Left Tailrace Campground

The staff here was very friendly. Getting to this place was pretty simple but be careful with the last turn in, pretty sharp off the highway. We went to the nearby town shopping but it is a little sparse, so shop before you get here if you can.

Run by Corp of Engineers, so if you have the Senior or Access national parks passes - 50% off! (Annual pass does not get a discount)

The sites were wide, easy to get in, and ours was quite long. All had 50 / 30 power but no water or sewer. There are water connections just to fill your tanks and are pretty close where you can fill on way in or maybe reach it from your site.

The activities were good as well. Multiple playgrounds for kids, water activities if you have a boat and even an outdoor "theater" if you have a projector.

The bathrooms were in pretty good shape as well. Nice showers (we did not use, but looked at) and other stuff.

We would stay again but because of no sewer, must limit as long as we can go without it.

We stayed at this Campground for 1 night as part of a 7 night trip through the Midwest. This very nice Army Corps' Campground is part of the Big Bend Project near Fort Thompson, South Dakota.

First off, the camp host at the entry station was an exceptionally friendly and helpful woman. They have definitely got their best foot forward with her working the entrance station.

Our site was #68 and consisted of a level blacktop pad, electrical hookup, fire ring, picnic table and wooden sun shade / wind break device. Tree coverage was minimal at the campsites, but there were some along the roadways and some had low hanging branches that could hit and possibly damage taller vehicles / trailers, so be careful when driving in and out of the campground.

The campsites closer to the dam structure, west end of the campground, appeared to be more generously spaced, while campsites at the east end appeared to be more tightly packed. Some campsites at the east end may initially appear to be pull through sites, but they are actually two sites sharing one pad such that the rigs would be parked "nose to tail". We saw a few of these occupied while we were at the campground and there seemed to literally be only inches between the front of one RV and the rear of the other.

As you might imagine, fishing is big here and several of our neighboring campers had boats and quite a large number of fish from their day's catch.

Wildlife is plentiful and we saw several whitetail deer, three were waiting on our campsite for us when we pulled up, as well as some wild turkeys.

We were not able to get much of a television signal via our coach's OTA antenna. We could only pull in 4 stations and all of those were just different flavors of PBS.

We were able to receive 4 bars of Verizon LTE service and 1 bar of ATT 4G service throughout the campground.

The only source of potable water near the campground is at the dump station which is about a half to quarter mile outside of the campground entry station.

We were there on a weekday in late September, about 5 days before the campground closed for the season, and there were plenty of open campsites. They appeared willing to rent out these vacant sites on a first come first served basis, but travelers would be smart to make reservations up to 6 months prior to arrival by visiting www.recreation.gov ... especially during the busy summer season.

Clean COE campground with lots of sites. Not far off the highway. A bit windy, but that felt good. Took the dogs for a swim at the boat ramp. A good place to stop on the way out west.

I wish we could give 5 stars, like everyone else, but we hit a snag with our stay. We had planned to stop in here for a few nights to beat the heat before heading out to the Badlands and fill up on fresh water before ?? nights of boondocking. When we got here we found out that the water has been deemed non-potable (due to some lead from, you guessed it, the lead pipes).
It's all paved right up to the level paved pad but a bit far off the highway. The turn into the access road is sharp (listen to your phone on this one) and the entrance to the campground is narrow (for no good reason). Also, don't count on any supplies here. We just hit Fort Thompson and the big store (Family Dollar) was closed at 5pm on Saturday because they had to unload the truck. So much for the thing we really needed.
Location: Even if you don't stay here, once you get to Chamberlain get off the 90 and head N on 50, thru the reservation to the dam. The views of the river are breathtaking! If you reserve in advance go for 10-11, the sites closest to the water are reversed so you can look out at your neighbor and also sit tail end with your close neighbor (the sites are more like a shared site). If you are coming off season you should have a great site with a great view.
Please be advised these are now electric only sites. There is a generous amount of space (except for the sites that are shared near the water) and there are tables and shade trees in most sites.
The park was quiet for the most part but they do allow tent campers to intersperse with the RVs so expect to have families setting up their tents until midnight.
Park staff was friendly and nice and if you have a boat to put in - c'est magnifique!
5 stars on location - 1 star for site. 3 is the best I can do.
Still very unhappy about draining my fresh water into everything we have in order to take on leaded water that we can't drink.

