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Activities

Free Camping Collection

Established Camping

Wrinkled Rock

22 Reviews

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About

National Forest

Black Hills National Forest

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Location

Wrinkled Rock is located in South Dakota

Directions

The Wrinkled Rock Climbers Trailhead is located on State Highway 244, adjacent to the west boundary of Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Coordinates

43.8874172 N
103.4692914 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Good
AT&T
Available
T-Mobile
Poor

Site Types

Tent Sites

Features

For Campers

Picnic Table
Phone Service
Reservable
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Pull-Through Sites

Enjoy camping on government land. Limited or no services at this camping area.

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Contact

General Info

Marci S.

Guide

Reviewed May. 13, 2024

Trails, bathroom, nice parking, nice people

This is a great boondocking spot just beyond the busyness of Mount Rushmore. In early May it was quiet with just a handful of vans and one tent. One pit toilet and nearby trails. Worth the visit!

Month of VisitJune

(4) View All

Dominic J.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 1, 2023

Great Stop

Arrived here at night and left in the morning while visiting Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Great little spot with plenty of space for disbursed camping.

Month of VisitJune

Hailey N.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 24, 2022

My boyfriend and I were so excited to camp at Wrinkle Rock. When we got there we noticed all that was there for camping was tent on designated areas. There’s a small outhouse and a somewhat narrow one way loop to park in. So definitely wasn’t enough room for our 16ft camper with a slide out. It looks like a beautiful breathtaking spot but we had to miss out. For being free it’s definitely worth the tent camp!

Sitenone

Month of VisitSeptember

Trevor B.

Scout

Reviewed Dec. 12, 2021

Open for Winter

I needed a place to stay to park the car overnight and this was one of the few spots around that was open for the winter. Access to a toilet and a place to park is all I could ask for!

Month of VisitJanuary

Hannah

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 20, 2021

Cool Community

(Stayed August 17) This is a great and well known spot for camping, climbing, RVs, and van life. The parking lot filled up rather quickly, so space between vans and vehicles wasn't much. There is a bathroom and a number of tent sites as well. People were very friendly and it was easy to meet people and exchange advice, travel tips and ideas, and general stories. It is a great location to the surrounding Black Hills trails, lakes, and Keystone

Month of VisitSeptember

Abraham

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 13, 2021

Climbers paradise

Stopped here for the night on the way to Wind Cave, ended up staying to rock climb for two weeks. Primo rock climbing within minutes of the campsite, and some of the coolest people I've met anywhere. Spots for van boondocking and a ton of great tent sites.

Month of VisitOctober

Gabriella

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 6, 2021

Great for Climbing and Free Rest Travelling the Black Hills

We came here to boulder and we were very pleased with the place. Despite the parking lot being quite full with car campers, only two tents were pitched. It’s not clear whether or not the dispersed spots (not with tent pads) were intended by the forest service or created by campers, but we saw at least seven of them throughout. It’s a very basic camp spot, bathroom only and all garbage must be packed out.

On the bulletin board it mentioned that the area is monitored by video surveillance, which is nice to have in free spots. Definitely worth checking out.

It’s a sweet find close to Rushmore and although it’s noisy during the day (darn helicopters never stop!), it’s nice and quiet in the evening.

Added bonus is a fun, scrambling hike/climb to the summit of Mt. Baldy. It is about a mile or so from the South Seas climbing area. From the parking lot, you can see it in the distance facing East. The trail is not "marked", but there are foot paths through the gully near South Seas that you follow. You hug the aspen grove before reaching a split with a Mt. Rushmore sign. Stay right and continue to the Boulder patch at the base and just have fun from there.

SiteCar Camper

Month of VisitSeptember

(7) View All

Lauren N.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 28, 2021

Camping Right Near Mount Rushmore

Me and my friend (both young females) arrived at this campsite after seeing Mount Rushmore and doing a long hike.

There were plenty of parking spots and plenty of space to set up a tent. We decided to set up our tent on one of the sites right by the parking lot. It was a pretty quiet night just a bit windy and cold.

There were bathrooms in the parking lot. Just a toilet, but that’s really all you need.

It also looked like a lot of people just camped out in their cars in the parking lot.

Super easy to find and in a great location!

Month of VisitJune

Scott D.

Traveler

Reviewed Feb. 2, 2021

Perfect Camp for Climbers

Came from out of the area (from Pittsburgh) and found this awesome campground. Not much to do if you’re not a climber, but luckily that’s all we came to South Dakota to do. Walking distance to nearby climbing and nice views from the huge boulder in the vicinity.

Month of VisitAugust

Robert B.

