Big Pine Campground

We booked 5 nights at Big Pine Campground and loved it here. It’s a perfect location for a base camp to visit the many, many attractions in the area. It’s also a lovely campground. The owner/hosts work hard all day, every day to ensure you have a great experience. The campground has a variety of site types (FHU 50 or 30 amp, W/E only, tent area) and can accommodate everyone from large RV’s to tenters.

We were in site #25 which is a 50amp FHU site. There is adequate separation and lots of trees to provide some shade. However, the lack of undergrowth under the pines means there isn’t much real privacy between sites. Although the campground is situated on a hill, our site was very level.

You really are nestled among the big pines. After check-in the owner will lead you to your spot and help you get backed in if needed. The campground is well maintained; the laundry facilities were spotless. There is a small game room/arcade and camp store. For just $4 you can get a generous bundle of firewood delivered right to your site. While the campground is conveniently located off of Hwy 16, the road noise is negligible and we were closer to the road than many of the other sites.

The campground offers free WiFi which actually works pretty well. I initially had trouble with it dropping my connection and mentioned it at the office. They immediately checked it out and resolved the problem. We had 2 bars of Verizon 4G unboosted.

When it came time to leave, there was a weather advisory for 45mpg wind gusts and we opted to stay another night. Luckily our site was available, so we didn’t need to move. There are many camping options in the area – we saw a lot of “RV Resorts” that were just RV parking in an open field which would have been miserable. You can’t go wrong with Big Pines campground!

We decided to explore the Black Hills area, and did plenty of research on "base camps" to park our RV during our stay. Big Pine seemed to have the best reviews, so we called a couple months in advance, and booked 10 nights.
Our site (#38) was water/electric only - but next to a great toilet. It was also a very short walk to the shower/restroom facility. I have never been one to rave about a campsite shower, but oh my gosh! Their facilities were cleaner than most hotels I've stayed in!

The site was absolutely perfect. There was free WiFi, and our antenna even grabbed a couple of PBS stations. There were plenty of sites with full hookups- but this place books up pretty quickly in the peak season, for obvious reasons. The lack of sewer hookup at our site was a non-issue, since the super-clean toilet next to our site was ideal and not used by anyone else, since the tent site on the other side of it was empty.

I could go on and on about how great the owners are...but you're not picking a campsite just because the owners are awesome people.
You want to know what's around here.
And let me tell you - there is no better location in the area to choose to rest your wheels each night.
Like others have noted, a lot of the local campgrounds are quite literally just flat gravel lots with no trees, no real separation of sites, and seemed to lack any indication of a peaceful setting. Big Pine is nestled in the pines, it's quiet, and it's just fantastic.

The small town of Custer is less than 2 miles away. There's a grocery store in town (Lynn's Dakotamart) where you can stock up on all your supplies. There are a couple of restaurants in Custer, but know that the town kinda rolls up the streets around 8pm, so if you're looking for entertainment - build a fire at your campsite and crack open your beverage of choice.

Location - location - location!
Big Pine is close to Jewel Cave. It's 15 mins from Sylvan Lake and the entrance to Custer State Park. It's half an hour from Mt. Rushmore and Keystone. It's 6 miles from Crazy Horse (although that's not as impressive as you'd hope). It's the perfect location to begin your drives on the Wildlife Loop, Iron Mountain Road, and Needles Highway.

I know you could read all about how great I think this place is - but know that you won't really appreciate my review until you're driving from Rapid City, and see all the really crummy gravel lot campgrounds that are squished together, and far from all the real sights. Then, you pull into Big Pine and let out a huge sigh of relief because you've obviously made the right choice by booking a site here.

During our 10 day stay, we:
- went to Rushmore twice
- Crazy Horse (meh)
- Devils Tower (about 3hrs away, in Wyoming - and totally worth the drive!)
- Belle Fourche, Sturgis, Deadwood, and Spearfish Canyon (in one little day trip)
- Keystone via nearby Hill City's 1800 train
- Bear Country, USA (extremely enjoyable- even for a childless couple in their 30s!)
- Wind Cave (meh)
- Jewel Cave
- Custer State Park nearly every day, including all the loop roads and Sylvan Lake
- Hot Springs for the Mammoth Site
- Badlands (about 2hrs from the campsite, but worth it)
- and so much more.

If you don't have 10 days to spend in the area, you could easily enjoy the area in 4 or 5.
I'd suggest not missing Rushmore, Custer State Park and all the loop roads, Badlands, and Hot Springs' Mammoth Site. The rest are nice, but not "must-dos" in my book.

In summary, if you're looking for a nice quiet area to park your tent or RV while you explore the beauty of the Black Hills area, you can't do better than Big Pine Campground.

Hubby and I and our 2 dogs just stayed here for 6 nights and it was perfect for us. We had a pull through full hook up site. The campground is situated on a wooded hill but our site was very level. We had plenty of room and it was so much nicer than the "parking lot" type campgrounds that abound in the area. It backs up to the black hills national forest and there is an opening to ATV trails in the tent camping loop that allowed us a beautiful area to walk the dogs in the mornings. It is close to custer state park, crazy horse and jewel cave, and an easy drive to all the other area attractions. We appreciated the clean laundry room with game area attached and the wi fi.Thank you big pine!!

This place is simply awesome.
Beautiful scenery - next to the National Forest and tons of tall pines.
Amazing staff - very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. Family owned and operated.
Electric, water, dumping, showers, fire ring, picnic table, recycling, and hiking. What more could you need?!

Great campground. Host brought us to our site and helped level. Gave us a list of things to do around Custer. Trails just outside gate. Would definitely stay again.

Really enjoyed our stay! Best wifi I have ever found at an RV Park!

This was our second time staying at Big Pine. Wonderful people and a great, rustic campground. Full hookups worked perfectly, plenty of room in our site. Will stay again on our next trip through SD.

We really enjoyed our stay at Big Pine. We stayed the first three nights in site 3 which was not good but we were made our reservations only a week out and we had very good cell coverage which was important as I had to connect for work. The final three nights we stayed in site 41 which was a much better site, even though we didn't have sewer. The sites in the back are really nice, wooded and we could hear no highway noise. Check in was fast and efficient. Sites 54, 55 and 56 had the best view of the meadow and mountains and would try to book these if we had more advanced planning.

Big Pine was our favorite campground on our 9 day/3000 mi trip. The staff is awesome. The facilities very clean. Best to get to the showers early for really hot water. Site 10 was perfect. The campground borders the National Forest. Very quiet and campers were friendly. If you are in the Mt Rushmore area, this it the place to stay!

Big Pine RV park is a nice place to explore the Black Hills/Mt Rushmore/Crazy horse. The sites are shaded, and far apart. The grounds are clean and the bathrooms/showers were kept very clean. The staff is friendly and helpful. We would definitely stay here on our next trip to the Black Hills area.