Reservations for South Dakota state park campgrounds may be made up to 90 days in advance. Large groups may make reservations beginning Nov. 1 of the year prior. Guests may call the South Dakota park call center at 1-800-710-2267 or make reservations online with a valid Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit card.
Five state parks have campgrounds with electricity that can accommodate horse camping. These are Custer, Pelican Lake, Union Grove, Newton Hill, and Lewis and Clark. The campsites have parking for horse trailers and corrals for horses. State parks with horse camping and no electricity include Oakwood Lakes, Pease Creek, Bear Butte and Sica Hollow.
Camping cabins are available at Custer, Lewis and Clark, Oahe, Pierson Ranch, Chief White Crane, Randall Creek, Lake Cochrane and Sprinfield. Cabins have electricity, pine bunk beds, a double bed and table. There is also a fire grate and picnic table. Guests should bring linens, cookware and a cooler for storing food. There are no restrooms in the cabins, but toilets are located on the grounds.
State park campgrounds have back-in RV sites. The sites have electric hook-ups but no water or sewer. There are modern restrooms with hot showers in most of these campgrounds. A few have only vault toilets with no showers. Only one RV or camper is permitted per site unless it is designated as a double-up site.
Tent camping can be done on any designated site. There is no limit to the number of tents on a site as long as they remain within the designated camping spot. Tents may be used in conjunction with RVs to accommodate overflow as long as the tents are occupied by family members.
Campsites may be reserved by persons with a disability by providing the handicapped-accessible permit number and the expiration date. Campsites designed for handicapped access will only be reserved to persons with disabilities unless they are the last sites in the park. Guests wishing to reserve a handicap site must use the call center to make a reservation.
Check-out time for all campsites is noon at Custer State Park and 4 p.m. for all other locations. Visitors are required to have a permit to enter the park, which will require them to pay the park's admission fee. Upon arrival, guests may be required to self-register at some locations. Camping fees may be reduced during the winter months due to shower and restroom facilities being unavailable.
