We are planning a tent camping trip to visit Custer State Park (8/1-8/5). I am looking for a rustic camp ground near/on a lake where we can swim, no showers, plumbing or electricity. I've had bad luck reserving sites in the past as we get there and we hate them because they are overcrowded, on a road, or just to modern. I was wondering if anyone knows if we will be able to get into a NF campground without reserving it beforehand without to much of an issue and if people have a favorite campground we should check out first. I've read lots of reviews and they all sound nice but they don't say if there is road noise, crowded close together sites, etc. Also, how are the bears? We had an incident with a hungry bear last year in the boundary waters that ripped off our door handles and would like to avoid campgrounds that are known for high bear activity.

I have not been in the Blackhills area for a while, but it is a popular area this time of year. I don't remember the campgrounds being close to the main roads. You may want to contact the NF directly to see what they recommend. There is a Sturgis Bike Rally in early Aug (8 - 17 this year?). The week before and the week of the event, the area gets pretty packed with tourists / overflow from the Sturgis event so finding open camping sites will be difficult.

Hope this helps.

Hello,
There are lots of places that are in problems due to the amount of tourists. Try to get into the Eiffel tower for instance...you will have to wait for hours because the third level is so tiny and there is limited space for people. So they are now looking into expanding level 3. Another example is Robben Island in Cape Town. When I went to Cape Town recently asked for a ticket to Robben Island but they were fully booked for the next 10 days. The Inca trail to Machu Picchu is also so popular that it wears down the path. With more and more people traveling we will experience things like this all over the world...it means that you have to plan your travel better in advance.
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Thanks
Happy shopping