Sage Creek Campground

I wont repeat what others have said other than I agree. Do note the 18' max rig limit. We are in a truck camper so sat on our little deck and watched the thunder and lightening roll in, and the tenters pack up and sleep in their cars due yo the 30 mph winds and rain. I suggest you watch the weather. It was beautiful, we would stay again.

Not sure why the reviews aren’t better for this hidden gem. We spent only one night but wished we had stayed longer. Small campground with friendly guests. Clean spots with shaded tables. Bathrooms were clean as well. And the wild life was fantastic- lots of birds, prairie dogs and buffalos roaming though the site in the evening. Also witnessed an amazing electrical storm!

The campground set up is nothing to write home about. A trek down several miles of wide well maintained gravel road. Fairly closely sited picnic tables, and except for one spot you have to park on the loop gravel road rather than into a site, and even though we're pretty sloppy about leveling our truckcamper, we did have to put in some work to get it decently level. No fires allowed. But oh my goodness, the views of sunrise and moonrise will blow your mind, and then a few bison wander through the middle of the campground, and then you find yourself chatting with the prairie dogs right next to your picnic table, and then a small pack of coyotes comes and yips for a while right outside the campground loop. Could not ask for a more magical experience, and I'd definitely go back.

No water, but you can fill up at the Cedar Creek Group Campground/Dump Site. Vault toilets open all year, very clean. A ranger came through in the evening and nicely asked a few folks to reposition vehicles and stuff. Almost everyone took off at or before sunrise to go explore or move on.

Toilets available, some nice spots to choose from. I was there at 2pm and only 1 other person was there by 8pm people were circling around and leaving because of lack of spots. Unfortunately campers have no etiquette and respect for others (everywhere you go really). I was here on a Friday night so I’m sure that contributed to how busy it was. Overall good experience. Lots of wildlife - prairie dogs, bison, coyotes. Great stargazing location and lots of photo ops!

We visited the campsite yesterday. The views are stunning. The "whistle pigs" we call them are numerous. The Buffalo weren't there that day but when going through last year there was a herd of Buffalo going into the park and in the park.
We talked to the Ranger and he said the signs were gone or crooked because the Buffalo would rub up against them, your tent or whatever they can scratch themselves on. Majestic animals.
It is an oval campgroung and a van your car parks on the outside and you can stake your tent up inside of the oval area.
There is no shade, but several bathrooms and trashcans. There are overhangs on the tables for shade. Plenty of trails.
The Ranger told us last year no RV'S but I took a picture of the sigh and will post it. The Badlands are amazing.

It’s mid October. The rain and snow is on the way. All the green grass you see in the photo from the first review is gone. Gone is the grassy camping spots. Enter pure silty clay that sticks to everything when you add rain. Definitely not the place to camp when it rains. Look at the prairie dog holes. They look like dried up mud pots from Yellowstone waiting for the rain. Time to find me a forest

This free campsite was spectacular. The wild prairie dogs have set up in the campground and are a delight to watch and listen to. The wild buffalo came down from the hills in the morning just after most campers left in the early morning (before the heat). The herd brought their baby, who was funny to watch frolic in the grass. They got within 50 feet of the two campers left, eating the grass on the perimeter of the campground. Then the two males treated us to a bull fight! That was quite a thing to see so close.
The majority of campers there were tent camping. There were five spots open when I arrived at 3pm. All but one filled up late.
The terrain at Badlands NP is absolutely stunning and worth the slow travel over miles of washboard gravel roads. Go slow and enjoy the spectacular scenery.
Get the America is Beautiful pass (veterans, military, and seniors get it free) and you’ll get into the park free.
One bar on Verizon.

We stayed here after visiting the badlands. It IS a long drive down a dirt road but we did fine in our ‘78 van. To get the views of the actual badlands, climb to the hills at the western side of the camp. But the immediate surroundings are still beautiful. Only some sites have sun shades so if you’re going in the hot months definitely bring something for shade! It’s a wide open area, don’t expect privacy. But everyone there when we were there was very quiet and mostly showed up after the sun went down. We did some exploring by hiking up the hills and there is a very refreshing creek with a mud/clay bottom that our dog enjoyed swimming in and we enjoyed cooling off in. We saw two bison in the park and dozens on our ride out! AND, the site are situated in a circular pattern surrounding a grassy area - which is home to dozens of prairie dogs. They are very entertaining and cute. They are around until the sun goes down, popping up and chattering and running around. Pretty cool feature. The bathrooms were clean and there are two buildings so there’s never a line. Place was pretty much full when we got there, we got the last sight. Seemed like a lot of people get there early, set up and take off for the day so get there early to get a spot. Would definitely stay there again but during cooler temps. If it’s hot you’re pretty much trapped under your tarp for the day, but it’s a very fun place to camp and hike around.