Sage Creek Campground

Best campground ever! Free, extremely off the beaten path. Nice sunrise, great people.

Bring plenty of water and don't forget the sunset at middle up, 200ft mile hike.

Met so many great friends here just by helping set up tents. Bring your own toilet paper, trust me.

Cheers, Rigs

Just beautiful. It was a long bumpy road to the camp ground but so worth it. Get there at a decent time and roam around the site. Amazing views all around! You hear the animals at dusk which is awesome and the stars are completely unreal at night. Have binoculars because bison and big horn sheep may come into sight during your stay

Stayed here twice. Bison go right through campground at night. Great hills to climb to see them roaming around. Second time though the wind was so hard our tent poles broke. Still recommend it. Take in your own water.

The pit toilets are not gross. Make the trip down the gravel roads. We saw dancing spiders, bison, prairie dogs, mountain goats, and heard lots of noises.

We stayed in July 2016. Awesome campground! Get there early if you want a good spot, it fills up VERY fast and there are only a few picnic tables available. Definitely worth the drive! We didn't see any bison, but we did see a big horn sheep and tons of prairie dogs! Also, coyotes howl as soon as the sun goes down. Beautiful sunrise. We will definitely return next time we're in SD!!

This is a free campground within Badlands National Park, but you must of course pay park admission or show your NP pass. Once our 2WD truck made it to the campground with our camper, we relaxed and completely enjoyed our stay here. But be advised that you need to check road condition. Bison wander right through your campsite! Coyotes yip and howl in the evening. We used our dual sport motorcycle as transportation to all the hiking trails and scenic areas of Badlands. Absolutely breathtaking experience here. No water or electric. Picnic table at each site. This is remote.

This is the second time that I've stayed at this Campground, and it remains as one of my favorite National Park campgrounds.

This is a primitive, dry campground. There are vault toilets, picnic tables, and trash service, but that's it. Make sure you have all of the water and power you need for your planned stay.

There's not actually all that much of actual sites. The campground is mostly situated around one loop, which you can simply park parallel around. I've seen some RVs just find a spot in that loop that didn't interfere with traffic enough: the loop is a wide road. There is also a grassy area used largely for horse use, but you can camp there as well. Last year, some people did need help getting out of the mud after some heavy rains, parked in the grassy area.

It is a dirt road in. I came each time the main road looping through the park. Sometimes, the main, scenic dirt road is closed during/after weather, so it's best to always check that. There are alternate routes, which are still also dirt roads. I've seen just about every size and type of car/RV make it to the campground when the road conditions were good.

In my experience, the campground has always been clean. During the day, it tends to be quiet, as most people leave to do things in the park during the day. I consistently saw Rangers come through to clean during the day.

It can be busy at night, and it's best to try to arrive somewhat early, especially on weekends.

Very cool things:

You might wake up to several bison right outside of your door. They are wild bison, and remarkably large, so you want to be safe, but enjoy the beautiful creatures when you can. Both times I stayed here, I had this experience.

This time, some USFS Rangers came in and did a talk/demonstration of an adaladal every day. I learned that I'm absolutely terrible at using one myself, but it was pretty cool, and the kids in particular found it really cool.

This really is one of my favorite campgrounds. I recommend it, and definitely would visit once again.

Not sure why the reviews aren’t better for this hidden gem. We spent only one night but wished we had stayed longer. Small campground with friendly guests. Clean spots with shaded tables. Bathrooms were clean as well. And the wild life was fantastic- lots of birds, prairie dogs and buffalos roaming though the site in the evening. Also witnessed an amazing electrical storm!

I wont repeat what others have said other than I agree. Do note the 18' max rig limit. We are in a truck camper so sat on our little deck and watched the thunder and lightening roll in, and the tenters pack up and sleep in their cars due yo the 30 mph winds and rain. I suggest you watch the weather. It was beautiful, we would stay again.

A nice small camground around a center green area. Spots aren’t very level but it was manageable for a night. Pit toilets were clean and stocked. I got 2 bars of Verizon with my cell booster.