Broken Arrow Horse and RV Campground

The Great Outdoors

Rent a camper in Custer and gain access to a world-class outdoor adventure. From rock-climbing challenges to biking to endless trails, there’s something for everyone. There are well over 400 miles of hiking trails in the Black Hills National Forest alone, and the adjoining parks of Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park combined add a few hundred miles. Ascend heart-stopping peaks or descend deep into the bowels of the earth. The trails wind and weave through a wide variety of terrains from deep woods to high desert plains. Ancient, impossibly tall trees teeter and sway in light breezes overhead. High overhead, bald eagles, gold eagles, buzzards, and other raptor birds soar in the blue skies on unseen thermals, waiting for easy prey to snatch up for supper.On a quiet morning, it’s not uncommon to spot a group of bighorn sheep or mountain goats hopping from tiny ledge to tiny ledge on sheer rock faces. In the prairie region of the park, bison, pronghorn antelopes, and prairie dogs often can be observed as they forage for delicious meals. In Custer State Park, the wild burros, which are descendants of donkeys abandoned by pioneers as they traveled west, are notorious for stalking people in hopes of getting scratches or, better yet, snacks.Fishing and hunting are extremely popular in South Dakota, and the Black Hills is no exception. There are hundreds of streams and rivers for fishermen to explore, all with different offerings. Trout fishing, particularly in autumn, is especially good, and fishermen have reported trophy-sized brown, rainbow, and brook trout. Perches, northern pikes, walleyes, bluegills, and crappies are also abundant. Hunters have a choice between hitting the hills or the prairie; it depends on the type of game they hope to bag. There are limited numbers of licenses for certain games, like pronghorn antelope and deer, and the state often holds lottery drawings.When winter rolls around, the fun doesn’t stop. In addition to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, a majority of the trails are opened to snowmobiles. The Black Hill Snowmobile Trail System is ranked among the top 10 places to ride in North America.

Exploring the Area

In the heart of South Dakota, surrounded by miles of sheer wilderness, it’s hard to imagine that there’s anything to do other than hike or hunt. Indeed, there are several small mountain towns that have built up fun little retail shops, restaurants, and museums to tempt visitors into stopping. A rental motorhome makes exploring these towns on the twisting mountain roads an idyllic experience. In nearby Custer is the Four-Mile Old West Town, which is a ghost town turned into a living-history museum. All the buildings are original, restored to their former glory, and the interiors, which are open to the public, are stocked with authentic tools, furnishing, and decor from the mid-1800s period.The Old West region is rife with ancient fossils, remnants of massive dinosaurs that once roamed North America millions of years ago. Wooly Mammoths, too, were once common, though they are believed to have lived as recently as 10,000 years ago. One of the world’s largest concentration of mammoths is found in Hot Springs. Watch paleontologists carefully clean the fossils as a guide shares what they know about the mammoths. The facility is open year-round, and well-behaved leashed dogs are permitted everywhere on the grounds.A symbol of the wild west runs wild and free at the Black Horse Wild Horse Sanctuary in Hot Springs, SD. The sanctuary is one of the few places where mustangs roam the plains. Though the herds occasionally wander close to the visitor center, they decide where they graze. It’s often easier to join a tour to better see these magnificent creatures.Hop into a rental Airstream and follow one of the seven Black Hills Scenic Byways. The longest, which was named one of the top 10 byways in America, is Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway. Spanning 70 miles, visitors are treated to views of the Needles, impossibly thin rock columns, tunnels through sheer rock faces, and deceptively-treacherous (but perfectly safe) pigtail bridges. There are endless gorgeous landscape opportunities for photographers to enjoy.RV camp at Broken Arrow Horse and RV Campground and find your perfect adventure in South Dakota as you make memories with family and friends.