Overview Located 10 miles south of Hill City, South Dakota, Horsethief Lake Campground is a delightful setting for visitors seeking recreation and relaxation in Black Hills National Forest. This campground is 2 miles from Mount Rushmore National Memorial and adjacent to Horsethief Lake. Sites are tucked into a forest of towering ponderosa and lodgepole pine. Recreation Black Hills National Forest offers visitors a multitude of recreational opportunites throughout all seasons. Hiking, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, and riding off-highway vehicles are popular in summer and early autumn. Winter landscapes are ideal for snowshoeing, skiing and snowmobiling. Hundreds of miles of trails and roads offer a variety of terrain for mountain bikers. Hikers and bikers can access the nearby George S. Mickelson Trail, which traverses over 100 miles through the heart of the Black Hills. The majority of the trail follows an abandoned railroad branch line and includes 4 tunnels, over 100 converted railroad bridges, and 15 established trailheads. The trail surface is packed gravel, traversing mountain, meadow, and forest terrain. The trail is named in honor of the former South Dakota governor who crusaded for the trail. For those seeking higher elevations, a day-long trek to the summit of nearby Black Elk Peak is worth the effort. Black Elk Peak is the highest natural point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Most of the summit is bare granite and offers expansive views of the surrounding area. An old stone tower at the top(Harney Lookout Tower), once used as a fire lookout, is still open to hikers.Facilities Horsethief Lake Campground has sites able to accommodate tents, trailers, and RVs. There are several tent-only and walk-to tent-only sites. The campground is equipped with picnic tables, campfire rings, vault toilets, and drinking water. Electrical hook-ups are not available. Roads in the campground are paved.Natural Features Located in western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, Black Hills National Forest encompasses nearly 1.25 million acres of rugged rock formations, canyons and gulches, open grassland parks, tumbling streams, deep blue lakes, and unique caves. Derived from the Lakota language, the words "Paha Sapa," meaning "hills that are black," honor the dark, pine-covered hills rising several thousand feet above the surrounding prairie. Wildlife in the area abounds. Bighorn sheep navigate mountainous terrain, while elk, deer and pronghorn gather in forests and prairies. Bald eagles, hawks, osprey, peregrine falcon, and hundreds of other bird species can be found in the forest, especially along streams, lakes and rivers. Nearby Attractions Explore Mount Rushmore National Memorial, host to almost 3 million visitors a year from across the country and around the world. Visitors have the opportunity to learn about the birth, growth, development and the preservation of the United States, and take in the beauty of South Dakota's Black Hills. Nearby Jewel Cave is the second longest cave in the world at 159.29 miles. It features sparkling calcite crystals and other rare formations, as well as some of the largest concentrations of passageways in the world. Other possible day trips include Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Monument and Wind Cave National Park.
Reviews of Horsethief Lake Campground
23 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 9 users | Last reported on August 21, 2023AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 5 users | Last reported on July 29, 2022T-Mobile 4G/5G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on August 21, 2023Reviews
The night we camped here there was a huge storm and in the morning everything was still in tact and the campground really held up! Super friendly host, very helpful and cute dogs 🙂 My family and I will definitely be back!
Amazing place to camp. Camp host was really nice and helpful
Horsethief Lake campground is located in the Black Hills National Forest and is the closest campground to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The campground is located at 5,000 feet and is very popular and offers many outdoor activities including hiking, climbing, biking, fishing, horseback riding, and wildlife viewing.
We arrived late in the day yet were lucky enough to get one of the last remaining sites. The campground is the closest campground to Mt. Rushmore and has some sites right on a lake. Most of the campsites on the the lake are tent sites only. The campground was clean and well kept.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 22
RV Length: 21 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
We absolutely loved it here!! The site hostess, Gloria, was great and very helpful!! The views are great and so are the sites! Our site was right at the water and across from the bathroom and drinking water. The vault toilet was very clean and surprisingly didn’t stink at all!! They do a great job maintaining this campground and we were very happy. I wished we would have spent more time there but we’ll be back for sure.
Nightly Rate: $32.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 28
RV Type: Tent
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
The directions that the rescue ration site give you were very unclear and our maps tried to take us to another campground. I am glad we stuck with finding this place though because it was worth it. Our site was the perfect spot that gave us tons of privacy even when the park was full. This does have one trailer campground and two other campgrounds for tent. Some are reservation only while others are non reservation. Few spots have cement pad, and all have fire ring and picnic table. No hookups. There is a bathroom with no showers and water. Campground is right alongside the lake with access to great hikes. Also very close to keystone and hill city.
Nightly Rate: $28.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 007
RV Length: 33 ft
RV Type: Fifth Wheel
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Very clean, well kept National Forest campground including bathrooms and fire pits. Site host Roger was very hospitable. Did I mention how stunning this place is? Nothing negative at all to report.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 16
RV Length: 26 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Very clean, well kept National Forest campground including bathrooms and fire pits. Site host Roger was very hospitable. Did I mention how stunning this place is? Nothing negative at all to report.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 16
RV Length: 26 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
What a great spot to stay. We were here June 1st, 2020 and had a wonderful 4 days and 3 nights at the lake. Spots 17, 16, 15 and 18 are the tops in the area bc they are all right by the lake and in some shade. The lake is perfect for swimming, paddle board, kayak, canoe or fishing. Kids had a blast and the views are top notch. Super close to Rushmore and town of Keystone which is cute and fun for kids. The pit toilets were clean and always stocked. Felt like we had the place to just a few of us which was nice too. Cell reception was non-existent for us (Verizon) when in the campground - a blessing really. Will be back for sure. Loved it here.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 17
RV Length: 32 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
Stayed here 3 nights and thought it was a great base location. Just outside Keystone and a few miles from Mt Rushmore it’s a great place for the mid to southern SD attractions.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 37
RV Type: Tent
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Horsethief Lake Campground
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- National forest
- Check In
- 0:00 AM
- Check Out
- 0:00 AM
- Last Nightly Rate
- 28.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 40 ft
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 13.0
- Max Length
- 99 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 42
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Full Hookup
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Water Hookup
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