Oreville Campground

We were here 13 and 14 september 2022.

We come from the Netherlands. Campendium is very helpfull for us. So we want to help others. (Sorry if my english is not perfect)

We liked to hike in Custer Statepark and to visit Mount Rushmore.
We made a reservation, but without that there was also possibility.
Reservation costs $ 6,-. That makes the fee higher. But you have certainty.

A very nice campground, with shade and sun, what you like....
The campground is a bit close to the highway. But in de night there was not many traffic.
The host was very kind. People at the campground also.
We had good days here. I loved the little chipmunks!

No electricity or dump. Clean toilets.
Internet not bad, but also not very good.

Campground wil be closed 1 october. Lots of others are yet closed. We were happy Orreville was open!

No complaints, only pleasure here!

Oerville Campground is between the Crazy Horse Monument and Hill City so it is convenient to both Indian history and German food. Crazy Horse Monument however was a disappointment as it focused primarily on the two principles involved in first making the mountain sculpture happen. We were visiting the museum for Crazy Horse himself and there was only one corner of the entire place devoted to him. There was another small corner in an adjacent museum devoted to Sitting Bull and Wounded Knee. On the lower level below Sitting Bull were several Edward Curtis American Indian photographs which were stunning, as expected. Other than that it was mostly trinkets and retail junk for sale. The famous Native American Tacos on the restaurant menu were also hyped too much which resulted in another disappointment. But that’s us, and it appears most tourists want that sort of thing. Neighboring Hill City did provide a decent grocery store as well as the Alpine Inn which serves authentic German fare. But the cell phone service in Oerville Campground is awful, only one bar and it goes in and out. We stayed at this campground for two nights thinking we would need a couple days at the Crazy Horse Monument, but three hours walking the grounds and looking just about did us in. Our campground’s site #4 did provide both shade and sun. The tall pines certainly smelled great and the temperatures were cooler than in Custer State Park, and I am not sure why. No electricity at this campground, a few water spigots here and there, and clean vault toilets. No dump station. The camp host was great. Pet assessments cost two dollars per night and are collected on site. We paid a total of $18.00 per night which was pretty good considering.

This campground served us well as it is easily accessed from Highway 16, and is very convenient to tour the area; quick drive to Custer, Hill City, and the local tourist attractions. As it is right off the road, there is some road noise, but it wasn’t too distracting. The campground host was very nice & attentive. The vault toilets were clean. The grounds were well maintained. Cell service was minimal for us (AT&T).

We ran into a problem on the third day when we had to refill our water tank. The host told us we weren't allowed to connect our hose to the threaded faucet, we could only use the slick spigot, presumably because they want to make it as hard as possible to get water. I don't appreciate being treated like a water thief after paying for a campsite. From now on I'll carry a cut-off hose with hose clamps to connect to the USFS water spigots.

NOTE: this campground takes reservations (reservations.gov). It has 5 sites that are first-come and we were lucky to get one of these - arrived around 10am. $10 per night with Senior Pass / $20 standard rate.

Campground is right on main road so easy to find and access. Our site was along a camp road but very large(could have accommodated a semi truck!). Picnic table and fire ring in woods next to our RV. Lots of mosquitoes but otherwise very nice. Camp host is super friendly. It is about 5 miles to Crazy Horse, 8 to Custer, 15 to Mt Rushmore, and 20 miles to Wind Cave. So, we stayed here to go to all those places and it worked great.

ATT: 1-2 bars without cell booster, 3-4 with

Campground located right off of the highway. Easy access and some traffic noise. Our site was a pull through. Very private and located in loop behind highway. During these Covid times we had looked at 3 other FS campgrounds and everything was reserved. We were so happy to have this gem of a site. Stayed 3 nights and was able to see Custer state park, Badlands and Mt Rushmore. Will come back and most definitely would recommend. Hill city closer drive than Custer for ones needs.

We stayed in site #15, which is perhaps too close to the road way that is popular with the Harley crowd in the Summer. (As it should be due to being the closest twisty, hilly road ways to the northern Great Plains.) Our site was private, ample, and well maintained. The road noise was more than tolerable. We think the best site on the property is probably #12, being the furthest from the highway with good buffering. The single-digit sites no buffer from the highway. Without boosting equipment, cell signal is nonexistent. Hill City has a library with WiFi.

On our approach, Waze guided us to the Needles Highway which features narrow tunnels through the mountains (picture included). Luckily, we carry a road atlas as cell service is spotty without signal boosting equipment.

Nearby Hill City has an attractive main street complete with ice cream, gift shops, etc. a decent buffalo burger and local artists.

The chemical toilets were clean and the Camp Host is attentive. No shower house; however, the Mount Rushmore KOA sells a shower pass for $10. (Use comfort station #2)

We’d stay here again, but next time we’ll try out Custer State Park

We chose this campground specifically for its proximity to all the main attractions of the Black Hills region. In four days we visited Mt. Rushmore National Memorial twice, Jewel Cave National Monument, and Wind Cave National Park. The campground was only 30 minutes away from both Rapid City (shopping, restaurants, Cabela's, gyms, etc.) and Custer (charming town with some good restaurants).

The campground is easily accessible right off the road. Road noise is very faint and the campsites were quite cozy and evenly spaced out. My only warning is that if you are camping in the summer be prepared for some epic thunderstorms! There was probably at least one a day, with one producing crazy amounts of hail and scaring us silly.

We've stayed here two times now. It is a beautiful area. The campground is very central to Custer State Park and a couple National Monument areas. The campground hosts are on top of it and friendly. There are reservable and first come sites. The first time we stayed here was during the Sturgis rally and there were still plenty of open spots. Clean pot toilets, trash and water.

It can be difficult here for solar, the more open sites are in the front of the campground which is near the road however, walking around the park I found the same level of road noise in the sites in the back of the campground. We were out exploring much of the day so the noise wasn't annoying and thr toad traffic slows down at night.

Verizon signal can be boosted here but still wasn't great. ATT is usable unboosted and streamable when boosted. TMobile roams on ATT here but not as good as a hot spot when I tried to teather.

The four stars is for noise and a $2 per day, per dog fee which is just annoying.