Camping 109

Campground in Big Stone City, SD • 40 RV Sites

Camping 109 is a quiet, family-run campground on the eastern shore of Big Stone Lake in Big Stone City, South Dakota—40 full hookup sites positioned next to a boat launch on one of the state's most northeasterly bodies of water, at a point where the South Dakota-Minnesota border runs directly through the lake and the Whetstone River enters from the north. The campground's lakefront simplicity, clean facilities, and direct boat access make it an unpretentious and practical choice for anglers, paddlers, and families who want lake access without resort-scale pricing or crowds. Forty sites with full hookups in both pull-through and back-in configurations offer 30 and 50-amp electric service, water, sewer, and WiFi, each with a picnic table and fire ring. A playground, laundry room, dump station, and amenities block with clean restrooms and showers round out the infrastructure. The boat launch is immediately adjacent to the campground, eliminating the drive to a public ramp that many lake campgrounds require, and the lake itself provides the primary recreation draw for the cabins and campsites that the property maintains. Big Stone Lake straddles the South Dakota-Minnesota state line in the Minnesota River watershed, occupying the northernmost point of the Coteau des Prairies—the elevated plateau that divides the Missouri River and Red River drainage systems across the northern Great Plains. The lake's 26 miles of length give it enough water to provide meaningful boating recreation in a region where large natural lakes are not abundant, and the fishing for walleye, northern pike, perch, and bass sustains the local angling community through the open-water season. Big Stone Lake State Park, about five miles north on the Minnesota side, provides the public boat launch, camping, and shoreline access infrastructure that makes the lake a destination for visitors from both states. Big Stone City is a small community of under 500 people at the lake's southern end, providing the basic commercial services that a summer lake destination requires without the development pressure that has transformed many comparable lake towns. Ortonville, Minnesota, four and a half miles east across the state line, provides a somewhat larger commercial center and the Brown County Museum, which interprets the history of the upper Minnesota River valley and the glacial geology that carved Big Stone Lake from the Quaternary ice sheet. Wine and craft beverage tasting options in the area provide an additional local draw for the summer evening after a day on the water. Camping 109 operates through the South Dakota lake season, typically from spring ice-out through fall, with fishing season demand concentrated in the spring walleye runs and the fall feeding activity that precede ice-up. The campground's small scale and family management give it the personal character that larger commercial properties lose, and the adjacent boat launch means that early morning fishing departures require nothing more complicated than backing a trailer down a ramp from a campsite. The North Dakota border is a short drive north, and the vastness of the northern Great Plains landscape surrounding the lake makes Big Stone one of those genuinely out-of-the-way destinations where the primary reward is the absence of the crowds that accumulate at more accessible recreation sites.

Campground rules and policies

Check-In and Check-Out Procedure
- Check-in: 12:00 pm (noon)-6:00pm.
- Check-out: 11:00 am.
- Send picture of your rig on the site to the phone number.
- While each park attempts to accommodate your exact spot request, the on-site manager has the ultimate decision for spot placement.No Smoking in Campground Buildings
- Do not throw cigarette butts on the ground anywhere in the campground.
- They can take up to 10 years to decompose, and we’d like to keep our property clean for others to enjoy.
- Dispose of cigarette butts in a tin can.Campground Maintenance
- Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring.
- Firewood will be available for purchase.
- Gas/Charcoal Grills may be used for cooking on your site.
- Avoid cooking on tables.
- Dispose of cool ashes safely and properly.
- Do not use grills/campfires in times of extreme fire danger or high winds.
- Do not litter your site.
- Pick up after yourselves.Pets
- (2) Dogs are allowed per site with no extra charge.
- Because we love our dogs, fireworks are not allowed at the campground.
- Keep in mind that there are many kinds of wildlife in the area that have caused even the best-trained dogs to run off.
- Unruly, noisy, or aggressive dogs will be cause for eviction.
- Pets must be on a leash and with their owner at all times while outdoors.
- They are not to be tied up and left unattended while the owner is away.
- Owners are responsible for picking up after their pets in all areas of the campground and disposing of their waste.
- Waste must be sealed in dog bags and thrown in the trash.Sewer & Waste
- Sewer hoses must have a 90-degree threaded elbow to attach to your site’s sewer drain.
- A dyno is located next to the shower/laundry building.
- Household garbage only, and must be tied securely in garbage bags before being thrown away.
- No fish entrails allowed in the dumpster.
- You may clean your fish at the lake or at the fish cleaning station located south of the boat landing at the foot of Big Stone Lake, in Ortonville.
- Recycling of aluminium isn’t required, but a collection barrel for pop/beer cans is located next to the dumpster, and is donated to schools in Big Stone City.Parking
- Parking of boats, extra cars, or visitor cars must be parked in the grassy area on either end of the campground.
- Please do not park extra vehicles on or near your site, as that can cause damage to underground pipes and lines.
- Your boat is allowed on your site when charging your battery only.
- Please avoid driving over and parking in vacant spots.Rates
- Rates are based on (2) adults or fewer per site.
- Visitors of our guests who spend the day or night are required to contact the camp hosts and pay $5/ea per adult for use of campground facilities.
- Registered guests must be present with all visitors.
- No sub-renting or loaning of your RV or site is allowed.
- Sites are assigned on Roverpass with the given information to assign the correct spots.
- Discounts for military, law enforcement, firemen/women, & EMT’s.
- Rate includes full hook-up of water, electricity, and sewer for your RV, and parking of the one vehicle that tows it.
- Extra vehicles and boats are not part of your site.
- No charging of electric vehicles at this campground.
- Boat batteries may be charged at your site.Policy Enforcement
- Policies and terms are set and enforced directly by Camping 109 and are subject to change as their policies are adjusted.