Agency-listedUSFSFee
Dalton Lake
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · SD · 44.23042, -103.47660
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Dalton Lake
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 4,396 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Dalton LakeNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Dalton Lake · Black Hills National Forest · SD
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail4 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- ShShower5 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- MMechanic12 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- RxPharmacy13 mi
- +Urgent care15 mi
- WWater15 mi
- OOutfitter16 mi
- EVEV fast charger16 mi
- DDump22 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 5 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Dalton Lake
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
4,396 ft
State
SD
Coordinates
44.23042, -103.47660
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Dalton Lake · Black Hills National Forest · SD (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureDalton Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townTomahawk · ~2.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelBig D Oil · ~4.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~22.4 mi · Love's Travel Stop
- GroceriesElk Creek Valley Market · ~4.8 mi
- PharmacyCounty Drug · ~13.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicMonument Health Sturgis Hospital · ~12.0 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~11.9 mi
EV charging — from Dalton Lake · Black Hills National Forest · SD — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger15.7 mi straight-line SE — Rapid City, SD - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach10 within 25 mi · 12 within 50 · 19 within 100 · 22 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS17.0 mi — Target T2457 (Rapid City, SD), Rapid Ciy
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO18.4 mi — SECFIRSTBNK SECFIRSTBNK-B, Rapid City
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)14.5 mi — HORIZON POINT RCSC SE #1, Rapid City, SD · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 102410 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Dalton Lake · Black Hills National Forest · SD — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletDalton Lake · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDalton Lake · ~0.2 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBoxelder Forks · ~3.7 mi SW · USFS
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 8 · ~4.5 mi NE
Open Dalton Lake elsewhere
Other camps near Dalton Lake
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Boxelder Forks~3.7 mi · fee
- Steamboat Rock~5.0 mi · fee
- Robaix Lake Campground~9.4 mi
- Fort Meade Recreation Area~9.8 mi
The unit that manages Dalton Lake
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Dalton Lake are set by Black Hills National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Dalton Lake
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Dalton Lake
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Dalton Lake
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Getting unstuck →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →