Lake Sharpe
RV Guide
Introduction
Lake Sharpe is an immense reservoir that spans five different counties in South Dakota. The reservoir formed when the US Army Corps of Engineers built the Big Bend Dam in the 1960s, impounding the flow of the Missouri River for flood control and the production of hydro-power. The serpentine lake has an overall length of eighty miles stretching from the dam to the state capital, Pierre, and is bordered by vast expanses of reservation lands as well as thousands of acres of conservation and wildlife management areas.
Surrounded as it is by the Great Plains of South Dakota, Lake Sharpe is a haven for both bird and animal life and is one of the best places in the state for viewing flocks of geese or ducks as well as many other species of waterfowl. Bison roam the grasslands in herds, while smaller animals like deer inhabiting the wooded areas alongside elk, turkey, and coyotes. Hunting remains a popular activity at Lake Sharpe, although it is controlled by strict regulations. Because of its dense and varied fish population, high numbers of anglers are drawn to the lake too.
For the active RV campers at Lake Sharpe, there are endless trails to hike or cycle. There are also interesting routed walks between various historical sites in the city of Pierre if you want to hike through an urban rather than a rural landscape for a change. The South Dakota National Guard Museum and the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center both make for interesting visits even if you're not a big fan of history. There really are so many things to do when you go camping in your RV at Lake Sharpe, you'll wish you'd reserved your campsite for twice as long.
RV Rentals in Lake Sharpe
Transportation
Driving
Because of the sheer size of Lake Sharpe, you'll need to know which campground you're going to be pitching camp at before you set out. The corps campground is located just a few minutes away from Big Bend Dam, but there are also numerous others around the reservoir's two-hundred miles of shoreline. If you're arriving from the direction of Sioux Falls in the east of the state, you'll be motoring along the I 90 westbound for about two hours before you get to Chamberlain where you'll swap to the SD 50 for the last few miles to the dam. The direction to the campground is signposted from the dam.
If you've been over at the Badlands National Park in the west of the state, you'll have a two hour run on the I 90 eastbound until you turn off onto the SD 47, cross the Power House Bridge and arrive at the dam. From either direction, you'll be driving through the rolling prairie lands of the Great Plains of South Dakota where the herds of bison belonging to the Native American tribes graze and that's something worth stopping to take photographs of if you see some. Once inside the campground, the roads remain well-maintained and there are no particular hazards you need to look out for.
Parking
Public Transportation
Campgrounds and parking in Lake Sharpe
Campsites in Lake Sharpe
Reservations camping
Left Tailrace
The Left Tailrace Campground is located close to Big Bend Dam near the town of Fort Thompson. It's a medium-sized campground with over eighty campsites for RVs with both thirty and fifty amp electric hook-ups at each pitch. The paved campsites are distributed around two loops, upper and lower, and all accommodate rigs of different lengths from thirty to eighty feet and vary between back-ins and pull-throughs. There are sheltered picnic tables, grills, and fire rings at each campsite.
The campground has full amenities including showers, restrooms, dump station, fish cleaning station and a spigot for drinking water. The site is family-oriented, with a basketball court, playground, and horseshoe pit. It's also pet-friendly so long as said pet is kept caged or on a leash while on the campground. If your barbecue or campfire gets out of hand, there are fire extinguishers on-site as well as an emergency phone. Stays at the Left Tailrace Campground are limited to a maximum of fourteen days in any consecutive thirty, and prior reservations are required.
Seasonal activities in Lake Sharpe
In-Season
Hiking
Taking a stroll around the shores of the lake in the campground is relaxing, but to find more exciting hikes head to the Fort Pierre National Grasslands. In the open expanses of the grasslands, you can explore the prairies along any of the many day hike routes and begin to understand just how immense they are. For an easier hike, head to Farm Island and set out on the three-mile-long interpreted Nature Exploration Trail or get more adventurous and tackle the fourteen mile-long Lewis and Clark Trail.
Water Sports
Whatever type of water sport you like, you can practice it at Lake Sharpe. The reservoir is ideal for canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, and even windsurfing when the gusts are strong enough. If speed is your thing, then you can jet ski, water ski, or whizz over the water in your motor launch. If swimming is what you enjoy, you can do that too from one of many swim beaches around the reservoir shores and then build castles in the sand while you're drying off.
Dakota Western Heritage Festival
If you're camped at Lake Sharpe in September, check to see if your visit coincides with the dates of the Dakota Western Heritage Festival. It's an annual event held in Fort Pierre you really won't want to miss. The three-day festival starts on a Friday with wagon trains and a steak feed followed by live music. On the Saturday there are performances by cowboy poets, exhibitions of western art and traditional crafts, plus a rodeo show and rodeo supper that's free of charge, though donations are accepted.
On the final day of the festival, you'll be served a free cowboy breakfast, after the cowboy church service, while listening to western music. If that doesn't make you shout, "Yeehaa!" nothing will.
Off-Season
Cycling
The Lewis and Clarke Bicentennial Trail is a thirty-mile long trail passing through Pierre and Fort Pierre perfect for cycling. The multi-use trail runs alongside the Missouri River and through just about every landscape possible from urban to prairie. It's a great way to see all that this part of the state has to offer. But if that's too much, try the Riverwalk-Bicycle Path running through the city and along the river for fourteen miles.
Dakota Cultural Heritage Center
Explore the diverse past of South Dakota and its people by going underground at the Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The modern center is built into the side of a hill and only the facade is visible. Walk through the doors and you'll be able to follow the timeline of South Dakota's history from its native inhabitants to the pioneering days and right up to the present day.
Fishing
There's great fishing at Lake Sharpe no matter what season of the year you head there to cast hook and line into the water. Spring, summer, or fall, be ready for hooking some walleye, channel catfish and big bass. There's also ice fishing at the lake during the wintertime and an annual Winter Fishing Weekend competition held in February with entrance fees charged going to the winners in cash payouts.
