Custer SP/Blue Bell & Stockade Lake South

We had site 10E. Ok, but short, hard to back into (had to ask the guy on opposite site to move his truck so I could maneuver). And of course the afore mentioned fire ring on the wrong side of the spur. I don't really know what the best site is. The one just north of us was weird. It was a double wide site, but they put two different families in there that didn't know each other and they had to share the site. They were right in each others front yard.

We had Sylvan Lake site 31E. OK, relatively level with good trees and shade, but inside the loop and very close to the adjacent sites. Would highly recommend site 9E if you want to stay at Sylvan Lake. It is not on the loop, has good privacy, and may be able to take a 30-footer. However, you may not be able to reserve it if you put a 30-ft trailer in the reservation website, as it has a sign at the loop road saying no trailers. Because of that, it was only occupied one of the four nights we spent at Sylvan Lake.

BTW, Sylvan Lake campground is not on the lake; the day-use area and the general store are on the lake. It is a 1/2-mile hike on a poor trail through the woods from the campground to the lake. The same is true for the north and south campgrounds at Stockade Lake--day-use area right on the lake and the campgrounds away from it.

The Sylvan Lake shower/restroom building is old and has only two showers for men and two for women. It also has only one toilet stall for men. So, you can imagine the lines in the summer. Didn't look at the Stockade Lake restroom, so don't know how big it is. Maybe others can give you an idea of the size of the Bluebell restroom. Anyway, be prepared for long waits, or even reservations, for showers.

Fangrs:

I really wish you wouldn't have said anything. I'm having enough problems deciding, and now you have made my decision that much harder. Dangit. What campground and site # did you have?

Late to this party but here you go... See Blue Bell See Stockade Same site has everything else in the Blackhills too.

Dewey02:
What site# did you have. From the map, it looks like #31E is the best site with #24E being a runner up.

Just got back from Blue Bell.
Lots of trees. About 20 to 25 Cabins. Each has a porch.
The bathrooms/shower house is very modern and clean.
Bluebell Has a great hayride and chuck wagon trip, but it is very pricey.
They also have stables in the area, so you can go on horse rides. We didn't notice any strong horse smell at our campsite. Nor did we hear any car noise from the road that another poster mentioned.
Bluebell is close to the Wildlife loop, where you will see the Parks Bison, donkeys and pronghorn.
The roads near Bluebell are a lot less winding than in some of the more northern parts of the park.
One really goofy thing about the campground is that for the RV spurs, the campfire ring is on the wrong side at nearly all of sites. You have to sit on the other (non-door) side of your RV to enjoy a fire. Really strange.

We just left Custer State Park two days ago. We stayed at Sylvan Lake campground, but visited Game Lodge, Grace Coolidge, Blue Bell, Stockade Lake, and Center Lake while there. Stockade Lake and Blue Bell are both shaded by trees, but Blue Bell is very close to the Highway 87, the main N-S road on the west side of the park. Stockade Lake is big, the south campground is way off the main E-W highway (US 16A), and you have easy access to the grocery store, gas stations, and laundromat (good prices!) in Custer.

BUT: 1) the only one of those campgrounds with an RV dump is Game Lodge, 2)there are no full-hookup campgrounds at Custer, and 3) none of Custer's camping cabins have bathrooms. They have heat and AC, but no plumbing. If you want a private bath, you have to stay in one of the lodges.

Don't fail to take the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road. But leave the RV at the campground--it won't fit through the tunnels!

On your way to the park, you may want to spend a night or two at another state recreation area--Angostura Lake. It has 4 campgrounds, all with electricity and some with full hookups (for only $2 more than electric-only). They also have camping cabins at several of the campgrounds that are similar to those at Custer. Angostura is located on US 385/18 just southeast of Hot Springs and is convenient to the hot springs pool in Hot Springs, the Mammoth Site, and Wind Cave. We intended to stay there one night, but decided to stay two because we really liked our campground.

I can also recommend Beaver Lake CG, it's just west of Custer on Hwy. 16. Some of the sites are a bit close together but many are spaced out nicely and it is a pretty cg with lots of trees. We've camped there a few times now. There is a small pool and a waterslide (you have to buy a wristband to do that part). Also FHU sites so you won't have to worry about your tanks and where to dump them (not all CSP cg's have dump stations).

prices are probably more than they would want to pay, but thanks for the suggestion.

two slides wrote:
if your BIL/SIL want something a little classier, the STATE GAME LODGE has a super great restaurant inside, & right next door has those JEEP tours to see Buffalo & other animals. seems there may have been a campground nearby. we were only in the restaurant though for lunch. drove around park in our Toad. someone may come on here & give you more details. we were just there in August, temps over 90's & now it may have Snowed there--crazy weather.

BTW--if any of you like Coffee-----the restaurant serves the best.
I made a comment to waitress about it & she told me if you order it or a refill, they Fresh grind the beans for every cup-not pre-made like many places.

here's an update for you. got litature out of rv for park.
State Game Lodge has 11 camping cabins & 55 rv sites w/ electric/water hookups. grocery store nearby, also park office and Peter Norbeck Visitor Center. I knew there were more things in the area. may want to check this one out too. only thing i'm not sure about is a campground with shade trees.
park fee is $15 good for 7 days I think.

don't wait to long to book site/cabins. campgrounds were booked solid when we tried to get a site anywhere in park in August.