Horsethief Lake Campground

Beautiful lake, but does border the highway to Mt Rushmore monument so you do see and hear some traffic.
Hosts are wonderful, friendly and helpful.
The most interesting thing is that at 9 AM the first of the daily helicopters starting flying overhead, we presume for tours over the monument. This is uncalled for in a place of Nature, and can ruin the peace and quiet of such a beautiful lake.
One night, well into about 1 AM, there was a boisterous group of people on the highway side of the lake creating a huge disturbance. SD police may want to cruise that area in the future, as it disrupted the sleep of many neighboring campers that night!

Beautiful lake, but does border the highway to Mt Rushmore monument so you do see and hear some traffic.
Hosts are wonderful, friendly and helpful.
The most interesting thing is that at 9 AM the first of the daily helicopters starting flying overhead, we presume for tours over the monument. This is uncalled for in a place of Nature, and can ruin the peace and quiet of such a beautiful lake.
One night, well into about 1 AM, there was a boisterous group of people on the highway side of the lake creating a huge disturbance. SD police may want to cruise that area in the future, as it disrupted the sleep of many neighboring campers that night!

The lake is beautiful, try to get a campsite next to it if you're able

The lake is beautiful, try to get a campsite next to it if you're able

Nice sites, great camp hosts, close to all the places that I like to see and hike!

Nice sites, great camp hosts, close to all the places that I like to see and hike!

My husband and I spent a week here at the end of September 2021. Warnings: it got down to the upper 30s at night and upper 40s in the morning so come prepared. Do not become friends with the chipmunks and squirrels, no matter how cute they are. They will destroy your sh*t. Also there are no showers and the toilets are pit toilets. We heard a lot of people complaining about the lack of showers but it’s primitive camping, what did you expect? The campground is stunningly gorgeous, tucked away in the woods right on the lake. The highway is nearby but after a certain time, there’s no traffic and suddenly there’s no noise at all. No crickets, no cicadas, no cadydids. It was kind of eerie. There is absolutely no cell service so you really unplug and become a human again, getting up with the sun and going to sleep with the moon. It felt amazing. The camp hosts Helen and Lee were amazingly nice and helpful. Every day one would come around in the morning and evening and talk to us about our day and if we needed anything. There is a 4 mi trail that you can follow from the campground to Mt. Rushmore that was perfect. Only complaint is that there must be a neighbor nearby with a small dog, and they let that dog out two nights in a row only to let it bark literally nonstop for 2 hours straight sometime after midnight. The first night it sounded like the dog got loose and was roaming the campground. I was too afraid to get out and check just in case it was probably a skinwalker lol but the second night I got out because I had reason to believe it was another camp resident and I was going to bang on their door. When I got outside our tent, the barking sounded like it was coming from the woods. Other than a possible campground neighbor issue, we had an amazing time. 5 stars and we highly recommend!

My husband and I spent a week here at the end of September 2021. Warnings: it got down to the upper 30s at night and upper 40s in the morning so come prepared. Do not become friends with the chipmunks and squirrels, no matter how cute they are. They will destroy your sh*t. Also there are no showers and the toilets are pit toilets. We heard a lot of people complaining about the lack of showers but it’s primitive camping, what did you expect? The campground is stunningly gorgeous, tucked away in the woods right on the lake. The highway is nearby but after a certain time, there’s no traffic and suddenly there’s no noise at all. No crickets, no cicadas, no cadydids. It was kind of eerie. There is absolutely no cell service so you really unplug and become a human again, getting up with the sun and going to sleep with the moon. It felt amazing. The camp hosts Helen and Lee were amazingly nice and helpful. Every day one would come around in the morning and evening and talk to us about our day and if we needed anything. There is a 4 mi trail that you can follow from the campground to Mt. Rushmore that was perfect. Only complaint is that there must be a neighbor nearby with a small dog, and they let that dog out two nights in a row only to let it bark literally nonstop for 2 hours straight sometime after midnight. The first night it sounded like the dog got loose and was roaming the campground. I was too afraid to get out and check just in case it was probably a skinwalker lol but the second night I got out because I had reason to believe it was another camp resident and I was going to bang on their door. When I got outside our tent, the barking sounded like it was coming from the woods. Other than a possible campground neighbor issue, we had an amazing time. 5 stars and we highly recommend!

This campground is very picturesque. The lake is beautiful with a nice walking path around it. The camp sites are clean and well arranged. Some are more private than others but that is typical.

This campground is very picturesque. The lake is beautiful with a nice walking path around it. The camp sites are clean and well arranged. Some are more private than others but that is typical.