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Things to do nearby
We are two miles west of Custer, which puts almost the whole Black Hills within an easy morning’s drive. Times below are approximate driving times from the campground.
The monuments
Two of the largest mountain carvings on earth are both a short drive from the campground — Crazy Horse is barely ten minutes up the highway.
Crazy Horse Memorial · 7 mi
In-progress mountain carving honoring Oglala Lakota leader Crazy Horse, begun in 1948, with the Indian Museum of North America on site.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial · 21.2 mi
National Park Service memorial where 60-foot granite heads of four U.S. presidents were carved between 1927 and 1941.
Rushmore–Borglum Story · 26 mi
Keystone museum on sculptor Gutzon Borglum, with a full-size replica of Lincoln's eye and original footage of the carving.
Parks & wildlife
Bison, elk and pronghorn range across the parks south and east of Custer. Go at dawn or dusk and you will not be disappointed.
Custer State Park · 16.6 mi
The 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road runs between the State Game Lodge and Blue Bell areas, home to roughly 1,400 free-roaming bison.
Wind Cave National Park · 23.5 mi
National park south of Custer on US-385, known for boxwork calcite formations and mixed-grass prairie with bison and elk.
Bear Country USA · 35.3 mi
A 250-acre drive-through wildlife park south of Rapid City with black bears, elk, bison, mountain lions and other North American species.
Scenic drives & lakes
The drive itself is the attraction here — granite spires, one-lane tunnels and switchbacks, with a swim at the end of it.
Needles Highway · 10.5 mi
A 14-mile stretch of SD-87 in Custer State Park with three narrow rock tunnels; it closes at first snow and reopens around April 1.
Sylvan Lake · 9.8 mi
A roughly 17-acre lake in Custer State Park, dammed on Sunday Gulch in 1881, and the most popular Black Elk Peak trailhead.
Underground
Jewel Cave is closer to the campground than the town of Custer is to Mount Rushmore — an easy morning with a jacket on.
Jewel Cave National Monument · 11 mi
National Park Service cave with over 220 miles of mapped passages, the world's fifth-longest; ranger-guided tours depart from the visitor center.
Custer & nearby towns
Groceries, fuel, restaurants and the visitor center are all about five minutes away — you are not roughing it for supplies.
Downtown Custer · 2.6 mi
The nearest town, at the junction of US-16 and US-385, with the grocery store, restaurants, gas stations and the visitor center.
Custer County 1881 Courthouse Museum · 2.5 mi
County history museum in the three-story brick courthouse used from 1881 to 1973, covering Lakota culture and the 1874 Custer Expedition.
1880 Train · 16.6 mi
Black Hills Central Railroad runs steam-hauled trains on the 10-mile line between Hill City and Keystone, a two-hour round trip, mid-May through mid-October.
Right out the back gate
Trails from the campground
Hiking and biking trails run from Big Pine, and a number of our sites back directly onto Black Hills National Forest — one guest wrote that after three days they had already picked out several sites for next year.
Photographs on this page are of the Black Hills region, not of the specific attractions named above.
Make Big Pine your basecamp
One quiet site under the pines, and the whole Black Hills within reach of it. Check availability for your dates.