Pactola Reservoir Campground

Bathrooms were very clean! The campground clean and friendly. One night could hear some unruly campers across the way until past midnight.

The camp hosts were very nice and very helpful. The camp was clean. Sites were mostly shady. We stayed in loop A, sites 25 and 26. The sites on the outside of the loop were bigger and more flat than sites on the inside of the loop. Some days were quite windy, but with the campground being in somewhat of a bowl, the campsites were fairly calm. There is an RV dump station and water refill at Three Forks Campground about 8 miles away ($10 to dump, $5 for water), and a gas station across from that.

Lake Pactola never lets us down. Love the boat house down the road. Their chicken is the best!

The map for this campground is not accurate. The spots are not in a row, but rather grouped together where you have to actually walk through other campsites to get to yours. Parking is directly off the road, a strip of spots, 2 spots per camp site, not designated parking. The campground says tent or 20' camper friendly, what they don't tell you is the camper has to stay in that strip of parking lot, so your camper is squeezed between other campers cars (you might get lucky and get your car and camper in a spot next to each other), then you have to walk to your fire ring/picnic table, potentially cutting through other peoples camp sites if you aren't in front to get to it. Next to spot 069 shows a bathroom on the map, its not. Its a well pump. There is no direct access to a beach from the camp ground, there is a spot you can walk through the trees and get down to the water, but the "beach" is nothing but super sharp rocks. The water is ice cold, and very deep almost instantly. If you have kids bring their life jackets and water shoes. There is a spot nearby you can drive to that has a sandy beach, good luck finding a spot with everyone else in the area there.
Trees were pretty, campground was clean, bathrooms were clean, close to Mount Rushmore.

Beautiful area and wonderful campground sites!

Great campground. Staff was friendly, sites clean and restrooms were very clean.

Bike trail out of Mystic is scenic and few people. Campground was quiet and man's many nonreservable sites were open during the week.

Great central location for all of the Mount Rushmore/Rapid City/Sturgis activities with the most awesome lake and campground at the end of the day, or for all day at the lake/campground. Lake is extraordinary clear and cool, swimming or boating is excellent. Lake activities are best mid week with lighter crowds, week ends tend to be quite busy but plenty of room for everyone. Campground is like paradise but primitive, no electricity, water or sewer. Water is available at the restrooms and can be transported in buckets/etc to your campsite. Generators off at 10:00 pm. We will be back every year , our best campsite so far.

Check-in was fast and easy. Hosts were friendly. No noisy or unruly campers.

I love this location!! Perfect for hammocks. It is amazing to get up and have a distant view of the lake and the piece and quiet that comes with not being on a main road.