Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground

This place looks like it has everything. Tents/RV/cabins along with lots of activities and riding.

Good Verizon
No Boost 3 bars LTE 20.51/3.35 mbps down/up
Booster 2 bars LTE 18.34/11.77 mbps down/up

Towering pines and rolling green hills make Rafter J Bar Ranch one of the most beautiful private campgrounds we've visited. Divided into several distinct sections, this RV park offers a site to suite anyone's tastes and needs. During our stay, we opted to stay in the area known as the Ranch Camp, a wooded section at the top of a hill.

Our large, beautiful site backed up to the Black Hills National Forest lands, making it especially scenic. In addition to the natural beauty of the park, we appreciated the amenities. Our kids loved the huge pool and playground, and we enjoyed having plenty of space to walk and jog as we explored the large campground. The Mickelson Bike Trail runs along the edge of the park, and visitors can also hike into the surrounding forest lands.

The campground WiFi was not functional while we were there, but we were pleased to have an excellent Verizon signal.

Rafter J puts you in the center of many Black Hills attractions. It is close to Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, and more. It is the perfect basecamp for exploring the region or for hanging out by a campfire. If you are heading to the Black Hills, I highly recommend a stay at Rafter J. I almost shed a tear when it was time to leave this beautiful park.

Even though we made our reservation just a week and a half before we arrived, we asked for the best covered and remote space available and were pleased to be given a spot partially in the trees with a great view. We were the end spot on a small roundabout of four campsites closest to the main buildings and close to the road, but noise and activity was not an issue. Campsites were fairly well spread-out and mostly level. Our site had a nice open grassy space, the only hitch was that our particular space was too close to a tree to use our awning- but I think we were probably the only site with that issue. Almost no cell service (AT&T was pretty much non-existent, spotty Verizon) and no wi-fi away from main building, so disconnecting is not a problem (unless you need service, which was LTE in both nearby towns).

Campground was just 8 miles from Mount Rushmore, 6 miles from Harney Peak and the Needles Highway, a few miles south of Hill City and a few miles north of Custer- great easy access to lots of attractions! Also, the Mickelson Trail (a former railroad bed converted to a 100+ mile multi-use trail) runs along the edge of the property, which was perfect for walking our dog a few miles each day (note: there is a $4/person per day user fee). Would definitely stay here again if we were in the area!

The Rafter J Bar Ranch could easily be our favorite campground and we really enjoyed our stay there. While the campground has over 150 sites you don't feel like it's that big because of how the loops are spread out. Each of the loops has a bit of a different personality and so I highly suggest you speak with the staff when making your reservations about what you are looking for in a site. We loved the outer ring of the Ranch Camp loop, but if you were concerned about solar or satellite it would likely not be a good fit.

We felt that this campground was well positioned in the area and allowed us to easily get out and explore. The sites that we looked at were all good sized and fairly easy to get in and out of. In some of the loops with trees, some maneuvers are a bit more difficult but totally doable.

The pool and playground areas are nice and when we raised an issue with the staff they were immediately out there to address it. The Camp Store was well stocked with odds and ends and they even had hand scooped ice cream.

We would stay here again in a heartbeat, even sooner if we lived closer...

We decided to pamper ourselves and spent 9 lovely days at the RV Resort. What everyone prior said was true...it's a great place to stay. However, I can't give it a 5 because of how the staff handles the pool rules. When you check it, you are handed a set of rules (on the campground map) that clearly state "After 7:00 p.m., no one under the age of 16 allowed in the hot tub." Well, there were kids of all ages in the hot tub after 7:00...along with their splashing, etc. We didn't want to play cop and enforce the campground rules. But the next day, when I asked in the office who enforces the "after 7:00 rule", I was told "We don't have any such rule." I pointed it out to them on their list of rules. I was given excused like "It's hard to enforce." etc. etc. etc. Just put a sign by the hot tub that states what the rule is so other campers can point to it OR change the rule.

Other than that, we enjoyed our stay. Just keep in mind that everything in the area is expensive. That includes $3 to use a washing machine at the campground.

Also be warned that the WiFi is VERY slow. You can't do much more than email. We used our Jetpack the entire time.

Nice RV park. Nice laundry. Great views. Nice location. What I didn’t like was the RV parking apota we’re not real level and gravel. For the money it should be paved or concrete and level. Pool rules are not enforced but I made my grandkids follow them.

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.