Rod & Gun Campground
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $24From, per site
- Sites
- 7All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 2 notices
In the agency’s own words
Tucked away near the heart of Spearfish Canyon, the Rod & Gun Campground offers more than just a place to pitch a tent - it offers are front-row seat to the rugged elegance of the Black Hills National Forest. Whether you're an avid angler, dedicated hiker, passionate OHV rider or someone who simply finds tranquility in the presence of mountain streams, Rod & Gun offers a beautiful basecamp for your next trip to the northern Black Hills. Keep reading
Recreation
Trails Little Spearfish Trail : This 7 mile loop begins right next to the campground. It winds through Ponderosa Pines and Birch thickets, offering an off-the-beaten-path experience while still being close to the activities of Spearfish Canyon. Rim Rock Trail: This trail is made up of two loops that originate at and just west of Rod & Gun Campground. These two loops ascend the steep Limestone canyons adjacent to Spearfish Canyon and descend next to the tranquil Little Spearfish Creek. This trail displays paths that meander through everything from dense vegetation near the canyon floor to dispersed Ponderosa Pines near the canyon rim. Roughlock Falls / Spearfish Falls Trails : These two trails, maintained by the State of South Dakota, offer stunning views of Roughlock and Spearfish Falls. Roughlock Falls trail meanders for approximately 1.8 miles along Little Spearfish Creek, offering spectacular views of Spearfish Canyon and the surrounding Black Hills National Forest. Meanwhile, Spearfish Falls Trail is an approximately 0.7 mile out and back trail that meanders down through the hillside foliage of the canyon as it descends to the base of Spearfish Waterfall. The trail crosses over the rushing Spearfish Creek and meanders through stately Ponderosa Pine and Black Hills Spruce before emerging into a beautiful opening at the base of Spearfish Falls. Tinton Trail : This trail covers approximately 46 miles, traveling from near Rod & Gun campground at it's southern-most point all the way to the town of Spearfish to the north. The trail was built and is maintained by the Ridge Riders of the Black Hills. The group developed the trail for the Dakota 50 mountain bike race that is hosted each Labor Day but is open to a variety of users. The trail includes portions of the Old Baldy Trail, Rim Rock Trail and Big Hill Trails as it winds it's way through the western part of the South Dakota Black Hills. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (661) 702-1420.
Nearby Attractions
Spearfish Canyon Spearfish Falls / Roughlock Falls
What the agency tells you
FYI: During the off season (from 10/01 until 11/30th) the USFS operates this campground. Closes on 12/01/2026 for snowmobile routes. Their information is listed below: Black Hills National Forest / Hell Canyon Ranger District 1019 North 5th Street, Custer, SD 57730 Phone 605.673.9200 www.fs.usda.gov/r02/blackhills0 Daily Fee is $15 per First Come First Served campsite of which there are 7 available. The stay limit is 14 days in a 28 day period. Parking Spur Length is 50 ft. Drinking water is NOT available. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. Vault toilets are also available. Garbage and Trash "Pack It In Pack It Out" at all times. Please note that roads are not maintained during the off-season. Sites are open until weather prohibits access or closed on the date noted above. (Closes 12/01) The information listed below is pertinent during the open season from May 15th to September 30th.
In accordance with standard industry practices, ExplorUS will be assessing an additional vehicle fee of $5.00 per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joined to the first vehicle by a hitch and towed onto the site. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered to be one vehicle and the third and fourth are also considered to be one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles. This fee is payable to the camp host upon arrival
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 7
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 44 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Toilets
- Pit Toilets
- PIT TOILETS on 6 of 7 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER (HAND PUMP) on 6 of 7 campsite records
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, Creek
- Night sky · 8th darkest of 52 in SD
- Bortle 3
- Fall color · reported 4 days ago, 34 km away
- Patchy color
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
“In accordance with standard industry practices, ExplorUS will be assessing an additional vehicle fee of $5.00 per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $24 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
rules read Oct 1, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
7 sites
All 7 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 7 of the 7 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Bearlodge Campground0.0 mi
Beaver Creek Campground0.0 miBlack Fox Campground0.0 mi
Black Hills Off-Season Campgrounds0.0 mi
Castle Peak Campground0.0 mi
Custer Trail Campground0.0 miFrom Spearfish:
Take Highway 14A south through Spearfish Canyon for approximately 13.1 miles. At Savoy (Spearfish Canyon Lodge) take a right onto Roughlock Falls Rd. Take Roughlock Falls road for approximately 3 miles. Rod & Gun campground will be on your right.
The agency publishes this point for 13 campgrounds; it’s likely a district office, not the campground. Use the agency’s own page for directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Lead, SD
Typical weather
Typical October night 33°F, day 50°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical February night 15°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Rod & Gun Campground is in South Dakota’s at-large congressional district. Its representative, Dusty Johnson (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →