Wrinkled Rock

This is a great boondocking spot just beyond the busyness of Mount Rushmore. In early May it was quiet with just a handful of vans and one tent. One pit toilet and nearby trails. Worth the visit!

Arrived here at night and left in the morning while visiting Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Great little spot with plenty of space for disbursed camping.

My boyfriend and I were so excited to camp at Wrinkle Rock. When we got there we noticed all that was there for camping was tent on designated areas. There’s a small outhouse and a somewhat narrow one way loop to park in. So definitely wasn’t enough room for our 16ft camper with a slide out. It looks like a beautiful breathtaking spot but we had to miss out. For being free it’s definitely worth the tent camp!

I needed a place to stay to park the car overnight and this was one of the few spots around that was open for the winter. Access to a toilet and a place to park is all I could ask for!

(Stayed August 17) This is a great and well known spot for camping, climbing, RVs, and van life. The parking lot filled up rather quickly, so space between vans and vehicles wasn't much. There is a bathroom and a number of tent sites as well. People were very friendly and it was easy to meet people and exchange advice, travel tips and ideas, and general stories. It is a great location to the surrounding Black Hills trails, lakes, and Keystone

Stopped here for the night on the way to Wind Cave, ended up staying to rock climb for two weeks. Primo rock climbing within minutes of the campsite, and some of the coolest people I've met anywhere. Spots for van boondocking and a ton of great tent sites.

We came here to boulder and we were very pleased with the place. Despite the parking lot being quite full with car campers, only two tents were pitched. It’s not clear whether or not the dispersed spots (not with tent pads) were intended by the forest service or created by campers, but we saw at least seven of them throughout. It’s a very basic camp spot, bathroom only and all garbage must be packed out.

On the bulletin board it mentioned that the area is monitored by video surveillance, which is nice to have in free spots. Definitely worth checking out.

It’s a sweet find close to Rushmore and although it’s noisy during the day (darn helicopters never stop!), it’s nice and quiet in the evening.

Added bonus is a fun, scrambling hike/climb to the summit of Mt. Baldy. It is about a mile or so from the South Seas climbing area. From the parking lot, you can see it in the distance facing East. The trail is not "marked", but there are foot paths through the gully near South Seas that you follow. You hug the aspen grove before reaching a split with a Mt. Rushmore sign. Stay right and continue to the Boulder patch at the base and just have fun from there.

Came from out of the area (from Pittsburgh) and found this awesome campground. Not much to do if you’re not a climber, but luckily that’s all we came to South Dakota to do. Walking distance to nearby climbing and nice views from the huge boulder in the vicinity.

After striking out on multiple other sites (off-season/winter closures), we were thrilled to find this spot. Only 1 other vehicle (tent camper) in the lot so we were able to find a semi-level parking place to call home for the night. As others stated, you probably wouldn’t want to bring any larger trailers or vehicles over 30’ in here. Our campervan is 22’.

The pit toilets weren’t the best we’ve seen but they were open...definitely appreciate that. Morning coffee and a sunbathing meditation on top of the rocks beside the lot made for a perfect start to the day.

We came here for the climbing and free camping. The climbing is spectacular and would definitely recommend for anyone who’s a climber! The dispersed camping is great too! You can’t drive your car to the sites which makes things a tad difficult but the parking is close enough by where it really isn’t a big issue. Plenty of spots when we got here late at night! We didn’t see anywhere to get water from but there was a pit toilet that was in good condition.

This was an awesome spot for sure, we actually happened upon this spot after hiking through the Black Hills all day. We were planning on backcountry camping in the park, but the amount of bugs and the inability to find a flat spot out of the trees pushed us to try and hike back to our car. We stumbled upon this spot on our way back, and as a big climber I couldn’t resist climbing up some boulders. We ended up just setting up camp at the base of one of the boulders and had a great stay! It was amazing to be completely surrounded by beautiful forest and giant rocks, and we had a peaceful nights sleep! I climbed up again in the a.m to take some pictures of the view, and we left shortly after but would definitely recommend to anyone that’s a fan of dispersed camping and wonderful scenery!

This is a great location, easy to find, about two miles located behind Mount Rushmore. It is a place where climbers will climb, so there may be a few cars that leave later in the evening, opening up a few more spots. The lot is able to hold about 25 cars. I got there on a Saturday evening at 8:30 and got one of the last few spots. Bathroom was open, and clean.

The bathrooms weren’t open when we were in the Black Hills. No water on site. Not many sites that have flat area for tents. Better options nearby

Free dispersed camping is nice. Fire is not allowed. I had issues with the tent pad being about a foot too short for my tent (3 person tent) but that's more a personal issue. It was a pretty busy spot while the sun is out. We definitely had an intense hail/thunderstorm so ended up sleeping half the night in the car. Where nice places for morning hikes.

There’s dispersed camping here with quite a few pad options. It’s a quiet place with a lot of very cool hiking trails off of the camp site. The tent spots are all very reasonably close to the parking lot so even if you want to walk off a bit to place your tent it won’t be much of a burden or hassle to set up. I got a spot out off the parking space far enough to not be bothered by anyone’s lights and to get a really nice view of the stars as I went to bed. A wonderful spot to have a night of sleep that’s so close to Rushmore you can walk there if you don’t want to pay for parking.

this little gem is only a mile away from Mount Rushmore. it’s nothing more than a gravel parking lot with a few tent pads and a vault toilet, but it was very quiet and perfect for hammocks.

great location just 5 minutes away from Mt. Rushmore. free site but no fire rings. it does have toliets. There is just a parking lot with a large open area to pitch a tent. The slide is about 5 minutes on the other side of Rushmore

The visit was good but it is starting to become like a KOA. Wrinkled rock is supposed to be a climbers place where people are respectful of others and their things, this is starting to change. People bringing their small children, children of older ages that want to stay up until 3am and are NOT quiet about it! We will be looking for a new place to lay our heads next time. So sad too say that.

Well it’s free and in an AWESOME location. Lots of hiking around. Only a few actual tent pads but you can set up anywhere. No fires! Pets are OK.

Great place to stay for free only a few miles from mount rushmore. There are several specific places for tents to be put up. 14 day maximum stay, bathroom on sight.

Super convenient for climbers. Scenic campgrounds with 100s of climbing routes within walking distance. There is no water or electricity and only one latrine. This adds to the rustic feel and keeps the crowds away which is nice considering the proximity to Mt. Rushmore and other tourist traps. Swimming and cliff jumping at Horsethief lake only a short walk away.