Guide

Reviewed Jan. 26, 2021

Camel Trek - Night 8

After striking out on multiple other sites (off-season/winter closures), we were thrilled to find this spot. Only 1 other vehicle (tent camper) in the lot so we were able to find a semi-level parking place to call home for the night. As others stated, you probably wouldn’t want to bring any larger trailers or vehicles over 30’ in here. Our campervan is 22’.

The pit toilets weren’t the best we’ve seen but they were open...definitely appreciate that. Morning coffee and a sunbathing meditation on top of the rocks beside the lot made for a perfect start to the day.

Laura C.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 1, 2020

Great Climbing and Free Camping

We came here for the climbing and free camping. The climbing is spectacular and would definitely recommend for anyone who’s a climber! The dispersed camping is great too! You can’t drive your car to the sites which makes things a tad difficult but the parking is close enough by where it really isn’t a big issue. Plenty of spots when we got here late at night! We didn’t see anywhere to get water from but there was a pit toilet that was in good condition.

Nora S.

Ranger

Reviewed Aug. 7, 2020

A sick semi-secluded spot!

This was an awesome spot for sure, we actually happened upon this spot after hiking through the Black Hills all day. We were planning on backcountry camping in the park, but the amount of bugs and the inability to find a flat spot out of the trees pushed us to try and hike back to our car. We stumbled upon this spot on our way back, and as a big climber I couldn’t resist climbing up some boulders. We ended up just setting up camp at the base of one of the boulders and had a great stay! It was amazing to be completely surrounded by beautiful forest and giant rocks, and we had a peaceful nights sleep! I climbed up again in the a.m to take some pictures of the view, and we left shortly after but would definitely recommend to anyone that’s a fan of dispersed camping and wonderful scenery!

Jennie C.

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 2, 2020

Great spot with ease of access

This is a great location, easy to find, about two miles located behind Mount Rushmore. It is a place where climbers will climb, so there may be a few cars that leave later in the evening, opening up a few more spots. The lot is able to hold about 25 cars. I got there on a Saturday evening at 8:30 and got one of the last few spots. Bathroom was open, and clean.

Month of VisitSeptember

Trevor S.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 16, 2020

Dispersed camping

The bathrooms weren’t open when we were in the Black Hills. No water on site. Not many sites that have flat area for tents. Better options nearby

Emma K.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 15, 2019

Good site

Free dispersed camping is nice. Fire is not allowed. I had issues with the tent pad being about a foot too short for my tent (3 person tent) but that's more a personal issue. It was a pretty busy spot while the sun is out. We definitely had an intense hail/thunderstorm so ended up sleeping half the night in the car. Where nice places for morning hikes.

Abigail C.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 22, 2019

Free camping spot

There’s dispersed camping here with quite a few pad options. It’s a quiet place with a lot of very cool hiking trails off of the camp site. The tent spots are all very reasonably close to the parking lot so even if you want to walk off a bit to place your tent it won’t be much of a burden or hassle to set up. I got a spot out off the parking space far enough to not be bothered by anyone’s lights and to get a really nice view of the stars as I went to bed. A wonderful spot to have a night of sleep that’s so close to Rushmore you can walk there if you don’t want to pay for parking.

(4) View All

Gerri B.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 23, 2018

AWSOME free camping!

this little gem is only a mile away from Mount Rushmore. it’s nothing more than a gravel parking lot with a few tent pads and a vault toilet, but it was very quiet and perfect for hammocks.

Stephanie J.

Ranger

Reviewed Aug. 12, 2018

large open area to pitch a tent

great location just 5 minutes away from Mt. Rushmore. free site but no fire rings. it does have toliets. There is just a parking lot with a large open area to pitch a tent. The slide is about 5 minutes on the other side of Rushmore

Amanda T.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 17, 2018

Wrinkled rock

The visit was good but it is starting to become like a KOA. Wrinkled rock is supposed to be a climbers place where people are respectful of others and their things, this is starting to change. People bringing their small children, children of older ages that want to stay up until 3am and are NOT quiet about it! We will be looking for a new place to lay our heads next time. So sad too say that.

Laura C.

Guide

Reviewed May. 31, 2018

Free and dispersed!

Well it’s free and in an AWESOME location. Lots of hiking around. Only a few actual tent pads but you can set up anywhere. No fires! Pets are OK.

Month of VisitJune

Adam M.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 17, 2017

A welcoming stay

Great place to stay for free only a few miles from mount rushmore. There are several specific places for tents to be put up. 14 day maximum stay, bathroom on sight.

Month of VisitJuly

Garth W.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 8, 2016

Car camping for climbers

Super convenient for climbers. Scenic campgrounds with 100s of climbing routes within walking distance. There is no water or electricity and only one latrine. This adds to the rustic feel and keeps the crowds away which is nice considering the proximity to Mt. Rushmore and other tourist traps. Swimming and cliff jumping at Horsethief lake only a short walk away.