Spokane Creek Cabins & Campground

The campground is located in a beautiful and scenic area.  The road to get there is an adventure in itself but well worth it.  Our site had full hook ups, a fire ring and  a picnic table.  We were a little close to our neighbors but it worked out ok.  We were in site 55.  The campground was quiet at night.  The campground staff was incredibly nice and helpful.  The bathrooms were sparkling clean and the water pressure was great!  The shower rooms were spacious and had a private toilet.  There is an awesome short hike up the hill to the flagpole that is well worth the effort.  There were a couple of "rough" spots but the scenery at the top is awesome.  You can see Mt. Rushmore from the flagpole!  Just beware of the ticks that you may pick up on your hike.  We came into the campground from the East and left the campground on the West side through Custer State Park.  I prefer the West side.  There are lots of tight curves and narrow road but plenty of very large campers manage to get to the campground just fine.  I would recommend this campground to anyone.  It is very kid friendly and dog friendly.  Just all around friendly.  Lots of activities to do in the campground and the area around it.  Great location.  Great gift shop, Great cafe. Great staff.

We really enjoyed our stay over Memorial Day weekend (2021).

What we liked:

• Great setting with generous campsites. Not over-crowded; butts up against open field/horse farm, with a really neat creek running through the grounds. Very relaxing atmosphere, especially in the area we stayed in which was at the far East end. 
• Plenty of activities; the pool was not open yet while we were there, but they have a fun mini-golf course which was a great place for the kids to go while hooking/unhooking everything. Nice playground area. I believe there are tennis/basketball courts also, but we didn't use them.
• Nice gift shop with bistro attached. Very friendly staff.
• Price is well in-line with the experience and amenities provided here.

What we didn't:

• Not really the fault of the campground, but even the "best" route to get to the campground (via Playhouse Road) is a bit nerve-wracking. Very narrow & winding roads, as is common in the Black Hills. If you have a larger rig, I'd think twice about trying to get in here unless you are very experienced with the area and have driven the road at least once without your rig.
• It is a bit of a drive (30+ minutes) to get to most attractions from here, so this location is really more about the destination itself, and not a great place to jump off and see lots of specific sights, unless you want to be basically central to most popular attractions (Mt. Rushmore, Custer, etc.) without being super close to any one of them.

In summary: Highly recommend as a great place to set up camp and relax in the Black Hills, especially if you have a small or medium-sized rig!

This is very nice privately owned campground. The staff was simply incredible! We were originally setting up on the sunny side of the creek in our tent. When they saw that we were going through great lengths to maximize our shade, they offered to switch our site to the shady side, and even helped us move. Note: The creek sites closest to the road get the afternoon shade. The campsites have have adequate space but are not particularly private. The campground is situated in an open, grassy field with a creek running through it. The only shade and trees are directly on the creek. Looking across the creek from my tent up front in the photo provides a good idea of creek-side campsite spacing. There is a shower house (Although very clean, 3 out of 5 for overall feel--I've seen better and I've seen worse). There is a small pool, playground, store, diner, and a dishwashing sink. There is laundry in both the men's and women's restrooms.

The campground is directly on the Iron Mountain Road and finding the time to drive through the tunnels and pig-tails is a must, but leave any trailers at the campground first. Driving the pigtail section of 16A toward the campground is recommended for that amazing view of a tunnel framing Mt. Rushmore. Nearby there is a treasure trove of outdoor activities including: Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, and Custer State Park. Privately owned parks boast daring alpine slides, and zip lines (so much fun). Wind Cave National Park boasts a thriving buffalo population--expect a buffalo jam if you drive that way (which is not required to access Keystone or Rushmore, etc.)

We stayed at Spokane Creek in June 2012 during our Summer roadtrip. FYI- We had to get here via trucker route due to the size of our RV, we couldn't fit through some of the rock tunnels on the winding roads in South Dakota. This was an adorable little campground located on Iron Mountain Road in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We arrived after hours and headed to our designated site # left on office. Our truck and trailer exceeded the length of our site dramatically, but a nice man on a four-wheeler relocated us to a much better site down the way, right next to the playground. We settled in for the night after speaking to our neighbors that were full-time RVers. This campground has lots of amenities: a pool, mini golf, a creek to play in, cabins, tent sites, full hook-up RV sites and a cafe with the biggest homemade cinnamon rolls you have ever seen. (pre-order the night before) The kids had a blast running around the park meeting other kids. There was so much to do in the area. We tried to map out our time for the next few days. Mount Rushmore was at the top of our agenda. We went on the perfect day. There was a ceremony at the base of Mt. Rushmore naturalizing 111 new citizens. This only happens once a year. What a cool thing to witness! There was flag presentation, singing of the national anthem, guest speakers and the oath. Each new citizen got to go up on stage and state there name and where they were from. A few even yelled out "God Bless America" as they went across. The kids thought it was funny to hear all the different languages/nationalities but I think they appreciated seeing it in the end. We also learned about G. Borglum and his vision of the monument. It was neat to see how the figures were carved. 90% of Mount Rushmore was created by dynamite blasting. They used a process called honeycombing. Borglum died before it was completed but his son took over and saw it to the end. The boys worked on their second junior ranger badge while we were there. They had to search high and low for answers in the test booklet. A ranger quizzed them to make sure they knew what a ranger's duties were and the history of Mt. Rushmore. Friday June 15th, was Nathan’s 11th birthday. We started the day with a train ride from Keystone to Hill City aboard the historic 1880’s train. It was a pretty trip lasting about an hour each way. Wesley was the most excited passenger in our family. He was happy to be on the “choo-choo”. Saturday morning, we drove into Custer State Park. On our way to Sylvan Lake, we finally saw some buffalo grazing by the road. Their heads are enormous and they don’t seem to be bothered by the visitors gawking at them. Sylvan Lake was breathtaking! There was a crystal clear Lake surrounded by huge boulders and lots of trails which lead to Harney’s peak. We also took a guided ride to a valley for a chuck-wagon supper. Along the way, our host played the guitar and we sung western songs and got to know everyone in the wagon. We saw lots of wildlife including, deer, pronghorn and prairie dogs. When we arrived, there were long picnic tables set up and a table full of catered food. Hamburgers, steak, baked beans, cole slaw, corn bread, potato salad, watermelon, cookies galore! More music was played and then came the games… Some of the men got up and acted like Elvis and yes, Jason was one of them. He never misses an opportunity to act like a fool. We also did the hokey pokey and chicken dance. On the way back to our camper, there was a herd of bison crossing the road. I could almost reach out and touch them. It was a really cool experience and a nice close to our time at Custer State Park in South Dakota.