By:
Submission
This 61-site campground is open all year with sites available on a first-come, first-served basis. Two sites are handicap-accessible. Flush toilets and drinking water are available late spring through early fall. Fees are half-price when water is not available. Ranger programs are offered nightly in the amphitheater during the summer. Two group campsites are reservable. Contact the park at 605.745.4600 for more information.
The Elk Mountain Campground is located about 11 miles north of Hot Springs, or 22 miles south of Custer, off U.S. Hwy 385, about 1/2 mile west of the highway. Follow the link below for detailed directions to the visitor center; the campground entrance is approximately 1/4 mile north of the visitor center.
It’s not fancy, but it’s camping in a national park, and there’s freaking bison right outside the fence surrounding the campground. How often do you get a chance to sleep next to bison?
Stayed in the tent loop (loop A) for two days. Site 12 sits up the highest in the back, only one other site semi-close. Resident deer made its’ daily rounds through the loop as well.
Bathrooms are “meh” - only one stall in the men’s room and the bathroom is typically covered in moths and other bugs. Could use a good cleaning.
Nightly ranger-led talks were great as well!
Would definitely stay here again if visiting Wind Cave.
First, we drove in through a herd of bison that frequented right outside the gates. Campsites had nice metal tables, fire grates, and water access. Bathrooms were clean and there was a place to wash dishes. Only con is a lot campsites are on the main campground road with traffic. Easy drive to visitor center of Wind Cave NP and we day tripped around the area as well.
Beautiful location with wildlife sightseeing. Amenities 20-25 minutes away in Hot Sprongs or Custer. Campsites were roadside facing the woods or grassland and your neighbors are right next to you. No electric or water. Camp host was friendly and knowledgeable. Ranger hosted a program one of the evenings we were there.
We booked a weekend stay camping trip at this location (Elk Mountain Campground) and were originally in D Loop. However by random luck after booking we saw that D loop had no working facilities due to maintenance. Something we would have never seen if I hadn't had checked the website one more time before leaving. We moved our location instead to B loop. We stayed at site 28B. This shouldn't even be considered a campsite due to the extreme hill you are on. There is absolutely NO flat ground to set up a tent on 28B. The incline is so extreme, our sleeping bags kept sliding to the door of the tent. Even the picnic table leans so far it's difficult to set anything on it without sliding off. We planned to stay all weekend but left after only one night. The headaches we got from such an extreme slope was horrendous for sleeping. And obviously we put our heads uphill, anything else would be completely out of the question. Lights from the toilet facilities shine all night long straight into your tent. Was told from the camp attendee he'd come see us and tell us bit about the site and its offerings, besides the occasional wave as they drove by we never saw them again. I was given three different stories about firewood, One said it was free, another said it was NOT free and cost roughly $7 a bundle, and a posted notice of campsite rules on the toilets said it was available but donations were accepted. Still never found out where to actually get firewood so I brought my own.
Will never get a campsite at this campground again. Stay away from Site 28B if you're tent camping.
