Grizzly Creek Primitive

"I camped here for 4 nights. The Camp Host, Jim was great. Site #5 has the sound of a creek. Centrally located to Mt. Rushmore, Keystone, Custer State Park, the City of Custer and Crazy Horse Memorial. I think Crazy Horse is a MUST see! The camp ground has no electric and has vault toilets. I had some AT&T phone coverage. There is a regular flyover of helicopters, so if you are looking for day time peace and quiet this is not the place. Though I'm not sure there is a camp ground near Rushmore where you would not hear helicopters during the day."

"This review is long overdue. I came BACK to Grizzly Creek simply because the campsite is beautiful. My wife and I met a close friend there on our engagement trip years ago. Truly an escape for those who are ready to hunker down for a couple nights in a primitive set up, but not so far away from any amenities or resources you may need. That being said my only "complaint" would be the Rushmore helicopter tours. The hosts are stellar. Rob and Katie were there last I visited in May '22. They have firewood if you need it and will welcome you with neighborly delight. Also they keep the place so tidy I barely got dirt on my slides. If you've got a hammock, hike up the hill a little ways and catch some z's as you sway in the breeze."

"We chose this campground because there were a lot of "First come first serve sites". When we got there, the sign said everything was full, but when we inquired, the camp host said that was just the reservable sites, and we had no problems. We stayed at site 16, which was large and flat enough for our big tent, and fairly private, with woods on one side. The map of the campsites on Recreation.gov is wrong though, site 16 is in the middle of the loop, not outside it. (Site 15 looked really private, but had too small of a tent area.) The sites at the ends of the loops (like 11 and 12) looked very small, open, and close to the other sites, so we were happy with ours. The night was quiet, but as others have stated, lots of helicopters in the day. Two cool rock buildings to explore. We took the hike across from site #12, which was shady and beautiful, though the waterfall was pretty low."

"Camp Host suggested site 20, although it looks open, and it's the edge and end of the campground, at night time it is very peaceful. Very clean and well maintained. We enjoyed our visit and sleep. There is a creek near by you can hear the water trickle very late. There are pavilions that were built by the CCC there. Very historical to see inside a campground. Bathrooms are wheelchair accessible at the first one for sure. Not running water just the well. The cleanest water was the furthest one that we noticed but have been enjoying the water and have been fine."