Pet Friendly Camping in the Black Hills

If you’re looking for pet friendly camping in the Black Hills, don’t miss Angostura Recreation Area! Located on the banks of the crystal-clear reservoir, this park offers spectacular views, 36 miles of shoreline, and some of the finest sandy beaches you’ll find anywhere in the state!

Though we’ve camped many times with our dogs in the Black Hills, this was our first stay at Angostura. And we fell in love! It’s far enough south of Custer to avoid the crowds, while still being an easy drive to all the local attractions. And with four pet friendly campgrounds, a marina, disc golf, and a paved bike path, you’ll find plenty to do with your furry friend!

Angostura Recreation Area

There’s nothing quite like the scenery of the Black Hills, and when you combine it with the recreational opportunities at Angostura, you have the best of both worlds! Whether you want to fish, swim, lie on the beach, canoe, kayak or paddle board, picnic, bike, or challenge your friends to a round of disc golf, Angostura has you covered.

Access and Getting There

Open year-round, Angostura Recreation Area is 2 miles off SD Hwy 79, and 10 miles southeast of Hot Springs. Just to the north is Wind Cave National Park, and Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument, and Rapid City are all about an hour by car.

Getting to this pet friendly campground is easy, with the roads to and within the park paved and comfortably navigable for large RVs.

Campground Description

Angostura offers fantastic options for pet friendly camping in the Black Hills. The four campgrounds located here offer a total of 169 well-spaced campsites with gravel pads. Each campground has a bathhouse with flush toilets and showers, and some campsites back up to the beach. If you have a water-loving pup, that could definitely influence your choice!

Each campsite has a picnic table and fire pit, and water spigot. The campgrounds all have vault toilets and dumpsters, and firewood is available for sale from the camp hosts. RV dump stations are conveniently located at each end of the park.

There is a maximum stay of 14 days, and you will have to purchase a state park pass to enter the park. Fees for camping are $21 for an electric site and $17 for a non-electric site.

Internet Coverage

With our internet setup, the Verizon and AT&T coverage at Angostura was some of the fastest we’ve experienced, and the voice coverage was excellent, too. If you’re looking for a beautiful place to get some work done, you won’t be disappointed.

READ MORE ⇒ Getting Internet in Your RV

Pet Friendliness

The pet police at Angostura is the same as at South Dakota’s other state parks:

Clean up pet waste and disposed of properly.

Do not leave pets unattended in campgrounds, especially if they will disturb others.

April 1 – Sept 30: Pets must be on a leash no longer than 10 feet when in developed areas, including campgrounds. Elsewhere in the park pets must be under immediate control of the owner and at least 200 feet from other park users or developed areas.

October 1 – March 31: Pets can go without a leash, but must be under immediate control of the owner.

Pets are not allowed inside park buildings, including cabins, lodges, and comfort stations.

Pets are not allowed on designated swimming beaches.

If your pet likes the outdoors, there are plenty of activities to choose from at Angostura. Buster couldn’t wait to hit the disc golf course, and both dogs enjoyed the paved bike path.

Most exiting, though, were the dog friendly beaches at Angostura Recreation Area. There are two designated swimming beaches where pets are not allowed, but the remaining 36 miles of lakeshore is pet friendly! You’ll even find nice shelters with picnic tables where you and your pup can take a break from the sun.

Keep in mind that the reservoir is a popular spot for boaters, but you can avoid the noise by heading to one of the many small coves in the park. The paved bike trail runs along the eastern side of the lake, providing easy access to many sandy beaches.

South Dakota State Parks’ liberal pet policy allows dog to ditch their leashes when other visitors are not nearby, and our mid-week trip to the beach meant we had the whole place to ourselves! Buster was delighted by the opportunity to run along the shore and splash in the waves.

Ty was content to stick his toes in the sand and bask in the autumn sun. And both dogs were delighted when it was time to enjoy our picnic lunch!

Angostura Campground at a Glance

Access

- Angostura Recreation Area – a South Dakota State Park
- Open year-round
- 14-day stay limit
- 3,100 feet in elevation
- Electric: $21 per night; Non-electric: $17 per night; Cabins: $45 per night (pets not allowed); state park pass also required

Getting There

- Two miles off South Dakota Hwy 79 between Buffalo Gap and Oelrichs
- Roads to and within the campground are paved and easily navigable for large RVs

Campground Description

- 4 campgrounds offering a total of 169 spacious campsites; all reservable online
- Sites vary from open to forested and some back up to the water
- Facilities include picnic tables, fire pits, flush toilets, showers, water spigots, dump station, trash dumpsters, firewood available for sale

Internet Coverage

- Excellent voice coverage on Verizon & AT&T
- Our RV internet setup got us lightening-fast coverage on both Verizon and AT&T

Pet Friendliness

- Angostura is very pet-friendly! The pet policy is the same as other South Dakota state parks: dogs are welcome in the campgrounds, on most of the beaches, the disc golf course, the paved bike trail, and on rented watercraft.