We came back from the Black Hills a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I'd mention where we camped. We stayed at a little campground called Stockade Lake North, just east of Custer SD, in the state park of the same name. Absolutely stunning campground. Not your typical parking lot RV park fair that can be typical in tourist areas, especially the black hills. The sites were well shaded, quite large and spaced a good distance apart, for privacy. Being a pine forest, underbrush is at a minimum, so you can still typically see your neighbour. But I prefer this, because it promotes exploration into the woods. Plus, being a pine forest and somewhat dry, bugs like mosquitoes are barely apparent. The camp hosts were super helpful and pleasant. The bathrooms, which I assume was kept clean by the hosts (as there was no office in the campground itself) was in perpetual cleanliness. The showers were in great shape, and always clean. Toilets, super clean always as well. Around twilight, if you look up, you get a wonderful display of bats swooping back and forth catching bugs. If you aren't a fan of bats, like my father, not to worry. They never came close to us at all. There are no bears in the hills, so food precautions don't have to be a stringent, but as for any camping, proper storage of food away from other pest is a good idea. I accidentally left my pistachio nuts out (my favorite
) and the squirrels and crows made short work of that one morning.
Anyway, I would recommend this campground to anyone traveling through the black hills. I believe that a reservation should be made, as I think drive up is fairly limited, as its very popular. You might be successful at a drive up, but I just thought I'd warn everyone. If you do, just go see the hosts beside the bathrooms, and they'll help you out. Cheers everyone!
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