Horse Soldier-Ft. Meade (Makatopi) Back Country Byway in SD -- Camping Rules & Access
Horse Soldier-Ft. Meade (Makatopi) Back Country Byway in SD
Road corridorBLM, South Dakota
2.3 mi from Sturgis
Maps 3,447 ft
Dispersed camping generally allowed
Bureau of Land Management default; a local order can restrict it.
BLM South Dakota Field Office ↗
Stay limit: 16 days · within 30 days · then move 0.5 mi
VerizonMARGINAL
AT&TNONE
T-MobileWEAK
StarlinkEXCELLENT
Road Access
Rough
- BLM plans all 4.5 miles of this road as maintained for passenger cars, graded dirt the whole way, but the condition is unverified.
- Near General Samuel D. Sturgis Statue.
- Winds through 4 switchbacks.
Setting
Limited privacy
- Limited separation from through roads or other sites here, with the nearest through road 0.0 miles off.
- Estimated night sky: Bortle 4, a rural sky with a glow on the horizon.
- A pond lies 0.7 mi off.
- Deadman Mountain stands 1,485 ft above the map pin, 3.8 miles southwest.
Climate averages
October normals 36–61°F, 2.0″ precipitation. Monthly averages, PRISM 1991–2020.