Left Tailrace was an amazing campground on our route west. We did have to travel a bit north off the interstate to find it but it was worth the effort. The 20 minute trek was worth it … nice scenery and the campground is amazing. Right on the river. We did not make reservations and had tons of sites to chose from. The bathrooms were clean with hot water. The sites had picnic tables and fire rings so we enjoyed an amazing campfire overnight. We had two tents and the price was $9 with our senior pass. How can you beat that? We travelled for two weeks and never found a campground quite as nice or as reasonable.

To Start: one of the other reviews mentions the water. They have installed an entirely new water system which went through a series of tests and all water is now fine to drink.

We arrived at this campground in the pouring rain and high winds. Having had our fill of the same weather for the past week I despaired if we would ever see the sun again. But, yes, it rose almost in front of our MH the next morning and revealed what a lovely CG this is. An Army Corps of Engineers (ACE or COE-your choice) it sits on Lake Francis Case on the Missouri River (it feels like a lake not a rushing river) just below the Big Bend Dam.

There are two kinds of sites-single and double. If you make reservations on Receation.gov it will give you the choice. Both types have waterside sites. We were in a single, #9, which was very nice-level, a few trees, a picnic table and windbreak, fire ring and the spigot (threaded) for drinking water across the street. The best site looks like #12 if you want an unobstructed view of the lake, facing the sunrise and with the passenger side of the rig facing east. Get water near #9 first if you need it. The winds might be a bit worse here than at 7-10 which have a slight windbreak with small trees and shrubs. (The closest water faucet is the one behind #9)
Sites are 20/30/50 amp with the electric pole sufficiently high that a surge protector can easily hang from it. Sites are level, there are both pull thru and back in and all have plenty of room. Blissfully quiet, at least mid week.

There is comfort station in each loop. Showers have plenty of hot water BUT the rooms are NOT heated and the shower head is a bit low (I am 5'4" and had to stoop a bit.) If you are tall the handicap shower has a hand held. They are clean and doors all worked well.

There are 3 playgrounds. We were here midweek in May when the weather had been ridiculously cold and rainy. It was not at all crowded so I can't say how busy it gets but each time I called or spoke with personnel at the gate they were extremely helpful and could likely tell you if you called ahead if there would be an opening. (We had reservations.)

Our rate was 50% with a Senior Pass.

We had decent ATT signal 3-5 bars boosted.

Getting here you can come one of 2 ways- Exit 265 off I-90 will bring you through the town of Chamberlain and along the river on Rte 50 then 34. Do not turn on Burton Steppe Loop if instructed. Stay on 34 until you turn left on 47 which leads you right to the CG entrance (down a bit of a hill) If you take exit 248 you'll come "through" Reliance and follow 47 all the way to the turn into the CG. There is a bit of corrugated road about a mile or 2 before your turn (no big deal) and the turn is sharp so swing wide to the left if you are big. As you come down the road the gate is on your left so don't go straight which will take you into the day parking area. The entrance station is straight ahead after you pass through the gate. In either case, try to stop at the Rest Area between exits 263 and 265 to see Dignity-the 50ft/15.24m high statue of a Native woman. The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is there as well but opens after mid-May.

Both Reliance and Chamberlain have gas stations and there are a few restaurants in Chamberlain. Chamberlain Food Center for groceries. As well, the Akta Lakota Museum at the St Joseph Indian School is definitely worth a visit.

This campground is closed from May 29,2019- Oct 01, 2019 Due to Flooding.

We stayed in space 23, on the end and it was a perfect spot. View of the lake, shade trees, breezes and green grass. Space for our 35 foot motorhome and Jeep parked end to end. Nice wide spaces. Park is pretty empty but anticipate it’ll fill up as week goes by. Very well maintained! Very friendly camp hosts.

The primary driver for my stay was price and the availability of showers. Kinda in the middle of nowhere. Ft. Thompson has convenience stores and a casino. Electric, but no water or sewer hookup. Dump station on site. Dam tours are available.

Price reflects NPS Senior Pass for 50% off fees for 50 elec amp site. We had the end slot next to the water so enjoyed a large green space and awesome water views. Bathrooms/showers clean and pleasant. Many campers enjoying good fishing in the area. Not much for services nearby: some gas and convenience store items, as well as little else to do except enjoy the spot. Both Verizon and AT&T were good. Camp hosts were helpful coming to our door to warn us about an upcoming storm. Great place just to chill out.