Pactola Reservoir Campground, Custer, SD

Pactola Reservoir Campground is located in the Mystic Ranger District, Black Hills National Forest (54 min west of Rapid City, SD) with an elevation of 4,692 feet. There are a total of 53 campsites. The campground is normally open from mid May to the beginning of September. Sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 18 and 82 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. There is a fee of $28.00 per night. Some amenities include boat ramp, swimming, marina, flush toilets. Activities include biking, boating, fishing, hiking trails, floating sports.

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Campsite Reviews (115)

4.4 out of 5

5 star		63%
4 star		18%
3 star		5%
2 star		7%
1 star		3%

@PingCCCABD47E3 · Camped on Sep 6, 2024 at Campsite #44

Good facilities!

@RandyG6320371 · Camped on Aug 20, 2024 at Campsite #33

We love Pactola Resevoir.

@KathleenK13494 · Camped on Aug 19, 2024 at Campsite #23

I have camped at Pactola on a few occasions and all were good experiences. This year, I happened to book site 23 and bring my adult daughter along for the nature experience. I couldnt believe that it was an option to set up camp at site 23 as our camper was next to the restroom, but what made it even worse was that the picnic table and fire pit were 15 yds or less behind the toilet. To make matters worse, people walked (on a path) through our campsite to go to the restroom. Poor design. My recommendation is to steer clear of sites 23 and 22. Like I stated; should not be offered as a camp site. The lake itself was nice to boat on, and a beautiful area in general.

@JamesH5225020 · Camped on Jul 28, 2024 at Campsite #45

scenic and quiet campground with great views of the lake at a lot of the sites.

@DavidML26BED26 · Camped on Jul 21, 2024 at Campsite #12

once again, did not disappoint!

@ColleenZB926DA · Camped on Jul 20, 2024 at Campsite #46

It started out great but when there was a mix up in reservation night the camp host was very rude and demanding. I thought maybe it was just the mix up but one of them was never very nice to us. Due the mix up we had to move. The camp site we moved to was nice but the camp sites are on top of each other. I would not recommend these spots if you have pets. The other downside was most of the quite places to shore fish had steep hills. Other then that very very clean water. Our golden loved the water as we did too.

@TammyK9690800 · Camped on Jul 13, 2024 at Campsite #17

The site was beautiful with lots of real estate for each site. We really enjoyed that, enjoyed the beautiful view, and enjoyed swimming in the reservoir each evening. We were well informed that the sites did not have water or electric hookups, so we were prepared for that. However, we saw no mention that the campground has no dump station. The dump station in the Badlands did not have a set-up with water that allowed us to completely empty our blackwater tank, so we needed to complete that before setting up at Pactola. If the reservation site or our reminder email had let us know that there was no dump station at Pactola we would have looked for a place (perhaps at a Flying J?) where we could have taken care of that before arrival. Instead, we had to leave, go pay a fee at a private campground in a neighboring town, and then come back to set up. It is really disappointing that this information is not out there for people who plan to come to this campground. Otherwise we had a very nice stay. We were able to visit Spearfish Canyon, hike to the Devil's Bathtub, tour the Wild West town of Deadwood, and visit Bear Butte State Park easily from this location.

@LauraC7322672 · Camped on Jul 12, 2024 at Campsite #24

Beautiful campground. Our site was level, spacious and near very clean toilet. Did find that water in loop B was brown one day, though.

@JulieA1729459 · Camped on Jul 8, 2024 at Campsite #39

My happy place.

@BrettA4030133 · Camped on Jul 6, 2024 at Campsite #37

We love pactola

@JenniferA28334 · Camped on Jun 26, 2024 at Campsite #2

Camp Host was most accommodating and friendliest.

@RyanK6503156 · Camped on Jun 24, 2024 at Campsite #2

The people running the campground are wonderful!

@BoydS5356678 · Camped on Jun 9, 2024 at Campsite #30

Don't like having to pay an $8 reservation fee and then on top of that have some lady come and collect another fee for having a dog. The campground was in not very good shape. The camping spots were not maintained. And they are not spaced very well to where you have really no privacy. I will not stay here again when there are better choices in the area.

@JeffW3710253 · Camped on Jun 7, 2024 at Campsite #30

Great place. Wonderful camp hosts.

@JohnA6427447 · Camped on May 27, 2024 at Campsite #9

Pactola was clean !

@NathanS1860059 · Camped on May 23, 2024 at Campsite #47

Great location - had a good time on the Osprey trail. Tent camped and enjoyed a fire. Well kept bathrooms and fire grate.

@BrodyO1C15DE23 · Camped on Sep 3, 2023 at Campsite #56

Camp hosts need to make sure campers arent running their generators all night.

@DennisM8587674 · Camped on Aug 20, 2023 at Campsite #42

Always a good experience. Maybe one of the most beautiful views in the United States. We like the way it is run as it is rough camping. We do like the generator rules and would just as soon see it run as is. We have been coming here for about 26 years and it is about the same today as 26 years ago. We like it like it is as this is just showing the beauty of the forest and the Black Hills. So dark at night!! So peaceful.

@NicoleS4864408 · Camped on Aug 18, 2023 at Campsite #8

Loved the beautiful lake for swimming & paddle boarding. We enjoyed the lake view from our campsite too though wished we were closer to the lake. Unfortunately our campsite was such that the neighbors had to basically walk thru it to get to the nearest toilet.

@NicoleU5297407 · Camped on Aug 14, 2023 at Campsite #16

Campsite was clean, bathrooms clean, it was quiet and great. My only complaint would be that I was right across from the camp host that had such a bright light coming off the camper it took away from star gazing a bit, but that wasnt that big of deal.

@JamesC5011896 · Camped on Aug 11, 2023 at Campsite #16

I think this is my favorite site now!

@HaydenFCD78947 · Camped on Aug 7, 2023 at Campsite #33

Such a pretty lake!!! Absolutely loved my site and view. Definitely recommend

@KyleJ858084D24 · Camped on Jul 14, 2023 at Campsite #47

Fantastic campground. Clean bathrooms and clean campsites.

@LeonF5449513 · Camped on Jul 9, 2023 at Campsite #12

Most of the sites here have limited views of the lake because of trees. The toilets are well maintained as are the grounds. As an added bonus this is one of the few campgrounds that have excellent cell service.

@JamesC5011896 · Camped on Jul 7, 2023 at Campsite #12

great view from the campsite of the lake.

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