Horsethief Lake Campground

Close to Rushmore rock climbing. Closest CG to Needles rock climbing that's not on the highway. We were here during bike week, so Oreville CG was just too loud. It got pretty quiet here after the closing ceremony at Rushmore let out. A tiny bit of cell on the hill or over by the tent camping. The vault toilet was clean but very strong ammonia smell. We arrived on a Tuesday and had no trouble getting a FCFS site. It got busy on the weekends but was pretty empty after bike week was over. We dumped and got water at the KOA after we left. We also drove to Rapid City to bike the Memorial trails. Decent grocery store in Hill City, not Keystone.

We stayed at Horsethief Lake Campground in early June in site 14. We paid $14 with our Lifetime Pass, otherwise the rate per night is $28.00. This campsite was spacious with ample shade trees and a picnic table. The lake is a short walk from the campsite, restroom, trash, and water were also nearby. We received 0-bars with Verizon. The campground is located approximately 4 miles from Mount Rushmore.

The campground was nice. The site we were on, 14, had a steeper passenger side slope and we had a difficult time getting level. It was 3 sites away from a lake. Our site was medium sized. Our trailer fit fine but if we wanted to put up our Clam screen house, it would probably not have fit. As we looked at other sites, they were wooded and not too close together. The location was good, a short car ride to Crazy Horse. Be aware that you need to put the correct Horsethief (1 word) campground into your navigation or you may end up in the wrong place…that happened to us. We would stay here again but carefully choose a site not quite so sloped.

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.