Stockade Lake South Campground

Verizon

No Booster 1 bar LTE 7.77/.41 mbps down/up
Booster 2 bar LTE 14.32/1.59 mbps down/up

We stayed in Custer State Park for 10 nights, 5 of them at Stockade South. Since it is located on the western side of the park, it's just a few minutes from Custer (with groceries, gas, and restaurants), and is an easy drive from Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Mt. Rushmore, etc. It's also conveniently located to the western side of the Wildlife Drive so we were able to get out there very early to see a lot of animals.

The campground is relatively small with about 20 sites for RVs, a small loop of primitive (tent only) sites, and a half dozen camping cabins. RV sites are electric only, and are surrounded by towering ponderosa pines. The campground is south of Stockade Lake and away from 16A so it was completely quiet during our stay. The bathhouse is generously sized for the small campground and was immaculately clean during our visit. Water was hot and the push-button operation on the showers actually provided a decent amount of shower time.

The biggest issue with the campground is that the sites are unpaved and very unlevel both side to side and front to back. We managed to get level eventually, but were somewhat nervous about the amount of jack extension we needed to use. Some of the sites would have been really hard to use with our 25' trailer, and would be better suited for a pop up or van. The sites are also fairly close together and the tree trunks don't provide much privacy; sites on the outside of the loop are generally better in this regard. Stockade Lake Road is very windy to the east of the campground; when towing, it's better to come in from 16A on the west side of the CG.

We had 1-2 bars LTE service on AT&T. Download: 1.00 Mbps Upload: 0.31 Mbps (Unboosted - we obviously were glad to have the booster!)

Generally speaking, the Custer SP campgrounds are crowded but accommodate easy access to the wildlife loop and the scenic drives. Overall, they are fine but nothing super special. We had limited cell service at the campground and almost none in the rest of park

Nice quiet campground. Smaller than some of the others within the park. Lots of trees. Clean bathhouse that had hot showers, heated and a floor dryer. Pleasant helpful host. Gravel pad.

stayed here 8/13/20 (during Sturgis)
Site 4E has an steep angle up from the road and a washout "ditch" that is a tad tough to navigate but doable. Definitely needs leveling blocks for side to side. Shower hours is very clean, button push so no temp control but if you like hot then you'll love these. No usable cell service on Verizon or AT&T but very close to the town of Custer if you need it. I didn't bother to walk around trying to find service spots but looks like a couple people were doing just that. Downside is the state park entry fee isn't included in the campground reservation and even if you're only staying just one night you have to pay the $20 on top of the site fee (ranger came around to check and take payment if you didn't have a pass). The $20 does get you 7 days into the park though.

Camped here in our Class C for three nights in July. This is a beautiful little campground, nice shade and big pine trees. It's off the main drag, so no road noise. Friendly hosts. Water spigot located near main entrance, by restrooms. No dump station. Closest dumpstation is about 10 miles.

Stockade Lake is beautiful, but unfortunately this campground is not located on the lake, but within walking distamce.

Campsites are spaced fairly far apart. Gravel sites. Verizon 4G 2 bars.

The little toyristy town of Custer is about 6 miles away and has just about everything you need.

For us, this would have been the perfect campground get-away except for the two families that let their dogs bark and kids scream until 10 pm. Not a knock against the campground at all.

Stockade is inside Custer State Park. Electric at site. Restrroms/shower house are clean and have private shower stalls with doors. Our site was gravel and was a challenge to get small RV level. Big negative- No dumpstation in campground - had to drive 11 miles on windy road to dump. Other than that, we would stay again.

The cabins are really nice, almost glamping. Heat and AC, bunks with mattresses, lights and somewhere to plug in your devices. Short walk down to the lake.

This campground was nice. Lots of space between sites. Host and park staff were fantastic! Make sure to take the time to drive the wildlife loop.