“The Mount Rushmore State” contains three national parks (Badlands, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave) and 60 state parks. South Dakota’s notable regions include the Great Plains, Black Hills, and Missouri River Valley. Campers visiting South Dakota can camp in iconic landscapes and see diverse ecosystems and historical sites firsthand. While camping in South Dakota, you might observe bison, prairie dogs, and bighorn sheep. Notable attractions include Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, and Black Hills National Forest.
Camping in the Black Hills National Forest offers a rich experience that combines natural beauty, diverse wildlife, and a variety of recreational activities. With over 30 developed campgrounds and numerous backcountry camping options, visitors can enjoy a range of camping styles, from family-friendly sites to more rugged wilderness experiences.
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Wind Cave National Park is a national park of the United States located 10 miles (16 km) north of the town of Hot Springs in western South Dakota. Established on January 3, 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it was the sixth national park in the U.S. and the first cave to be designated a national park anywhere in the world. The cave is notable for its calcite formations known as boxwork, as ...
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The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota, United States. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, named it the Shrine of Democracy, and oversaw the execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borg...
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Jewel Cave National Monument contains Jewel Cave, currently the fifth longest cave in the world and second longest cave in the United States, with 220.01 miles (354.07 km) of mapped passageways as of May 2024. It is located approximately 13 miles (21 km) west of the town of Custer in Black Hills of South Dakota. It became a national monument in 1908.
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Lewis and Clark Lake is a 31,400 acre (130 km2) reservoir located on the border of the U.S. states of Nebraska and South Dakota on the Missouri River. The lake is approximately 25 miles (40 km) in length with over 90 miles (140 km) of shoreline and a maximum water depth of 45 feet (14 m). The lake is impounded by Gavins Point Dam and is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District.
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Cold Brook Dam is an earthen dam located near Hot Springs, South Dakota, in Fall River County in the southwestern part of the state, in the southern Black Hills. The earthen dam was constructed in 1953 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers with a height of 127 feet and a length at its crest of 925 feet. It impounds Cold Brook Creek, a tributary of the Cheyenne River for flood control pu...
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Cottonwood Springs Dam is a dam in Fall River County, South Dakota in the southwestern part of the state, south of the Black Hills. The earthen dam was constructed in 1969 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with a height of 123 feet and a length at its crest of 1190 feet. It impounds Cottonwood Springs Creek for area flood control. The reservoir it creates, Cottonwood Springs Lake, has a wate...
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Lake Sharpe is a large reservoir impounded by Big Bend Dam on the Missouri River in central South Dakota, United States. The lake has an area of 56,884 acres (230.20 km2) and a maximum depth of 78 ft (24 m). Lake Sharpe is approximately 80 mi (130 km) long, with a shoreline of 200 mi (320 km). Lake Sharpe is the 54th largest reservoir in the United States. The lake starts near Ft. Thompson and ...
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