Established Camping
Stockade South Campground — Custer State Park
About
State Park
Custer State Park
Custer State Park has five scenic lakes, each peaceful places to relax and enjoy the reflection of large granite boulders, fresh scented pines, and brilliant blue skies on the water. Out of these five lakes, Stockade Lake is the park’s largest and offers the most amenities for campers, making it an ideal location to explore the Black Hills whether in a large RV or a solo tent. Stockade Lake is also the only lake in Custer State Park that allows for all types of boats, so whether you want to make a little wake or canoe to a quiet cove, you’ll enjoy this beautiful opportunity to be out on the water.
The roughly 2-mile Stockade Lake Trail is located close to the Stockade Lake South Campground. This loop climbs up through a pine forest and offers picturesque views of the lake, as well as the famous Cathedral Spires along Needles Highway. Campers also come to Stockade Lake for its swimming beach, playground, picnic areas, and close proximity to historic points of interest, such as the Gordon Stockade, the site of the first gold discovery in the Black Hills.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
Stay Connected
- WiFiGood
- VerizonFair
- AT&TGood
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Cabins
Features
For Campers
- ADA Access
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Firewood Available
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Drinking Water
- Electric Hookups
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Big Rig Friendly
Compact but cozy
Small campground. Extremely nice host and park staff. Host was very informative and helpful on sightseeing. Bathrooms and showers very clean. They do a good job of trying to make sites level given that the campground is on a hill. Sites have gravel pads and some have more gravel than others. Sites are in the trees so sites have packed dirt around them. Unfortunately it poured rain the day we arrived which made our site very muddy- couldn’t be helped!
Great, but some construction noise
I enjoyed this campground, but ultimately preferred Stockade Lake North and South is a bit less secluded and has less privacy/space with other campers. My site seemed to offer a higher level of privacy than some due to the angle, and had a lot of space overall while other sites toward the back felt more cramped. The bathrooms were moderately dated, but always clean and the shower was HOT. There was no camp host while I was there, but there was almost always park staff and rangers there to assist campers, which was really nice.
My only complaint was the digging/trenching through one side of the campground to bury some kind of line. That work lasted for the 3 days I was there, but should be all wrapped up by now.
We love Custer State Park
We’ve stayed in several campgrounds in the park and Stockade South is one of our favorites. It’s small and quiet and positioned nicely to do either the Needles or the Wildlife Loop and is also close to Custer if you need supplies. Folks are super friendly here. Flush toilets and hot showers. We camped in our van with electric h/u but there are also tent sites and cabins. Some sites have nice big stone fire pits and ours did not, so don’t choose site 13 if that’s important to you. 25$
Location
Stockade South Campground — Custer State Park is located in South Dakota
Coordinates
43.763899307951576 N
103.52416043159364 W