Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground

Big as far as space this place was very very nice.

We spent two nights here during our visit to the Black Hills area in late August. The campground is huge and beautifully maintained. We stayed in the “Island” area. The sites are very spacious and accommodate any size rig. There are large grassy meadows between each area. The pool looked nice and the campground was very quiet.

We stayed in site 247. Which was level and had full hookups. We had a large lawn area around our site.

We typically prefer state or national parks, but wanted the hookups after several days of dry camping. This was a fantastic RV resort that didn’t feel like you were piled on top of your neighbor.

The campground is a couple of miles from he Crazy Horse memorial and Custer State Park, maybe 15 minutes from Mt. Rushmore and a few more to Jewel Cave.

Loved our stay. The location is perfect for Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park, Hill City, etc. The sites are good and there is plenty of open space. It also backs onto (I believe) Forestry Service land, so you can walk for miles if you choose.

We had 4 bars of Verizon LTE at one of the sites and 2 bars at another. The WiFi is only in the office, so ok for emergencies. Hill City is only a few miles down the road and has decent Verizon so we took our mifi with us to lunch/dinner. Rapid city has T-Mobile, but most of the rest of the area has calling with T-Mobile, but no data.

We will definitely go back on our next trip to the area.

For being here during the Sturgis Bike rally the sites are very quiet. We had full hook ups with no cable. Cable is available in the loop closest to the office if that is one of your factors. Wifi is only available near the office. They have a heated pool and hot tub. Electric service was good always between 116 and 120 volts, but then again we did not use AC during our stay as the temps were very reasonable. Water pressure was sometimes low but manageable. Sites in the Island Loop were large and semi private. Would stay here again if in the area.

We have stayed here before and love the location. You will be close to Custer State Park, Mt Rushmore, Wind Cave NP, Jewel Cave NM, and Rapid City. There is a TON to do within the Black Hills, much more than we expected.

This RV park is awesome. We stayed in the Ranch Camp section, which made it feel like you were in a state or USFS campground. It was far from the office and pool, which may be a drawback if you want to be close to those items. However, I would recommend staying in Ranch Camp if you want to feel like you are far from everything. Very cool place.

Custer State Park has some great state park campground options, too.

We loved it here! Spotless site and bathrooms, with good pressure showers and hot water. This time of year, we were limited to the main camp loop, but had a site in a heavily pined area backing up to a hill and a great view of Black Hills. 15 minutes to Rushmore, 15 minutes to Crazy Horse, 20 minutes to Custer. Plus the beginning of the Needles Highway and the Michelson Bike Trail are right in front of the entrance. We took some fabulous bike rides. Our site was clean and mostly level. Heated bathrooms.

Perfect spot to visit Rushmore, Custer State Park, Needles Hwy, and more. Hill City is less than 3 miles away and has cute restaurants and some great breweries/wineries. Would def stay here again.

We’ve traveled across 11 states in 3 months & this park is definitely a favorite! Kids loved it, lots of space, & fantastic laundry facilities-what more can you want!

This place was top-notch. Huge open areas and sites. Very near to Mount Rushmore and Crazyhorse. Full hook ups, with a swimming pool and all amenities. Downfall was the Wi-Fi as it is only at the clubhouse and add a few close by sites. This site is huge so the chance of having Wi-Fi is very slim. Biggest negative here is that even though there is a ton of sites open they clumped everyone together in tight groups. The other negative would be the high price for what it is. We recommend it as it is a great park.

Rafter J Bar is perfectly located amongst the top attractions of the Black Hills and Custer State Park. RV sites are large and lots of grass between them. Large field in the center of the park which was outstanding. Pool was large and great lounge chairs. If you want wooded spots, the Island or Ranch Camp sections are the best. For a wider open feel and unobstructed satellite access, the Line Camp is perfect. Base camp was a little tight. Best view of the mountains was in Lower Ranch Camp. Only negative was the loud highway noise but it was less at night. We’ll be back!