Willow Creek Horse Camp in SD -- Campground & RV Camping

Willow Creek Campground sits at the confluence of Willow Creek and Palmer Creek within the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve, near the Black Elk Wilderness in Black Hills National Forest. Designed as a horse camp, all nine campsites feature corrals for equestrian visitors. The facility serves as a primary starting point for backcountry trail networks, providing direct access to the Willow Creek Loop, Lost Cabin Trail, and routes ascending Black Elk Peak. Mount Rushmore National Memorial is six miles away, and the camp sits along the 70-mile Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway.

Getting there: From Hill City, South Dakota, take US 16/385 south for 7 miles. Go east on State Hwy 244. The campground is located across from the Mt. Rushmore KOA.

• Little separation from through roads or other sites here, a 9-site campground with the nearest through road 0.1 miles off.
• Summit Peak stands 630 ft above the map pin, 0.6 miles northwest.
• A lake lies 0.1 mi off.
• Most of them shaded.
• Estimated night sky: Bortle 3, a dark rural sky.

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