Sundance
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $20From, per site
- Sites
- 188 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
Located at the foothills of Bear Lodge Mountain Range, Sundance Horse Camp is a favorite among horse enthusiasts. It makes an ideal base for enjoying recreation and relaxation in Black Hills National Forest. Expansive grassy areas offer scenic views of the valley and surrounding hills. The Sundance Trailhead is located adjacent to the campground, providing access to miles of non-motorized trails suitable for hiking, biking, and equestrian use. The campground was completely renovated in 2025 using funds generated from campground fees. These updates enhanced access for modern-sized trailers, improved fire safety, reduced maintenance costs, and ensured that all sites meet federal accessibility requirements. 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 popular Sundance Trail System can be accessed from this area. The secluded trails of this system weave through a network of densely forested canyons and open ridges that form the Bear Lodge Mountains. Some ridge tops look out to the Custer Expedition Route, Devils Tower, and the Twin Missouri Buttes. Elk, deer and turkey are some of the more common wildlife seen along the trail. Parts of the trail system have existed since the 1800s. As routes to reliable water and the only access to some parts of the Bear Lodge Mountains, they played a key role in the rich mining history of the area. The trail system is maintained for hiking, horseback riding, bicycling and cross-country skiing. Motorized vehicle traffic is not allowed; however, some portions of trails follow existing Forest Service roads open for motorized use.
Facilities
Sundance Campground has sites able to accommodate tents, trailers, and RVs. Sites are equipped with picnic tables and campfire rings. Electrical hook-ups are not available. This is a traditional campground with horse use facilities, including large parking areas, corrals, feed bunks, and an accessible rider loading ramp. Metal hitching rails located at the north end of the campground are visible from all campsites. The Sundance Trailhead, which provides access to non-motorized trails for hiking, biking, and equine use, is located at this campground.
Natural Features
Stretching across northeastern Wyoming and western South Dakota, 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. 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. Mountain lions, although rarely seen, also call this area home. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (661) 702-1420.
Nearby Attractions
Warren Peak Lookout Tower, approximately 4 miles north of the campground on FSR 838, provides a panoramic view of South Dakota and Wyoming. Devils Tower National Monument is also a great location to visit. Established as the first United States National Monument on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt, this unique geological formation is valued for its natural, cultural, and recreational significance.
Charges & Cancellations
No refunds will be given for weather or related events.
What the agency tells you
FYI: During the off season starting 10/01 the USFS operates this campground. October 1st to May 15th Their information is listed below: Black Hills National Forest 1019 North 5th Street, Custer, SD 57730 Phone 605.673.9200 www.fs.usda.gov/r02/blackhills0 Daily Fee is $15.00 per First Come First Served campsite of which there are 10 available. Self-Pay at all open campgrounds. 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. This is a Horse Facility with corrals and stalls. Again there is no water at this location during the off season. 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. The information listed below is pertinent during the open season from May 15th to September 30th.
There are no discounts at this facility. We do not honor the Senior or Access passes.
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
Everything else this campground posts · 6
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
Hay brought in must be certified weed-free, and out of state horses must have Coggins test
For information about weed free certified hay please call Forest Recreation Management Inc. at (605) 574-4402.
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.
There is a $2 per pet per night fee. This fee is not charged for your horses.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 18
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 70 ft
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 237th darkest of 248 in WY
- Bortle 3
- Fall color · reported 3 days ago, 37 km away
- Patchy color
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 8 of the 18 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
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 · 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, $20 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.
“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 · 7
rules read Oct 1, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
19 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 8 mapped sitesAll 19 records
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 18 of the 19 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| MANAGEMENT | H001 | type not stated | 5,195 ft | $20 | |||
| MANAGEMENT | H002 | type not stated | 5,228 ft | $20 | |||
| MANAGEMENT | H003 | type not stated | 5,132 ft | $20 | |||
| MANAGEMENT | H004 | type not stated | 5,185 ft | $20 | |||
| MANAGEMENT | H005 | type not stated | 5,187 ft | $20 | |||
| MANAGEMENT | H006 | type not stated | 5,147 ft | $20 | |||
| MANAGEMENT | H007 | type not stated | 5,084 ft | $20 | |||
| MANAGEMENT | H008 | type not stated | 5,124 ft | $20 | |||
| MANAGEMENT | XXX | unnamed record | 45 ft | yes | $20 | ||
| SUND | 001 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | yes | 82 ft | 5,047 ft | $20 |
| SUND | 002 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | yes | 82 ft | 4,977 ft | $20 |
| SUND | 003 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 97 ft | 4,892 ft | $20 | |
| SUND | 004 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 61 ft | 4,787 ft | $20 | |
| SUND | 005 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 61 ft | 4,820 ft | $20 | |
| SUND | 006 | standard nonelectric | 70 ft | 82 ft | 4,906 ft | $20 | |
| SUND | 007 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 82 ft | 4,922 ft | $20 | |
| SUND | 008 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 96 ft | 5,007 ft | $20 | |
| SUND | OLD 006 | type not stated | 45 ft | 4,852 ft | $20 | ||
| SUND | OLD 009 | type not stated | 45 ft | 4,991 ft | $20 |
The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It types it MANAGEMENT rather than a campsite. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Reuter CampgroundBlack Hills National Forest · 3.9 mi
Cook Lake Rec AreaBlack Hills National Forest · 11 miBearlodge CampgroundBlack Hills National Forest · 15 miTimon CampgroundBlack Hills National Forest · 20 mi
Belle Fourche River CampgroundDevils Tower National Monument · 20 miRod & Gun CampgroundBlack Hills National Forest · 20 miTo access the Sundance Horse Camp from Sundance, travel east to County Road 123, Government Valley Road. Turn left onto County Road
123 and travel north for 3 miles.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Sundance, WY
Typical weather
Typical October night 33°F, day 56°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 13°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
Sundance is in Wyoming’s at-large congressional district. Its representative, Harriet Hageman (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →