Pactola Reservoir Campground — Hotel in Hill City

We recently vacationed in South Dakota to check out Mt. Rushmore and the other tourist attractions in the area. We camped at Pactola Reservoir and enjoyed this campground. We stayed in Loop C, site 5 and had a popup. This site had one of the best views of the reservoir, as well as close access to the water. This site wouldn't be a great tent site, but perfect for a small camper. Other sites with great close views were sites 7, 10, 12, 14, 16. but honestly, any site in Loop C has sites. There were also a couple of sites in Loop B that were close to water and had great views too -- Sites 33 & 34. Most sites are well spaced apart. We were there during 4th of July week and it wasn't full. No hookups, no showers, but vault toilets and flush toilets. Great camp hosts. There is also a marina at the campground where you can take showers, buy food snacks, etc. You can also rent boats, including pontoon (with tubes for tubing), fishing, canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, etc. We didn't make reservations ahead of time and because it was a holiday week, we couldn't rent a pontoon to take out, but we were able to rent a canoe, kayak and a paddle board. The staff at the marina were very friendly. Our kids had a lot of luck fishing in the reservoir -- caught many trout and rock bass. Overall, I would recommend this campground, especially if you can stay in Loop C. It's a beautiful location and we found it was a great location to see all other attractions. Depending on which attractions you are seeing, some can be about 45 minutes away, but it's a beautiful drive no matter where you go from...

This place is beautiful! Very clean and clear water! Best lake i think for all kinds of outdoor recreation! Fishing, boating, cliff jumping, swimming, beach day or camping! All dif heights for cliff jumping back in jenny gulch. Theres also the giant rock out midwater from the dam with a flag pole, locally named alcotraz, you can see it from the visitor center, many swim out to the rock and cliff jump off that. The very top has to be a 50ft plus jump id guess! Very fun and cool! but if you choose to cliff jump maybe request input from locals on location for best locations and ensure safety! Pactola has views tht cant be duplicated! great place to spend any summer day/days!! thrs 2 boat launches or its very accesable from multiple locations around the lake to enjoy from the shore. Great fishing from boat and land. Trout, bass, perch, norhern, blue gill jus to name the main species we have caught. Has a beach. The drive to and from pactola is beautiful. all around the black hills is amazing as well!! But If you plan to camp set up reservations online ahead of time. They have very few spots that can be used for day of, and much better options if you plan ahead! Try n get a camp spot closest to the water if at all possible its much better! That way u can see the water at all times and walk down very easily. This lake is def...

This is a beautiful reservoir with short drives to Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Cosmos, and other attractions. The campsite I reserved was advertised as a 30 ft pull through. It was not, it was 2 parking spaces on asphalt. ||||We were greeted by camp host (think her name was April), who helped us fill out the entrance forms, and then remarked, “You do this so you don’t have to see me again.” We requested to move after we saw the space; despite obvious open campsites, she refused to allow us to move, clearly has control issues! The other hosts were very helpful. ||||We ended up stuck next to campers who ran their very noisy generator constantly and never left their rig. Other campsites have specific times when generators can be run, like 11 - 1, and 4 - 7. In this campsite they can run from 8 am to 10pm. This lack of regulation was a damper on our camping vacation. ||||We’re experienced ‘leave no trace campers’...We were happy to leave, and leave the ridiculous generator rules and Sherriff April far behind. We will not return to this campsite, there are lots of...