Hugh Glass Lakeside Use Area | Established Campground

What a great spot. Pit toilets and great level camping spots with tables and fire pits. All have shade! Spaced out for privacy. Two bars of Verizon for even data. Visited in January so I was the only one here

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Nice free campground. You have to drive a gravel road but it pays off. Near to a lake with many bugs. There were two other campers and they told me that they just saw a rattlesnake. I didn’t see anything than a little bunny. Pot toilets. Running water. Everything clean.

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This is a free Forest Service campground with vault toilets, running water, and a dumpster. The running water comes from the nearby reservoir and should generally be considered non-potable. However, I drank plenty of it and suffered no ill effects. The entire campground is flat and is easily maneuverable by RVs. However, the winding Hugh Glass Road (and easier South Cabin Road) which leads to the campsite may be challenging to drive for larger vehicles. You will pass over one or more cattle guards.

Extreme caution should be exercised when driving on the grass on this campground. Tent campers leave behind metal stakes which will quickly destroy your tires. Before driving on the grass here, get out of your car and check your path for tent stakes.

This was once a pay-for campground, but after the opening of the campground at Shadehill State Recreation Area, it was made free.

Campers are limited to 14 days. After 14 days, you must leave with all of your property for 24 hours, and then you may return.

This campground has several beaches and a boat ramp within walking distance. The boat ramp is not good for wading and swimming because how it is designed. Watch for cactus on the broken and overgrown stairway nearest the campground.

This campground usually has more activity than nearby North Lemmon Lake WMA, but it is still considered a safe place to bring children. No glass containers or dumping allowed. Dumpster for campers only. The campground park follows the sign on the left. If you take sign on the left, you will head to the picnic area instead. There is another vault toilet in the picnic area, so if you camp far from the vault toilet in the picnic are you may wish to go the picnic area vault toilet instead, as it may be closer.

Although the whole campground is well sheltered by tree plantings, treacherous winds sometimes strike here. If you are in need of an emergency tornado shelter, several are publicly available in nearby Lemmon, SD. Call the Perkins County Sheriff Department non-emergency number at 605-374-5651 to ask for their locations. Cell service is superb here.

Groceries are available at the nearby Summerville store or further north at the Lemmon IGA truck stop/gas/station/grocery along the highway.

Free maps of the National Forest lands, including the Grand River National Grassland, are available at the National Grasslands Visitor Center in Wall, SD. Because much of the land surrounding this campground is Forest Service land, it is accessible for free dispersed camping. The maps show exactly which roads one may camp off of.

For wildflower enthusiasts,plant checklists and detailed driving instructions to nearby habitats can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5391406.pdf

On the website, see the yellow circle. This is where the campground is. Although it says "State" lakeside use area, this is Forest Service land and not part of the fee area to the north at the Shadehill State Recreation Area.

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