Grizzly Creek Primitive Campground, Hill City, SD

Grizzly Creek Primitive Campground is located in the Hell Canyon Ranger District, Black Hills National Forest (just 28 min southwest of Rapid City, SD) with an elevation of 4,621 feet. There are a total of 19 campsites. The campground is normally open from mid May to the beginning of September. Max equipment length is 28 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. There is a fee of $24.00 per night. Activities include biking, fishing, hiking trails.

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Campsite Reviews (58)

4.6 out of 5

5 star		69%
4 star		19%
3 star		7%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

@KathrynB522687 · Camped on Sep 3, 2024 at Campsite #9

The camp host was very rude. I HAD a reservation for the site for the night.He wasn't at his site when I arrived (the site also didn't have a camp host sign either) so I set up my tent and got my gear out. He still wasn't at his site when I finished so I went for a drive. Came back a couple hours later and he was finally there but before I could even get out of my car, he came over yelling at me that I needed to check in with him before I set up. I proceeded to calmly tell him that I had a reservation for that site for that night, but he kept yelling at me that I wasn't supposed to set up at all until I talked to him. I tried to tell him that he wasn't there when I arrived, but he kept saying that that didn't matter and he continued to yell at me as I was explaining that he wasn't anywhere in the campground to do the actual check in, and that I for sure had a reservation for that night and that I would be over to confirm my reservation when I got out of my car. He did the same thing to a family that arrived about 9pm, yelling at them for not checking with him first before they set up- mind you this campground has like 15 sites and it's 9pm at night and there's only 3 other tents/campers in the campground.

@MaxL480D67CBEA · Camped on Aug 26, 2024 at Campsite #15

Lovely site. Little bit of a slope.

@MasonC4708265 · Camped on Aug 1, 2024 at Campsite #17

10/10 will come back

@JamesK1667053 · Camped on Jul 17, 2024 at Campsite #12

Camp host was very helpful, camp sites are clean

@Frederick406F7 · Camped on Jun 23, 2024 at Campsite #5

Great site, very welcoming host.

@ValerieTB5B28B · Camped on Jun 17, 2024 at Campsite #7

Loved my site. Perfect for a tent and was right next to the creek. I felt very safe here as a single woman tent camping.

@JessicaH685289 · Camped on Jun 14, 2024 at Campsite #15

Loved this campsite. Nice an e clean had decent phone service. Loved how close to town and the Monumnet it was

@JessicaF618863 · Camped on Aug 20, 2023 at Campsite #17

We had a great experience at this campsite, with great hosts. Great location, close to Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Rapid City, and off of Iron Mountain Road.

@AdrianA3674726 · Camped on Jul 25, 2023 at Campsite #17

We really enjoyed our stay. Definitely make the trip up the valley to see the bridges and tunnels.

@PeteB3800872 · Camped on Jul 23, 2023 at Campsite #9

Great location and facilities...very peaceful!

@AlyssaC5E4FB92 · Camped on Jun 27, 2023 at Campsite #19

The camp host was very friendly and helpful during check-in and also helped us out when we were starting a fire. They sold us firewood, but also gave us some cardboard and paper to help get it started. The site was clean. Larger than I expected. The outhouse was well maintained as well. We would definitely stay here again!

@RachelW4DBD704 · Camped on Jun 16, 2023 at Campsite #19

My husband and I had site # 19 and it was the best campsite ever. Nice and private and very large. My brother and his family went camping with us too and there was plenty of room for them and their tents. We saw fireflies at night and had a great time roasting marshmallows around the campfire.

@FeliciaF259E44 · Camped on Jun 12, 2023 at Campsite #10

This is my 2 time camping at Grizzly Creek Primitive. The couple and their dog running it are simply amazing. They had firewood on hand to buy and your greater with the best pup smiles you can get when buying fire wood. Everyday they clean the outhouse and make sure it's stocked with toilet paper. The place is real clean and no sign of trash laying around. Loved it!!

@LoganMA11D2006 · Camped on Jun 8, 2023 at Campsite #13

Very nice spot, quiet campground. Lots of trees and shade. Reservation would have been perfect but camp host was a bit aggressive when we rolled up. He gave us our first warning for haven dogs off the leash before I even had my tent out of the car. I tried to introduce myself and apologize but he continued to threaten us with eviction if we were caught a second time with dogs off the leash. After refusing to give us his name, he demanded we pay him the $2 pet fee (totaling $8 for two dogs and two nights). I tried to ask him where the bathrooms and water slicker was but once he had his $8 he rolled out and wasn’t to be seen again. Great camp, poor soul for a camp host.

@KimC2311597 · Camped on May 26, 2023 at Campsite #19

We were in spot #19 which was sizeable and right next to the creek. The vault toilet was always clean, the camp hosts were nice. The grass could of been cut but was at tolerable height. It rained most of the weekend but the sandy soil quickly drained so we had no standing water or issues with water under our tent. Firewood was $8 for a small bundle. Excellent location near mount rushmore and custer state park. Was a little noisy during the day with motorcycle traffic and helicopters overhead but nice and quiet at night. Excellent hike to grizzly falls from the campsite. If you go, make sure to wear hiking sandals for all the creek crossings. Top of the falls is a two mile (one way) hike. Worth the effort!

@ScotL7097798 · Camped on Aug 26, 2022 at Campsite #7

It is a nice small campground close to Mt. Rushmore and has a nice creek too.

@MirkoB1509595 · Camped on Aug 20, 2022 at Campsite #13

Other than the highway noise and the noise from across the road everything was fine. The camping area was well maintained.

@RebeccaG876944 · Camped on Aug 15, 2022 at Campsite #15

We stayed in site #15 for two nights and it was a great spot. Site 15 only has neighbors across from it but not on the sides, which we enjoyed. The bathrooms were very clean and the camp hosts were helpful with local information of things to do. We especially enjoyed the night light shows at Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse.

@ZaccharyB90562 · Camped on Aug 4, 2022 at Campsite #12

Amazing camp staff and even more amazing location, two miles from Mount Rushmore, 25 minutes from the town of Custer and Custer State Park, and located on infamous route 16A. Large, shaded sites with very good cell reception.

@travisd7329818 · Camped on Jul 18, 2022 at Campsite #13

Great little campground close to Mt. Rushmore. Hosts were awesome. Camp was well kept and and little to know nearby road noise. Would stay again.

@LoganW5538085 · Camped on Jul 17, 2022 at Campsite #13

Beautiful setting just 2 miles from Rushmore. Forested setting, good management, very enjoyable experience.

@MarkS8760847 · Camped on Jun 13, 2022 at Campsite #10

The site is nice and rustic, great for us. The thunderstorms were not the fault of the site. The only flat area for a tent at site 10 was a bit muddy after the rain but we had a great time.

@AdamV1216673 · Camped on Jun 11, 2022 at Campsite #19

The staff were very freindly and helpful. Our site was beautiful!

@ScottF5762481 · Camped on May 28, 2022 at Campsite #6

Great location and very quiet. My site was one of the closer ones to the road and I didn’t hear any cars. The only drawbacks was that site #6 has a very short and uneven driveway, and branches that overhang the driveway. I have a rooftop tent that folds over and I could barely get it open. The camp hosts were very nice, if Horsethief Lake (equally close to Rushmore and Keystone but not as primitive) is booked I’ll return here.

@Kimberly518091 · Camped on Sep 16, 2021 at Campsite #6

Such a nice campground. Camp Host John was amazing! He was always available if we had questions or firewood, he was very attentive to all his campers. The only downfall was the tourist helicopters flying over from 8 am- 8 pm, what an intrusion to the environment.

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