“steps from the beach”
This campground is nestled in forested area along the south shore of Pactola Reservoir, offering guests lake views and access to a multitude of recreational opportunities both on land and water. Pactola Reservoir Campground has sites able to accommodate tents, trailers, and RVs, including several tent-only sites. Several sites have views of the reservoir. The campground is equipped with picnic tables, campfire rings, vault toilets, and drinking water. Electrical hook-ups are not available. Access to the reservoir and beach is within walking distance, and 2 boat ramps are available on-site. A full service marina is nearby, offering seasonal, monthly and daily slips, fuel, oil, groceries, food service, showers and laundry facilities. A National Forest visitor center on the south side of the dam is open seasonally and provides visitors with information about the building of the dam and forest management.
Reviews of Pactola Campground
10 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 5 users | Last reported on June 29, 2023AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on June 01, 2023T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on June 01, 2023This is a well maintained NFS campground with well spaced sites in a pine forest. All sites in B and C loops have lake views. It is central location for sightseeing as well as relaxing at the lake. Summer weekend was busy and noisy with generators.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 20
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Nice open campground. Sites available for dry camping with 40+ foot RV. A fairly busy campground but we had no problem getting a spot on a Friday night in August.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 70
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Very popular campground and many sites reserved for the season. There area lot of walk-in sites, but folks come here that cant get in to Custer SP. Modern pit toilets clean & low odor. Water available for fill jugs, non-threaded hose bibs nearby. Firewood $6 at host(s) sites. Many sites not level for tent camping, but there are great dedicated tent sites, also. Driveways are short but easy to level coach. All sites have fire pits & concrete hybrid picnic tables, not all on the same level as RV pad. Site 28 is great for under 30’ coach. Pine trees & shade are abundant. Solar is a challenge here due to abundant trees. Mild days & cool nights at 4600’ AS here. Generators allowed 6 am - 10 pm, only one noisy open-frame generator was heard for a few minutes before sunset. Some noise from boat traffic during daytime. Lots of noisy happy camping families enjoying their stays. We found it very peaceful & relaxing here, plus 3-4 bars of cell signal with actual data rates! The 2-mile road in from HWY 385 is narrow & contains a few potholes, go slow!
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 28
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We stayed in Loop B. The spot for the RV was actually a parking lot. You back your camper into a parking space (there’s even a curb- it’s a parking lot) and you just unhook and park your truck next to the camper. The people next to you do the same, so your camper is between trucks.
Our firepit and picnic table were up a small hill, it was nice. The entire Loop B was mostly tents. It’s dry- there’s no electric or water hookups. Generators are allowed. Quiet hours (no generators are from 10pm-6am) but people stayed up partying until 11:30pm. If you’re looking for a relaxing stay in the Black Hills, I would not recommend this place due to the noise.
Loop B does NOT have lake views, even though it’s advertised that it does. There is a great hiking trail to the lake, probably the only good thing about this campground. There is a $2 pet fee, but the host charged us $4 for our 1 dog. Cash/check only.
All in all, it’s a parking lot with nice trees and a hiking trail. No amenities, no bathrooms (vault toilets only), no electric, no dump station, no water hookups. There are small water fountains throughout the campground.
As we drove out, Loop C looked nice. I would highly recommend that over Loop B.
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 58
So happy we found this place! Spacious grounds with lake views all around. All of the RV parks in the area were tiny spots packed in like sardines, not our style. This was perfect except wish there were some hook-ups! Worked just fine with the generator. Close to all area attractions!!! Will definitely come back again!
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 14
Site Number: 22A
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Warning regarding sites 48 and higher: It is a parking lot. We had reservations for a site with a 30 foot driveway suitable for an rv and cancelled when we saw the "driveway." It is a parking lot. Literally. There are picnic tables and fire rings in the grass beyond the parking, but it is crowded. This is NOT a proper campground. It is essentially a strip mall with fire rings instead of stores. the number of sites should be cut in half and it should be tent only, walk in.
Nightly Rate: $18.00
Days Stayed: 0
Site Number: 71
The loop we stayed in was beautiful. Two paved pull thru sites. Did not have reservations. You can rent a boat if you want and general store just down the road.
Yes, the higher numbered sites are less appealing but they are also paved. There was a ton of mud on non paved sites after a night of rain. We were very happy to find this place through Campendium.
Note: we paid $13/night with Senior Pass
Nightly Rate: $26.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 18, 20
Cell Coverage Rating
T-Mobile 4G
Invested $3.50 for the day use area. Wonderful time in the shade on a hot day
Price is with an "old fart" discount, $28 is full price. I read the review that site 48 and up was like a strip mall parking lot in a camprground. I almost did not book because of that lousy review. I am so pleased I booked. Wooded area with lots of open grass areas. Quiet in June, and only busy on weekends. Potable water nearby, but no hose hookup, only buckets. Clean pit toilets. Wonderful host(ess). The set up is they put about 3-5 sites to share 6-10 large parking spaces. Each has a nice table, and BBQ. I had a fireplace also. The access to the tables angle off into a more private area and cary in depth. An efficient set up. There is a launch ramp for boats within a mile. Some nice trails throughout the area. I stayed 7 days and they gave me a coupon to use for a free day. 15 minutes to Hill, SD. , Rapid City about 35 minutes. Rushmore about 30 minutes.
Nightly Rate: $14.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: 64
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 5G
AT&T 5G
T-Mobile 4G
This is nice spot just up the hill from the reservoir. There were a couple FF sites available when I arrived on a Sunday evening. I chose #7 as it was nice and level. Enjoyed my stay and it is discounted with the America the Beautiful pass!
Nightly Rate: $28.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 7
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
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Pactola Campground
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- National forest
- Check In
- 0:00 AM
- Check Out
- 0:00 AM
- Last Nightly Rate
- 26.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 27.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 14.0
- Max Length
- 35 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
- Season End
- September 9
- Season Start
- May 20
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Standard Tent Sites
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Water Hookup
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