Custer State Park surprised us as the best park to view wildlife. Our South Dakota RV stay at Hidden Lake Campground & Resort in Hot Springs offered the perfect location to visit the Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, Needles Highway and Mount Rushmore.
Key Campground Takeaways:
- Great location to explore Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, Needles Highway and Mount Rushmore
- Full hookups, level pull-through sites
- Dog friendly with walking path around Hidden Lake
- Swimming lake for people and dogs
- Natural setting, “unplugged” campground
Our Campground Stay:
Our South Dakota RV stay at the Hidden Lake Campground & Resort provided a great location to explore all the local attractions: Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, Needles Highway and Mount Rushmore. The park had all the amenities we needed – full hookups, level and spacious sites, dog-friendly with walking paths and a swimming lake.
What to do:
Visit the Wind Cave National Park. Start at the Wind Cave Visitor Center to learn about the park and buy tickets for the ranger-guided cave tours. Drive through the park to experience the rolling prairie grasslands teeming with wildlife. Take the dogs on two dog-friendly trails located near the visitor center: Prairie Vista Trail and Elk Mountain Campground Trail.
Drive through Wind Cave National Park to Custer State Park in the Black Hills. Enjoy the bison, burros, elk, pronghorn antelope, deer, big horn sheep, prairie dogs throughout the park. Stop for the bison traffic jams and watch these amazing creatures traverse the 73,000-acre park.
Spend a day at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park. Pack a lunch, take the dogs, hike the Sylvan Lake loop, stopping along the way for a picnic lunch. You’ll find several spots where the dogs can take a dip.
Take the Needles Highway, on the north end of Custer State Park. Enjoy the 14-mile scenic, winding road with spectacular views of the needle-like formations, rock tunnels and scenic overlooks. Keep the RV at the campground for this drive!
Visit Mount Rushmore – a must see national monument just north of Custer State Park. Note: dogs are not allowed past the entry point to the monument. You can take pictures of the monument from the parking lot and take turns entering the monument area. Be sure to take the President’s Trail behind the amphitheater offering a unique perspective of the faces.
Stop at the city of Custer, a quaint, western town with plenty of shops and restaurants. Enjoy some brews at the dog-friendly Mount Rushmore Brewing Company.
Chili & Cedar’s Review: 4.8 PAWS out of 5 PAWS
YAY! Another campground with a swimming pond – score! Lots of green space in the Hidden Lake Campground and the swimming pond was perfect after a hot day. We loved our ride through Custer State Park – lots of funny animals to watch. And a visit to the Mount Rushmore Brewing Company was fun too!
