Great location if you plan to visit both Grand Teton and Yellowstone. It may be a bit of a drive depending on what you want to do, but we didn’t mind since the amenities were great. These included clean bathroom/showers with hot water, dishwashing station, gas station, convenience store, restaurant, and gift shop. Tent sites have a bear box, picnic table, and fire pit. Our biggest complaints are that the WiFi at the lodge does not work well and the campground is pretty crowded. Other than that, it is quite nice.
We were initially planning to dispersed camp in the Black Hills National Forest, but quickly realized we were going to spend more time in Badlands NP than we initially planned, so we stayed here instead. We arrived in the early afternoon to set up camp and there were plenty of sites available. The campsites are out in the open with no shade, but many sites have covered picnic tables, which was nice. We loved seeing all the prairie dogs throughout the campground and the herd of bison that walked right past several times. Be prepared for wind since it is in an open, flat area. The vault toilets were very clean. This was perfect for our one night stay.
We didn’t stay long due to some severe storms that came through the area, but we had a beautiful tent campsite in the woods very close to some trails and the river. Just be prepared for a short walk from parking to some of the tent sites. The cabins and RV sites looked nice, too. If we’re in the area again we wouldn’t hesitate to stay here.
This was our final stop on a trip where we visited 9 national parks and stayed at campgrounds in many of them. This was by far our favorite due to the wildlife and views. We were right along the river with a butte, where we saw multiple elk. We also heard elk bugling and coyotes yipping and howling throughout the night, which we thought was awesome! The only downfall was no showers but we were only there for a short stay so it didn’t ultimately matter for us.
We didn’t stay long and were a bit disappointed that the showers were closed due to a Covid, but other than that the campground was perfect for what we needed. Our campsite felt secluded, but we were still close to the bathrooms and could walk to the restaurant and convenience store.
This was our first time trying out dispersed camping and this location was perfect! We loved being a short drive away from Lake Michigan and plenty of hiking trails. It is in a beautiful wooded area and there were hardly an mosquitos where we were. My only complaint is that the previous visitors at our campsite left trash everywhere and had clearly had fires in at least 4 different areas. The campsite was covered in ash because of it. It’s disappointing to see that some people really just don’t care about taking care of public land.