There are several campgrounds in Custer State Park . . . which one(s) are the ones to stay in? We will be there for two nights while visiting Mt Rushmore etc. on our way to Yellowstone.
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I suspect you will want electric. Depending on how you enter the park. Gamelodge CG is closest to the lodge, the visitors center and the east end of the Game Loop and buffalo. It is however the busiest. Grace Coolidge is just up the road towards Custer city and also has electric. It is within an easy drive of the visitor's center. Probably the easiest into and out of. Some big rig sites as well. The prettiest (IMHO) is Blue Bell. It will have electric when it opens this spring. Sort of remote unless you are head toward Mammoth Hot Springs. The horse rental stables are there and this is sort of neat to see as they come and go.
Center Lake, Sylvan Lake, Horse Camp also have electric, but are harder to get to in a big rig and might be a pain if you are only staying a night or so.
If yo intend to have electric, call for a reservation as these fill sort of fast during the season. Stockade North and South have first come / first served but no electric.
Wish we were back there with you.
Horsedoc wrote: The prettiest (IMHO) is Blue Bell. It will have electric when it opens this spring. Sort of remote unless you are head toward Mammoth Hot Springs. The horse rental stables are there and this is sort of neat to see as they come and go.
Center Lake, Sylvan Lake, Horse Camp also have electric, but are harder to get to in a big rig and might be a pain if you are only staying a night or so.
If yo intend to have electric, call for a reservation as these fill sort of fast during the season. Stockade North and South have first come / first served but no electric.
Wish we were back there with you.
Horsedoc,
We are staying in Blue Bell for 10 days in August, we have a large 5th wheel (37ft) how in your opinion is the best way to get in there and I'm so glad to hear that it is pretty there, I cant wait!!
(sorry did not mean to hijack the thread!)
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We staying at Grace Coolidge for a week this summer!!! Liked the smaller atmophere, bike path to the game lodge campground and Peter Norbeck vistor center which has lots of free activities. Have a great time!!
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I don't remember if I had electric or not, usually I don't care if I have electric unless it is over 85 during the day. As best I can remember, I took highway 79 south of Rapid City, then 36 west to 16A, where there is a state campground, I have no idea what the name is.
I did remember that the wildlife road has several heards of buffalo on them, and I drove about 15 miles into the park to look for some. You tend to see a lot of deer and moose, depending on the time of year. During hunting season, you are likely to not see anything, they go into hiding to survive.
What I liked best is driving to Mt. Rushmore on highway 16A. There are 4 tunnels that are aligned directly to Mt. Rushmore. I could actually see some of the tunnels from the monument parking lot. There is a line of trees that are very short, and a window of light in the mountain where the tunnel is located.
I remember that parking for RV's at the monument is really limited. There is a lot of space for cars. When you leave the parking lot, turn to the right, and go about 1/4 mile. Look for a small pull-off where you can get a side picture of Washington.
Inside the back of the Monument, there are tunnels carved into the walls, where workrooms where built, dynamite stored, and so on.
This Monument is a classic example of "They build it and they will come" - because before it was built, not many people wanted to go to that part of the country on vacation, but now they come by the thousands.
Some environmentalists suggest restoring all National Parks to what they where some 100 years ago, with little vehicle access and smaller campgrounds making a small footprint on the landscape. Mt. Rushmore is certainly a lot different that the mountains looked 100 years ago, and I would not support restoring them to their "Natural Shape" even if it where possible. It is just the best example of how making the mountains better by improving them makes the destination worth the trip.
I think that all National Parks should have expanded their campground sites as the population expanded. Even if the camping spaces where located outside of the most pristine areas, or even located adjacent to the park, or just inside the borders of the park would be fine with me.
And adding electrical service to all campgrounds is something I really support, it will allow for prohibition of using a generator, cleaning the air and making it more silent at the same time.
Fred.
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Thanks for all the help and information!! I will be printing this out and taking it with me!
After looking through the campground/campsite pictures DD decided that she liked Sylvan Lake so that is where we will be staying!!
Unfortunately, we will only be there for two nights, sounds like I could easily spend a week in the area!! The main destination of our trip is Yellowstone, but in making up a circular route coming and going, I figured out that Rushmore wasn't THAT far out of the way!
AZJIM1 wrote: Thanks for all the help and information!! I will be printing this out and taking it with me!
After looking through the campground/campsite pictures DD decided that she liked Sylvan Lake so that is where we will be staying!!
Unfortunately, we will only be there for two nights, sounds like I could easily spend a week in the area!! The main destination of our trip is Yellowstone, but in making up a circular route coming and going, I figured out that Rushmore wasn't THAT far out of the way!
You might want to veto DD's idea. Sylvan Lake is beautiful but the campground is small, tight, and you are about as far from anywhere as you could be. Great for hikers and rock climbers. Center of park, wildlife loop, city of Custer are a ways away. I'm sure others will take exception to this but having spent 2 complete summers volunteering at CSP I have some basic knowledge of the area.
Harry
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Not to duspute what someone said, but folks there say there are no moose in Custer SP. We worked there for three months or so - rangers said no moose. There does appear to be some prime habitat in a portion of the Nat Forest near there, but again - none.
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