Sage Creek Campground — Hotel in Wall

Ok, first and foremost, let’s talk of amenities: there is no water, electricity or no showers. There are pit toilets, but I think only two, maybe four of them. | The campground is free, which means there is very limited if any monitoring by national park staff, of which it can get pretty rowdy at night. At least it was when I was there. As a solo traveler who was there for a peaceful and quiet night to lay my head in my tent, it got pretty irritating. I almost went over and had a nice little “chat” with a certain group, but they calmed down in the nick of time. I recommend staying in the overflow area, it’s more peaceful, with buttes right behind you. The main camping area seems more on top of one another. You just have to expect some people looking for a spot later at night in the overflow. Oh, and there are shaded areas at the sites under wooden covers to eat. | Nature: PHENOMENAL!!!! The night sky here is among the best I’ve ever seen. Only seen better in the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns, Queensland Australia. The sky was very clear when at Sage Creek and it was incredibly quiet when I woke at about 4:00am to view the stars. It was pretty cool to hear the coyotes howling and barking in the distance. I started hiking before sunrise on the hills/buttes and was on the lookout for bison and saw two, one from a distance and one fairly close. About an hour later I was going toward the campground and the bison that was closer to me was right near the trail. I didn’t want to walk over the sagebrush and step anywhere near a rattlesnake, so timidly walked by big boy bison and he clearly didn’t want me there. When they start staring at you, you’re too close. That’s the case with any animal and this one was staring and grunting in a manner they don’t unless perturbed. He didn’t charge and I didn’t have to run for my life, so all ended well. Back at the campground, there are a good number of the cute little prarie dogs, especially when you first enter the campground there’s a fairly good number of them and also in the overflow camping area there’s a good size cotery (what prarie dogs families are called). Please watch your step because their little holes could cause you to sprain an ankle or worse, possibly ending your trip. And for lands sake, PLEASE PLEASE don’t try to feed them human food!!! It’s really bad for them. (Not like a lot of human food is good for humans, eh?). They sure are cute though. One thing I think is worthy of mentioning is there are no mountain goats in the Badlands, there are only Bighorn Sheep. You’re seeing the ewes with smaller horns. Goats are in the Black Hills. It might seem quite strange to some for me to mention that, but it was surprising how many people said they saw goats. Nope, they’re in higher terrain.😬😂. Just an FYI. You have the possibility of seeing Bighorn Sheep not far from the campground though. One of the coolest things that happened was after leaving the campground en route to hiking a couple of shorter hikes in the Badlands, there was a herd of about 100 bison on/near the gravel road. It was awe inspiring to be in amongst them!!! The cows and their calves were crossing the road and the bulls were NOT happy I was there. It was really cute how there was a cow with her two calves and mom and the first calf crossed without hesitation, but the second calf looked at me and waited and I said “you’re so cute and you can cross”, but he kept waiting for me and I kept waiting for him. It was a contest of who was going to be more polite😂😂😂. Finally I gunned it passed him and one of the bulls was again not happy I did that. Weeell, what are you gonna do? The interaction with this herd was a lot more peaceful and personal than dealing with the hordes of people at Custer State Park. There was virtually no one else that was around at the time I left, which was a little later than most. There are no guarantees you will have the same privilege, but a few did when I was there. Someone mentioned they saw a badger when driving to the campground on the roughly 45 minute drive from Wall, so please be on the lookout for other animals as well. You never know what you’re gonna see. | In conclusion, eventhough there are very limited amenities here, I very highly recommend staying the night at the campground for the wildlife experiences to, from and at the campground. It really is worthy of the drive.| Thanks for reading. If you feel this review has helped you, it would be appreciated if you would please tap the 👍 button...

I can’t really review the campground because I only drove past it. I had heard from people that it was the most beautiful boondocking spot and I decided to drive through. I stayed at a different boondocking location the night before and there had been a massive thunderstorm. I don’t know that the storm made my driving experience the most terrifying in my life. But had I known what I was getting myself into, I would NOT have driven Sage Creek Road.

It really only ended up being bad from Rim Road. The road is gravel…very badly washed with rough ridges. It was difficult to find a smooth track. But the most terrifying part was taking the curves. They are so incredibly slanted that you have to navigate whatever part that will prevent you from tipping over. I’m not exaggerating when I really seriously thought I was going to die. I was within inches of tipping over…going slightly downhill and taking it very slowly at a snails pace. The straightest and most level point was dangerously close to the edge and the previous night of rain maybe washed the road badly enough that everything was shaking and I felt I was not in control. The ride may have been more enjoyable NOT driving a 22’ Class C RV 10’ high, weighing 8400 lbs.

I really thought I was going to die. The rest of the brutal drive with about 10 more sideways slanted curves was me white knuckling the steering wheel and hoping for a paved road. Once I left the park area, I thought it would be better. The entire 10+ miles of gravel were so unbelievably washboarded that every single thing inside my RV went crashing to the floor…at a speed of 10 mph. I was relieved when I finally reached paved Hwy 44. But driving it at such a slow speed meant it took me 3x as long to get off that road.

Never again. Never! I would NOT recommend you take Sage Creek Rd in a high profile vehicle. They should probably put signs up. And I’m sure the camping spot is beautiful…but it has to be for anyone in their right mind to brave that road from hell. I saw the turnoff for the camp…but opted to keep driving since I was not having an enjoyable experience...

Have camped there twice with horses in my LQ trailer. Loved riding in the surrounding hills and canyons. Beautiful area. Camp is quiet and peaceful until the afternoon hikers poured in, flooding the place with small tents and eco-cars. A few are interested in hiking in the nearby area, but most are only overnighting there because it's free. In the late evening and early mornings, the bison herd goes through the camp. Bison don't care what or who they walk on, and it's comical to watch the people in the tiny tents and little cars look for cover. I was thankful for the sturdy pipe corrals, as the bison tried to mingle with our horses and the corrals protected them. My trailer received several dents from bison getting too close and bumping their horns on it. My spouse and son got trapped outside the first morning we were there and took cover in our truck until the bison passed a safe distance away. These are wild animals and they are HUGE! Being charged or trampled would not be a great way to enjoy your vacation. The road to get there is very long, washboarded, and when wet a real muddy mess. You can spot a lot of wildlife along the gravel roads...