a wild turkey that was wandering around the whole time we were there

We loved this camp site! The surroundings were beautiful, and the bison were just outside the gate in the morning. Clean bathrooms and attentive host. They had a campfire program with the rangers the night we were there, but we already had a good fire going and didn't want to leave it unattended. Very close to Wind Caves!! Get there before 10am to book a tour... Business picked up about then.