Blue Bell Campground

This State Park is AMAZING. It is really big and absolutely gorgeous with a ton of wildlife to see. We stayed in the Blue Bell campground. (We drove around most of the park during our stay and can say with certainty that the Blue Bell campground is the best of them all. All of the other campgrounds looked like parking lots and were really close to the main road.) We were in spot #3 and had plenty of space to ourselves as the campsites are pretty spread out. Our site had water and electric only. There is not a dump station in this campground. To get to a dump station, you have to drive to the other end of the park. That worked for us since we were headed that direction for out next stop. It might be a bit of a bummer for others. There was a general store just down the road from the campground that had laundry (2 washers/2 dryers).

Got horses. There is French Creek Horse Camp about 3 miles further in but you are required to have your horse/trailer.

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Custer State Park has national park level beauty. South Dakota must have snatched up this area before the Feds could get a hold of it.

Blue Bell has gas, a store, a laundry, and a lodge with a really nice restaurant. There are also small cabins for rent. Pretty French Creek meanders around the area. There are nice shower stalls in the bathroom with plenty of hot water (no quarters needed).

See our blog (in blog tab) for more photos and area info.

We had a great time here. It's a grassy tree filled campground. From time to time buffalo are know to roam through the campground, so watch the young'ns!

If you hike off trail or in taller grasses you stand a great risk of getting many tics. I went off trail fallowing some wild turkeys and then later in the middle of the night I fell something and discovered I had two ticks attached to me. It was a pain getting one of them off. That is the only downside to the park that I can see and you can avoid this problem if you are careful.

We had a couple great meals at the nearby (walk to) restaurant.

The park is chocked full of wild animals that you can get pretty close to. You are also near Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments.

Our time here was wonderful. We would definitely go back.

When we made our reservation to stay in Custer State Park back in February there was only one site available in the Blue Bell campground for the (admittedly high season) dates we wanted in July, so we had no choice in location. Our site was in the center of the wooded campground, but the spacing between sites is good enough to provide privacy. The only downside is the close proximity to the horse stables and the associated flies. The park rangers presenting the evening programs were young, energetic and passionate about the outdoors - great to see. Custer State Park, and the surrounding Black Hills is some of the most beautiful country in the US, so it's no surprise that it is an attractive destination. Even so the are is not overcrowded and we really enjoyed exploring - one day we hope to return.

This is a simple campground with a great intimate feel to it. Sparse pine trees are around and no mosquitos exist here! Maybe a fly from time to time, but that's it. This site is on the inner circle just up from the bathrooms and showers. The amphitheater is also near this site which makes it fun to listen to the talk while sitting by your camp fire.

The camp hosts, Jane and Paul, are exceptional and they take pride in their hosting. The bathroom and showers were the nicest we experienced on a 2 week trip that visited 6 campgrounds. The 30A power was a nice luxury.

The sites/pads themselves are not all flat and do require some adjustments if you are planning to sleep in a trailer or rig. Bring blocks to help level out your rig and remember to chock those wheels before you unhitch.

Blue Bell lodge and camp store are within walking distance and a nice treat when something is needed like coffee or a meal cooked for you rather you cooking it yourself.

Location is on the way to Wind Cave, which we recommend. It is off the beaten path a bit, but a nice reprieve from the rest of the park.

Blue Bell was a great spot as far as location. It was an easy trek to Sylvan Lake or Wind Cave NP. Small single-pump gas station and store just outside of CG. Laundry facilities behind gas station.

The site we had was definitely the best in the entire CG and if you're staying here, do your best to get site 24. It has nice views and the kids enjoyed playing around in the woods behind the site. It's also huge! The downside, as was true throughout the CG, was how unlevel it was. I needed 4 or 5 leveling blocks under each wheel on one side! My Father-in-law had so much trouble on his site (I think site 30E) that he could barely unhook his 5th wheel hitch because of how out of level it was.

The site next to me, site 22, was nearly impossible to back a 30' trailer into because of the trees and the angles necessary to maneuver. My neighbor had to pull up an embankment across from the site just to get in.

Sites are electric only and there were only a couple spigots in the park. No dump station. Bathrooms were nice. It's not the nicest CG, and it has horribly out of level sites, but it is in a good location and is one of the best offerings in the area. FYI, if you're heading towards Devils Tower, there's a rest stop near the pull off that you can dump your RV for free.

A lot to see here , huge park, easy to navigate with a motor home, clean facilities

Technically closed but were allowing walkups to camp without reservations, which was lucky for us. They had been trying to level the sites out but we thought they could still use some work. All the facilities were clean and there is a nice store out front. Lots of bison and prairie dogs in the area.

After a reservation mix up we were placed in site 14. It really didn’t matter all sites are beautiful!
The camp host Paul & Janice are excellent in keeping this campground running smooth.
My dog and I hiked up into the hills around the park and the views are breathtaking.
There are riding stables on the grounds if that’s your thing. There is also a lodge across street from campground. The area has a western theme.
Mt.Rushmore isn’t far from here and the drive through the “Needles” was also well worth the trip.
This made my 1st trip to the “Black Hills” wonderful!

I loved it here. Our site (31E) was really spacious with no one on one side, because we were first on the loop.
Clean, large bathhouse with hot, push button showers.
Friendly CG hosts.
Lots of trees with mowed grass underfoot. Paved road with gravel parking site.
We didn’t have much trouble leveling our 21 foot trailer.
Price listed includes fees. Also must pay park registration of $20.00, good for any South Dakota State Park for 7 days.
One mile from Wildlife Loop Road (we only saw one bison).
Dump station at other end of state park near visitors center.