How to Go Camping in Wind Cave National Park

The Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota features one of the world's longest caves, with unusual honeycomb-like formations called boxwork. A camping trip here will give you access to a wide variety of activities including five different cave tours, hiking through a ponderose-pine forest and wildlife spotting in one of America's few remaining mixed-grass prairies, home to bison, elk, mule deer, coyotes and prairie dogs. Plus you'll get a chance to kick back with family or friends without any of your normal day-to-day distractions.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Plan ahead. How long do you plan to be out camping? When do you want to camp?
   

2. Consider what type of campsite you are interested in: individual or group. You can call [phone] to reserve a group camping site. Individual campsites are first-come first-served.

3. There is one campground in the park, Elk Mountain Campground, which is open year-round. It has sites for tents and RVs. The per-site fee is $12 per night during warmer months when the campground has running water and flush toilets, and $6 per night during other times when the water is turned off.

4. Head to the park and follow directions for the campsite you will be staying at to register for your camp site.

5. Touch base with the camp host at site 22 if you have questions that need to be answered.

Tips & Warnings

• Camping is limited to 14 days at a time.
• Each site has space for up to 8 campers and 2 vehicles.
• There are pull-through sites for RVs at the campground, but no RV hookups.
• There is a high risk of fire at the campground much of the year. Follow instructions regarding campfires carefully.