Sightseeing & food
| Location | Hill City, South Dakota |
|---|---|
| Nightly rate (listed) | From $100/night |
| Maximum RV length | 40 ft (longest listed site) |
| Hookups | None listed |
| RV sites | 1 |
| Pets allowed | Yes |
| Book on | Recreation.gov |
From the park's listing on Recreation.gov. Confirm details with the park before you book.
More South Dakota RV parks with: Big Rig Sites
This weekend · Not yet releasedRecreation.gov hasn't opened these dates yet
Closest stays by type. Distances are straight-line from Bear Gulch, not driving.
Available Oct 30 – Nov 1 · 2 nights18 sites open for every night
Available Oct 30 – Nov 1 · 2 nights8 sites open for every night
Available Oct 30 – Nov 1 · 2 nights4 sites open for every night
Bear Gulch is a Recreation.gov campground in SD. It lists 1 RV or RV/tent site for rigs up to 40 ft. Pets are allowed per the listing.
Checking 2 nights (your saved dates or this weekend). Tell us what you're staying in to see matching sites and prices.
Availability checked Sep 30 on Recreation.gov. Rates are the provider's nightly rates; totals are estimates before taxes & fees.
You book with the provider. Each row shows that provider's lowest open option for your dates, and which provider our main button uses.
No recent availability data on Recreation.gov: this grid may be out of date, so check availability with the provider.
| Site | Fr 30 | Sa 31 | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 group standard area nonelectric | – | – | $216 |
✓ available · R reserved · X not available · C closed · W first come, first served · N not yet released
Heather M ★ 5 · Jul 2021Absolutely beautiful private campground. The bathroom is very clean and boaters that come by are very respectful to not come in too close. We did have to run a young couple out who had parked by the locked gates, decided to disregard the signs, and walked in on foot, but that is not the fault of the campground management. We’ve camped here a couple times prior and that was the first time that has happened.
This weekend (Fri, Oct 30 – Sun, Nov 1): Book online. Reservations online on Recreation.gov — open dates and rates come from the booking site.
Longest RV site listed: 40 ft. Unsure if your rig fits? Check it in the Rig Fit tool
Forest Recreation Management, Inc
Open in Google Maps ↗
Bear Gulch is operated as a single private group campsite (listed as one combined RV & tent site) that can accommodate one organized party of up to 60 people; it occupies the footprint of a former eight-site family campground, so you'll still see eight individual tent pads clustered around a central parking area. The site sits in a narrow canyon on the southern shore of Pactola Reservoir, ringed by large Ponderosa pines and reached by roughly nine miles of Forest Service dirt roads from Highway 385 (via Custer Gulch Road and FS roads 251/253). Facilities are primitive but functional: a brand-new accessible vault toilet, a hand pump for drinking water, picnic tables and fire rings (six of the original eight pads retain picnic tables and rings), and a central parking area with a few tight spots where an RV can squeeze in turning room is very limited and there are no electrical or sewer hookups. Reservations are taken for one group at a time from Memorial Day through Labor Day; note the campground is private-access and the policy states no refunds will be issued for weather-related events. Recreation focuses on Pactola Reservoir and the surrounding Black Hills: the reservoir's 800 acres support water skiing, swimming, scuba diving and fishing for brown, rainbow and large lake trout, though there is no boat ramp at the campsite itself a marina with rentals and two public ramps are a short drive away. Pactola Point Swim Beach, the Osprey Trail trailhead and the visitor center are also nearby, and Rapid Creek offers additional trout fishing within easy reach. The canyon setting funnels wildlife sightings mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, wild turkey and fishing raptors like osprey are commonly seen and the campground's central location puts Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial and Spearfish Canyon scenic byway all within about an hour's drive. Hill City provides the closest services; Rapid City is roughly 20 miles away, and summer daytime highs generally reach the mid-80s with nights dropping to the mid-50s.
| Agency / operator | Not listed |
|---|---|
| Booking | Recreation.gov [Recreation.gov] |
| Max RV / trailer length | Not listed |
| Bear storage | Not listed |
| Season | Not listed |
| Hookups | Not listed |
|---|
| Max stay | 14 nights max |
|---|
Sources: Recreation.gov — Bear Gulch. "Not listed" means no source we use states it.
Official facts link to their source; “Listing” facts come from the Recreation.gov listing. Anything we can't source says so.
