Sage Creek Campground

This is a first come first serve site. There are no trees - it can get hot in the afternoon/evening and there isn’t much to break up the wind. There are great views. There was a rattlesnake found in the group of sites so be careful. There are also a lot of prairie dogs and some bison. There are vault toilets that are clean and you can see for miles! Beauty surrounds you. I never felt “unsafe”.

This is a managed Badlands National Park campground.  It is FREE first come first serve and rustic. There is no water available so come prepared. The campground and surrounding area are idyllic rolling hills spotted with juniper trees with crags of the badlands as a backdrop.  There are often buffalo roaming about and plenty of prairie dogs.  There are trash receptacles and clean pit toilets.  Some of the sites have wind / sun blocks at the picnic tables.

The Sage Creek area is truly beautiful but the camp is slightly crowded around a central roundabout. Expect close campers and tents.

The Sage Creek area is a beautiful part of the Badlands. Buffalo, coyotes, badgers, and birds make it feel very natural. But the site has a lot of campers each night so expect to be shoulder to shoulder.

Rather than park on the road which was very level, I pulled into the unoccupied equestrian area. That evening when it began to sprinkle the dirt turned into thick sticky clay which clung to my shoes and made walking difficult. The next day I move to a standard site. There are 2 outhouses and trash disposal available.

While this wind is relentless, making cooking outdoors difficult, there are trails which offer a reprieve from the gusts.

Great site, especially for free. Each of the times I have stayed here, at least one tent has either blown away or was flattened by wind.

Also, there is a prairie dog colony in the campground, so there is potential for the plague.

Good location out western part of park. Very quiet and simple enough to keep the high maintenance folks away.

Great pull-up spot. You can see the sunset from a short hike up the hills off the campground. You’re surrounded on all sides by the hills and cliffs. 100% would return here

Stayed here one night. No running water. Trash and picnic tables. Two vault toilets are located at each end of the campground. No cell service. It's winter and snowed early the morning I arrived to Badlands, so had the place to myself. Park rangers did rounds a couple of times during the day. Plenty of Buffalo crossing the road, roaming about, hanging out in surrounding hillside trees. Saw a fox, heard the howling wolves at night. Quiet and peaceful this time of year.

Easy to access gravel drive; clean outhouse; can’t believe more people don’t use this spot.

Spent one night here after exploring the park. less than a third full in early november. vault toilets clean-ish. wide open spaces, not really any privacy here. pretty sunrise.

My boy Palo and I camped in my Outback for a night. It was a great experience. They have the cleans best smelling bathrooms I have venture into.

This was a free site in the Badlands.  It's a dirt road to get there, washboards, but OK.

The cg is in a prairie dog town so we kept the dog close.

It was full on a Saturday night in September, but we got one of the last sites.  Very basic campground with a few trails to hike.  Views were OK, but nothing great.

Buffalo wandered through camp at dinner time.  We basically camped on the road that circles the campground.

Some picnic tables had a shade covering.  Pit toilets were clean.

Great location to set out to explore the Badlands? Low reception with Verizon in the valley bye still have good contact. Great reception, small hike to the top of the hill.

Free dispersed camping, with clean vault toilets. no water or power you will have to bring your own. Quiet and tranquil location, Surrounded by prairie dogs as you sit in the valley with low rolling hills around you.

I really liked this site, they had tables with shade, out house, flat ground, and compared to the dispersed camping wayyy less windy. We did not see bison today but there were prairie dogs

At first we didn’t love it. It’s hot. No shade. No fires. Some picnic tables have a shade but they were all taken. I guess about 20 sights here I found trails to the creek. Win for me. Up early and holy WOW, buffalo start roaming through camp! 2 came right on through the middle of the campers loop scratching on posts and rolling in dirt behind our tent. Unbelievable. A handful more were roaming around on the other side of the creek. Me may have gotten bitten by prairie dog fleas though and they have a plague. I read the sign in the morning AFTER and we were leaving. I think we will survive. Worth every bite. The toilet house is nice with trash and hand sanitizer. No signal or water or electricity here. Lots of stars at night.

What a sweet little spot! This is a 22 site, first come first served campground - no reservations & a 14 day limit. We visited in June & it was BUSY. The sites were all full by 4pm - but there is room to squeeze in extra tents/cars! There are no fires allowed here but there are two bathroom, and plenty of trash cans. The best part though is I can almost promise you’ll get up close & personal with some buffalo. Be respectful!!!

Campground is basic. Only 2 (very clean) vault toilets, no water or electricity. I got there a little before 3pm on mother's day; it was full by 8. Only a handful of sites have sun covers over the picnic tables. You will be very close to other campers. Most are respectful. I would just recommend getting there before dark to keep from disturbing everyone. Prairie dogs galore in the center and on the periphery of the campground. My dog was fascinated by them. As noted by others, you will most likely be serenaded by coyotes and have morning visits from the bison. I also heard wild turkeys off in the woods.

It is a area about the size of a city block that you camp in the middle of and park around. It is popular so try not to show up late. Plenty of tent camping inside the loop. Parking can be and issue. By 9.pm some small RVs came and couldn't find space left to park. Vault toilets, trails, some picnic tables, scenery. Woke up to a buffalo 30 yards from my tent. Other people said they walk right thru camp. Prairie dogs everywhere, so watch your step for holes. I got yelled at by a prairie dog on my hike up the hill lol. Our stay was short but enjoyable.

Wild animals everywhere, you're camping on the ground with the prarie dogs, lots of rabbits, birds, and bison coming through the campground as well. Next to the campground is a small walk up a steep hill to get good overlooks, and trails down to the creek with fossils.

Got in fairly late, was quite busy but we found a spot. The views and nearby trails are unbelievably beautiful at sunset. Just bare in mind (if you’re camping) that the site is very open so, we were struck by very heavy winds in the night due to a storm.

If your looking for a place to crash with no shade and hundreds of Prairie dogs, then this is the place for you.

We showed up about four and every site but one was taken. The site actually stayed busy through the night and most just found a empty spot and racked out.

Overall it’s a nice campsite with a significant number of Prairie dogs and a bathroom that was clean but toilets definitely haven’t been pumped in quite some time.

Pro tip: If I haven’t mentioned Prairie dogs, they have a lot and, they apparently love grapes or anything they can get their little hands on.

On the drive in and out to Sage Creek, I saw all the major mammals of the park (bison, prairie dogs, deer, bighorn sheep, pronghorn), and there was even two bison grazing at the equestrian site in the morning. 

The campground is nice and dark and had a great view of the Milky Way. There is no water at camp, which was made very clear on the park website and map. Sage Creek did have some water flow when I went, so I could have filtered some if I needed more. 

My main criticism is that only a handful of the sites had shades for the picnic tables. When I arrived, the campground was less than half full, but none of the remaining sites had a shade. For a park that gets this hot and doesn't really have trees or other shade, I think this should be provided at each site.

beautiful, remote, a bison didn't bother anyone, saw a snake, stargazing

Great views, prairie dogs were so cool to see running around the camp site. Bison everywhere on the drive in and a few even walking around the camp site. Super close to badlands park entrance. Toilets were clean and covered picnic tables were a huge plus! We got there late on a Wednesday night and still found a spot with ease.

Basically in the middle of the park. Prairie dogs all around when you wake up! Pit toilets, covered picnic tables. Bison walked right through the campsite.

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.