OutReserve

Horsethief Lake Campground

Horsethief Lake
Rock with hole in it
Toilet
Lake Overview
Info Kiosk

About Horsethief Lake Campground

Located 10 miles south of Hill City, South Dakota, Horsethief Lake Campground is a delightful setting for visitors seeking recreation and relaxation in Black Hills National Forest. This campground is 2 miles from Mount Rushmore National Memorial and adjacent to Horsethief Lake. Sites are tucked into a forest of towering ponderosa and lodgepole pine.

Number of accommodations: 22

Seasonal information

2026 (Current year)

2026 Season availability

Current season
Upcoming seasons
Past seasons
Closed periods
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Currently open - Apr 15 to May 15

Sites & Availability

22 Sites Available

Site
Price
🚐 007, Loop: HORS
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 008, Loop: HORS
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 009, Loop: HORS
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 010, Loop: HORS
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 011, Loop: HORS
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 012, Loop: HORS
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 013, Loop: HORS
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 014, Loop: HORS
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 015, Loop: LKSD
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 016, Loop: LKSD
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 017, Loop: LKSD
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
🚐 018, Loop: LKSD
No Hookups
$30.00
/ per night
023, Loop: LKSD
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night
024, Loop: LKSD
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night
025, Loop: LKSD
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night
026, Loop: LKSD
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night
027, Loop: LKSD
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night
028, Loop: LKSD
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night
029, Loop: WALK
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night
030, Loop: WALK
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night
031, Loop: WALK
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night
032, Loop: WALK
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$30.00
/ per night

Reviews (217)

What Guests Are Saying

Horsethief Lake Campground is a charming and well-maintained site near Mount Rushmore, praised for its clean facilities, beautiful lake views, and helpful camp host. Campers enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, hiking trails, and the opportunity to see wildlife, making it a favorite spot in the Black Hills. While some sites may be close together and noise from other campers can be an issue, the overall experience remains positive with many expressing a desire to return.

Review Summary

4.5
217 reviews
5
69.1%
150
4
19.4%
42
3
8.3%
18
2
2.8%
6
1
0.5%
1

Stacy A

Verified

September 18, 2025 Stayed at: 015, Loop: LKSD

5

Clean, quiet. Excellent camp host.

David H

Verified

September 15, 2025 Stayed at: 026, Loop: LKSD

5

We had a fantastic stay at Horse Thief Lake Campground. This is a fantastic, small campground with a handful of awesome lakefront tent sites. The camp host was fantastic, and I could not possibly recommend her higher. She was the difference between an ordinary stay and an outstanding stay. Tent sites are very close together. We could hear the gentleman next to us snoring but we could also hear the fish jumping in the lake. We made friends with all of our neighbors while we were there, and there was never an issue with the sites being close together. The eagles each morning were awesome, like the owls in the evening hooting. It's super close to Mount Rushmore.

Monty D

Verified

September 8, 2025 Stayed at: 025, Loop: LKSD

5

This campsite is very beautiful, and the grounds keeper was very friendly.

Sarah M

Verified

September 6, 2025 Stayed at: 018, Loop: LKSD

4

Beautiful spot, welcoming host. There was an RV with a noisy generator on pretty late at night.

Lindsay A

Verified

September 5, 2025 Stayed at: 032, Loop: WALK

4

Great location, peaceful and beautiful campground, had it all to ourselves!! If other tenters had been there would have felt a bit crowded

Shane T

Verified

September 1, 2025 Stayed at: 014, Loop: HORS

5

Beautiful sites on or very near to Horsethief Lake. Clean facility with basic needs being met. Our camp attendant, Tina, was fantastic and always checking in in us to make sure we had what we needed.

Jess H

Verified

August 29, 2025 Stayed at: 007, Loop: HORS

5

Camp was clean and tidy. Tina, the camp host was extremely helpful and friendly. She had helpful information about the surrounding area. She even had a bouquet of flowers outside the bathroom facilities. Nice touch. We will definitely be back.

Darryl P

Verified

August 27, 2025 Stayed at: 017, Loop: LKSD

5

The current campground host was wonderful. (Way better than the previous one).

Tiffany C

Verified

August 25, 2025 Stayed at: 012, Loop: HORS

5

Quiet campground in the pines. Camp host was fantastic! She gave us great suggestions for how to spend our limited time in the area.

Kyle H

Verified

August 21, 2025 Stayed at: 007, Loop: HORS

5

Site seven was the best RV site in the whole campground by far had a great four nights in the Black Hills. The campground itself is absolutely excellent clean well maintained good camp host, no problems. Heads up large turnover you’ll have different neighbors multiple times even in four nights. They sell wood on site

Location Horsethief Lake Campground

Address:
Forest Recreation Management, Inc
Hill City, SD, 57745
United States

Latitude & Longitude: 43.8951 / -103.484

Elevation: 1509 feet

Nearby Campgrounds

Nearby destinations