Sheridan North Cove Grp CG
- Right now
- Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
- Sites
- 5All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
Sheridan North Cove Group Campground, in a forest of Ponderosa pine is along the north shore of Sheridan Lake. This is an ideal setting for large groups and gatherings. Lake views and access to a multitude of recreational opportunities both on land and water draw guests to this part of Black Hills National Forest. Keep reading
Recreation
Black Hills National Forest offers a multitude of recreational opportunites throughout all seasons. Hiking, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking, and riding off-highway vehicles are popular in summer and early autumn. Winter landscapes are ideal for snowshoeing, skiing and snowmobiling. The Dakota Point Trailhead for the popular Centennial Trail is located on the northeast side of Sheridan Lake, as is the Calumet Trailhead for the Flume Trail. At 11 miles (plus a 3-mile loop), the Flume Trail has been designated a National Recreation Trail because of its historical significance to the local people. The Rockerville Flume carried water 20 miles, from Spring Creek west of present day Sheridan Lake, east to the placer diggings near Rockerville. The flume operated until 1885, and the trail follows the actual flume bed for much of its length. Along the way are historic artifacts and parts of the flume itself. Sheridan Lake is an ideal spot for fishing, swimming, boating and water skiing. The lake supports populations of rainbow, brown trout, northern pike and perch. Fly fishing is popular in Spring Creek below the dam, and ice fishing is popular on the lake in winter.
Facilities
Sheridan North Cove Group Campground has 5 group sites able to accommodate tents, trailers, and RVs. Several sites have views of the lake. Each campsite has picnic tables, campfire rings, vault toilets, and drinking water. Electrical hook-ups are not available. The north shore has a marina with boat slip rental, groceries and fishing supplies. A large swimming beach, a picnic area and boat launch are also on-site. Fishing piers are located in various areas around the lake.
Natural Features
Located in western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, Black Hills National Forest encompasses nearly 1.25 million acres of rugged rock formations, canyons and gulches, open grassland parks, tumbling streams, deep blue lakes, and unique caves. Derived from the Lakota language, the words "Paha Sapa," meaning "hills that are black," honor the dark, pine-covered hills rising several thousand feet above the surrounding prairie. Wildlife in the area abounds. Bighorn sheep navigate mountainous terrain, while elk, deer and pronghorn gather in forests and prairies. Bald eagles, hawks, osprey, peregrine falcon, and hundreds of other bird species can be found in the forest, especially along streams, lakes and rivers. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (661) 702-1420.
Nearby Attractions
Nearby Jewel Cave is the second longest cave in the world at 159.29 miles. It features sparkling calcite crystals and other rare formations, as well as some of the largest concentrations of passageways in the world. Other possible day trips include Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Monument, Devils Tower National Monument and Wind Cave National Park.
Charges & Cancellations
No refunds will be given for weather or related events.
What the agency tells you
This campground is NOT OPEN during the Off Season. Campground closes on 10/01/2026.
These campsites are non-electric sites. Generators may run from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. only.
Non-reservable sites may be available on a first come, first served basis
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Each site has its own toilets and parking area
Please register at the entrance booth; if the booth is unattended, please drive through to the campground and register with the camp host
A pet fee of $2 per pet per night is required upon check in
Prevent the spread of invasive species by inspecting and cleaning packs, equipment, and tires before using lake or trails
No refunds for inclement weather
Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing organisms by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 5 · 5 group
- Hookups
- None
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…has picnic tables, campfire rings, vault toilets, and drinking water. Electrical hook-ups are not…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…campfire rings, vault toilets, and drinking water. Electrical hook-ups are not available. The north…”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek, Beach
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Swimming
- Water sports
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 3 days ago, 21 km away
- Peak 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.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
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 · 12
What you actually pay
“No refunds will be given for weather or related events.” · this campground’s own terms
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
5 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 5 mapped sitesAll 5 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 5 of the 5 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 5 of the 5 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Shelter Area | BB1 | group standard nonelectric | 163 ft | 1,080 ft | 2,168 ft | $60–$192 |
| Shelter Area | DD1 | group standard nonelectric | 190 ft | 1,190 ftSheridan Lake | 1,978 ft | $60–$192 |
| Shelter Area | OO1 | group standard nonelectric | 163 ft | 965 ft | 2,151 ft | $60–$192 |
| Shelter Area | RR1 | group standard nonelectric | 421 ft | 814 ft | 1,769 ft | $60–$192 |
| Shelter Area | SS1 | group standard nonelectric | 591 ft | 688 ftSheridan Lake | 1,281 ft | $60–$192 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Sheridan LakeBlack Hills National Forest · 0.3 mi
Sheridan Lake South CampgroundBlack Hills National Forest · 1.3 mi
Pactola CampgroundBlack Hills National Forest · 5.9 mi
Horsethief Lake CampgroundNorbeck Wildlife Preserve National Game Refuge · 6.3 mi
Willow Creek Horse CampNorbeck Wildlife Preserve National Game Refuge · 6.5 mi
Bear GulchBlack Hills National Forest · 6.7 miTo access the Sheridan Lake North Group Campground from Rapid City, travel south (west) on US Highway 16 for 18 miles to Three Forks. Turn right, or north, onto Highway 385, and travel 3 miles to Sheridan Lake Road. Turn right, or east, onto Sheridan Lake Road, and travel 1 mile to the north shore.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Hill City, SD
Typical weather
Typical October night 29°F, day 55°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical February night 11°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
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Sheridan North Cove Grp CG 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 →