Camping
Campgrounds here require park entrance fees as well as camping fees.
Each campsite has either a gravel or a paved camping pad, drinking water and showers, fire grates, and a picnic table, and all campgrounds but Center Lake have flush toilets. About 270 campsites and 50 new camper cabins throughout the park may be reserved beginning in January, while other sites are available on a same-day-of-arrival reservation. Campsites range from modern to primitive. There is electricity at campgrounds throughout the park.
For information and reservations, contact Custer State Park, 13329 U.S. Hwy. 16A, Custer, SD 57730 (tel. 800/710-2267 or 605/255-4515), or go to www.campsd.com.
Blue Bell Campground is 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 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 in Custer State Park, with fishing, boating, and hiking opportunities right at your doorstep. Historic sites are within walking distance, as is the Legion Lake Lodge 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 in the west and the Swiss Alps in the east, and offers the best Black Hills hiking and mountain climbing. Its campsites fill quickly, so make your reservations early; all sites are reservable.
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 all campgrounds and camper cabins except Center Lake, whose sites are all available on a same-day-of-arrival reservation.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
