Horsethief Lake Campground

This campground is a gem - enough so that I hate stating it publicly, knowing it may make it harder to get in here the next time we are in the area. I don't recall the site number we were in, but it was in the first loop heading toward the lake and had a gravel, not concrete, pad. We arrived here without a reservation and weren't sure how long we would stay, but we liked the campground so much that we stayed three nights. The location is perfect to visit the Rushmore memorial, but is also conveniently located to visit the local towns, Custer State park and Wind Cave NP. The lake is very scenic and has a trail to visit the water's edge or walk around to take in the views. The only negative, as mentioned by others, is the noise from the helicopters flying overhead occasionally while giving tours. We stayed here in the last week the CG was open, and I imagine the helicopters are even more frequent and annoying during peak tourist season. Still, a wonderful campground.

Horsethief Lake Campground is located within the Black Hills National Forest just several miles from the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial. Horsethief Lake Campground is one of the most popular campgrounds in the Black Hills National Forest. In this video, I give you a walking tour of the campground and show you the best campsites. There was no cellular service at this location for Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. There are no flush toilets or showers at the Horsethief Lake Campground.

We were looking for a 1st-come 1st-serve site., and this was the first place we checked when we entered Black Hill NF. Some campsites are paved, but the 1st-come sites are not. That didn't bother us. Horse Thief Lake is a great little lake for swimming, fishing and kayaking. We spent most of our time on the lake.

The negative.
1)The campground host is a misogynistic a-hole, who questioned why I was letting my wife back the trailer. Then had stated that he hoped she followed directions well. Not friendly at all.
2)The constant droning of helicopters overhead, from 8am to dusk. The NP in Black Hills, has allowed commercial helicopter tours of the park, and there is one flying overhead every 10 minutes.

We were looking for a c/g close to all of the sites in the Black Hills. We also need a first come, first served site as we had no reservations. Luckily, we got one of the last two sites available and enjoyed our time so much we stayed one night longer than planned. This is a well-maintained, lovely place. The lake is mainly for fishing, but there is also a wonderful trailhead for hiking a few hundred feet up the road. (one can also mt. bike or horseback ride along certain sections) and Mt. Rushmore is just 3 miles down the road the other direction. While there was no cell service at our site, there are certain areas where a bar or two of cell service was accessible. We would definitely recommend this NFS campground.

Paying for camping is proving more and more difficult as we discover more and more free, exquisite spots like those found in abundance throughout Wyoming. $5 or $10 seems worth it though, if for the access to the vault toilets alone. Packing out all of the nastier bits you’ve packed in is probably the only downside to free camping, but we’ve decided that catholes are no longer plausible with the multitude of campers in the forest these days.

Horsethief is not an Abe Lincoln affair, despite being just 2 miles or so from his visage as the only social distanced President on Rushmore. At $26, we’re scrounging for quarters to make the full payment. Here in the Black Hills, where dozens of campgrounds host hundreds of campers,–and with such “high” fees–a credit card system would be nice.

We score the largest of three remaining sites at 6 o’clock on a Wednesday in August, during Sturgis. The spot behind our van is RV Park close, but the forest in front of us obscures us from most other campers.

The pristine lake for which the campground is named is immediately accessible, with soothingly frigid waters easily accessible right from the campground. The tacos I cook please everyone in the family. The campground hostess, while not initially over-friendly, smiles and approaches my newborn baby, which I quickly shield for reasons of current affairs. However, she realizes my uneasiness, keeps her distance and does not offer him a poison apple, and so our host to camper relationship is improved.

No Verizon. Clean vault toilet.

We've stayed here twice - three times if you count the one nighter in the nearby horse camp, Beautiful setting with mostly private and spacious sites, Near Rushmore, Custer SP and several awesome USFS back roads. On both occasions, the hosts went out of their way to get us a site (we didn't have reservations) and to make sure we enjoyed our stay.