Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [63]
For more information on camping opportunities, contact South Dakota Tourism (see "Information," earlier in this chapter). For information on National Forest Service campgrounds, contact the Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest, RR2, P.O. Box 200, Custer, SD 57730 (☎ 605/673-9200; www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills), or Forest Recreation Management, Inc., 111 Elm St., Hill City, SD 57745 (☎ 605/ 574-4402; www.forestrecreationmanage ment.com).
INSIDE WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK
In the pine forests a half-mile north of the park visitor center, Elk Mountain Campground has shady sites suitable for tents and recreational vehicles. The campground fee is $12 per night per site mid-May through mid-September and $6 per night per site the remainder of its season, when water is turned off. Park rangers give campfire programs at the amphitheater in the summer. Backcountry camping is also permitted (contact the park office for details), and backcountry campers are encouraged to practice low-impact camping and hiking techniques.
INSIDE CUSTER STATE PARK
Campgrounds here require park entrance fees as well as camping fees.
Each campsite at Custer State Park has a gravel or paved camping pad, drinking water and showers, fire grates, and a picnic table. All campgrounds but Center Lake have flush toilets. About 200 campsites throughout the park may be reserved beginning in January; other sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Campsites range from modern to primitive. Group camping is available at two campgrounds; the French Creek Horse Camp is designated specifically for campers with horses.
For information and reservations, contact Custer State Park, HC 83, Box 70, Custer, SD 57730 (☎ 800/710-2267 or 605/255-4515).
Blue Bell Campground sits in a mature stand of ponderosa pine near French Creek, not far from the site where Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry discovered gold in 1874. It offers easy access to the Wildlife Loop Road, horseback riding, stream fishing, and fabulous hiking.
Game Lodge Campground is another fine campground. This one was designed for larger RVs, but tent campers will find cool, shady sites and an occasional bison along the banks of Grace Coolidge Creek. It's near the park's Peter Norbeck Visitor Center and the State Game Lodge.
Legion Lake Campground is centrally located, with fishing, boating, and hiking opportunities right at your doorstep. Historic sites are within walking distance, as is the Legion Lake Resort across the highway.
You'd probably have to camp in Yosemite Valley to get a better view than the one at Sylvan Lake Campground. This mountain retreat is just off the incredible Needles Highway, near 7,242-foot Harney Peak, the highest point between the Rockies and the Swiss Alps. It affords visitors the best in Black Hills hiking and mountain climbing. Its campsites fill quickly, so make your reservations early; all sites may be reserved.
The park's other three campgrounds are Center Lake, 5 miles northeast of the junction of U.S. 16A and S. Dak. 87; Grace Coolidge, 13 miles east of Custer on U.S. 16A; and Stockade Lake, just inside the park's western boundary on U.S. 16A.
Reservations are accepted at Game Lodge, Legion Lake, Blue Bell, Stockade North, Sylvan Lake, and French Creek Horse Camp. It's first-come, first-served at Grace Coolidge, Center Lake, and Stockade South.
INSIDE THE BLACK HILLS NATIONAL FOREST
You can make National Forest camping reservations by calling ☎ 877/444-6777 or visiting www.reserveusa.com. Below are just two of 19 campgrounds in the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota and Wyoming.
Horsethief Lake Campground, only a mile west of Mount Rushmore, offers scenic sites adjacent to picturesque Horsethief Lake. Elevation is 5,000 feet. Eight sites are for tents