My Review of Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground

On our Epic Western Road Trip of 2023, we visited the Black Hills of South Dakota for 5 nights and chose Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground as our home base. We really appreciated Rafter J’s central location near all the major Black Hills attractions. This gave us more time to explore the parks and less time driving to get there!!

Quick Hit One Minute Review of Rafter J Bar Ranch

My one-minute or less review of Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground is this campground is AMAZING if you are visiting the Black Hills of South Dakota! This campground has everything:

• Location – close to all the must-see attractions in the Black Hills!
• Cabin rentals – vacation and explore with your non-RV traveling friends close by!!
• Great amenities – HEATED pool, basketball & volleyball courts, amazing night sky view for star gazing
• Fantastic views of the Black Hills

Spoiler alert…Rafter J Bar Ranch is full of fantastic amenities. Let’s get started!

Arrival and First Impression

First impressions are make or break, right!?! Rafter J Bar Ranch has excellent signage as well as two very wide entry drives.

• One entry point is closer to the Hill City, South Dakota side and the second is a bit closer to Custer, South Dakota.
• The second entrance literally across the street from the Needles Highway turn off from Highway 385. Visitors access both entries from Highway 385.

We arrived from Hill City and turned right into Rafter J. The entryway is nicely paved and tree-lined which makes an excellent first impression!

Pro Tip: Be careful of the speed dips.

You read that right! Speed dips not Speed bumps. Needless to say, these did their job of getting my attention and slowing me down. I wasn’t going fast, but anything over 5mph and you will feel the DIP. Nicely done!

Check-In

At the hill top campers park temporarily for check-in. This felt a bit disjointed. How? Often in busy campgrounds, there are staging lanes for RV’s to wait and keep the lot in decent order. Here, I did not see any lanes in the traditional sense. So, I pulled out the way as best I could.

Sara went in for check-in and returned quickly, so I assume it was fairly smooth. She returned with the knowledge of the full pancake breakfast offered by Rafter J (Thursday to Monday 8 AM to 11 AM). Double-check that upon your arrival. There is a small charge for breakfast. But, the opportunity to connect with fellow campers is a really cool option.

Sara had our crew on the road long before 8 AM every day, so no pancakes for the OurCampfireUnplugged crew. Next time!?!

Where is my campsite at Rafter J Bar Ranch?

Rafter J Bar Ranch covers a lot of ground (see the campground map above). No worries! It’s not wall-to-wall RV’s. Maybe during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally? Yup, probably. But, in the last week of June / first week of July, it was full, but not insanely overcrowded.

When is Sturgis Bike Week? This year (2023) it’s August 4 to August 13. Seems longer than a week, but who doesn’t love motorcycle exhaust and the sound of America rolling through the Black Hills?

Campsites

This camping resort offers 6 loops of camping! Plus if you’re wondering where can I rent a cabin near Mount Rushmore? Then Rafter J Bar Ranch has you covered.

Campground Loops

In no particular order, the loops are:

• Main Camp – Offers shaded and partially Shaded sites
• Base Camp – Offers partially shaded and open (e.g., sun)
• Line Camp – Offers shaded, partially shaded, and SUN
• Ranch Camp – HEAVILY SHADED
• The Island – Best I could tell this was NOT beachfront…shaded and open
• Lower Ranch Camp – Semi-shaded

I don’t recall our exact loop but I marked the spot in the picture above with a blue X. We were full sun.

I ran several (ok all) of the loops and recognized they all had benefits and drawbacks. Some loops were more state park feel (closer together and lots of shade), others more KOA style (closer together, but not overcrowded), and our loop sites were nicely spread out (mix of sun and shade). More of our specific site in a minute.

Cabins

Now, for everyone interested, cabins near Mount Rushmore, Rafter J Bar Ranch offers 3 cabin styles. We didn’t stay in a cabin. So, I can’t give a first-hand opinion. But, these look nice and give visitors choices. Cabins range from basic (e.g., a place to sleep in a bed) to luxury (e.g., TV, A/C, etc.). Again, we didn’t stay in a cabin so I’m not a perfect judge.

If you’re seeking a fun alternative to a roadside motel, this would be a cool option. Plus, if you have friends burning fossil fuels pulling a camper, this is a way to stay close, hang out, and travel more fuel efficiently!

Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground – Site 129

We stayed in Ranch Camp Loop site 129. Site 129 was huge!

• Overall site length was incredibly long. We could’ve fit a rig 100 feet long on this site!
• Side-to-side room (e.g., how close we were to our neighbors) was better than average.
• Maybe we were spoiled because this was a deluxe site? Either way having a level site with a paved patio is AWESOME!

Site 129’s patio was fully paved and included 4 super comfy Adirondack chairs (made from the trex-type material), a picnic table, and a beautiful fire pit. We had good intentions of having a fire but failed to burn some wood and roast marshmallows. Next time!

What other observations did we have?

First, Rafter J Bar Ranch was well maintained. Many of the amenities were newly remodeled and showed very well.

Second, spacing was fantastic in our loop. Small sewer hookups were visible through much of the grassy area, which I guess are used during bike week. Smart move!

How Far to the Bathhouse?

Even though our Keystone Cougar 364 includes 1.5 bathrooms, proximity to the bathhouse is always an important consideration.

Why?

Well, we like to take long and hot showers. And an endless stream of hot water and limitless sewer capacity have their benefits!

While I did not count the steps to the bathhouse, it was about 1 minute of easy walking on the interior gravel road.

As a bonus, the Loop’s trash dumpster was located next to the bathhouse. A two-for-one kind of deal!

What other amenities were near the campsites?

Rafter J Bar Ranch has a full list of great amenities including:

• Heated pool
• Playground
• Volleyball court
• Basketball court
• Laundry
• On-site fuel pumps / I’ve never seen this before. Looked to gasoline only.
• On-site Ice Cream at the campground store
• Location, Location, LOCATION!

How Close is Rafter J To All the Cool Things in the Black Hills?

Location is important! You will likely travel hundreds of miles to visit the Black Hills. So, you want to be in the heart of the action, right? Rafter J Bar is your place! Here is a list of popular destinations and their distances from Rafter J Bar Ranch (all are approximate):

• Custer State Park Sylvan Lake – 6 miles
• Needles Highway (the cool end where you go through the tunnels) – 6 miles
• Mount Rushmore – 10 miles.
• Iron Mountain Road – 15 miles…check out our Mount Rushmore – Should I visit with Kids Post
• Wind Cave National Park – 28 miles
• Rapid City – 30 miles
• Deadwood – 45 miles
• Sturgis – 58 miles
• Spearfish Canyon – 60 miles…Interested in taking a rock slide in a mountain stream? Then take a read through our Devil’s Bathtub in Spearfish article!
• Wall South, Dakota – 84 miles (just look for the signs; they tell you down a tenth of a mile how close you are…jk sortof)
• Badlands – 90 miles
• Devils Tower – 118 miles (woof!)

Can you visit Mount Rushmore and Badlands in one day?

You bet! I would plan to start early at Badlands and arrive at Mount Rushmore late.

What about Spearfish Canyon (Devil’s Bathtub) and Devils Tower? Can you see them in one day?

Absolutely! In fact, we did this. We did it in about half a day because we were slow to get moving. Check out our post on Spearfish. Amazing adventure. Spoiler the water is cold. BRRR!

Wrapping it Up: My Review of Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground

I’m biased because we had an awesome time, no I’m not getting paid (Rafter J management feel free to contact me). I 100% recommend this campground because it’s a great value, has an awesome location, and is super well cared for. Enjoy your time in the Black Hills!

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