Free camping and cell signal in Western South Dakota
Where dispersed camping is allowed in Western South Dakota: the Black Hills, Badlands & grasslands, which carrier will reach you to work or call for help, and what's on the road in. Free to use online. Offline use is paid: the Camp Map Pass saves the region to your phone for use with no signal.
Open Western South Dakota in the mapCan you camp for free in Western South Dakota?
On most national forest and Bureau of Land Management land, yes: dispersed camping is allowed outside developed sites, usually for up to 14 days, unless an area is posted closed. South Dakota school lands are open for low-impact day use; for camping, the Black Hills National Forest and the national grasslands are the places to go. National and state parks, wildlife refuges, tribal land and private timberland are not. In Western South Dakota the map shows who manages every piece of public land, wilderness boundaries and the land with no public record, which you should treat as private.
Where will I have cell signal?
From the carriers' own coverage filings with the FCC, strong (in-vehicle) LTE covers about 50% of Western South Dakota for AT&T, 28% of Western South Dakota for Verizon, 15% of Western South Dakota for T-Mobile, 2% of Western South Dakota for standingrocktelecom, 0% of Western South Dakota for jamesvalleywirelessllc, 0% of Western South Dakota for viaerowireless, 0% of Western South Dakota for uniontelephonecompany. Carriers model their coverage optimistically in the mountains, so the map also collects speed tests from other campers. Canadian phones usually roam on AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon here: check which one your plan uses.
Remote spots with coverage in Western South Dakota
Ranked by distance from town and signal. Tap one to open it on the map.
- Public land near Sheep Wagon Spring · gravel road · 13.8 km from Dewey · AT&T
- Public land near Sawmill Spring · gravel road · 17.1 km from Danoby (historical) · AT&T
- Public land · gravel road · 16.9 km from Oelrichs · AT&T, T-Mobile
- Bismark Lake Campground · hike-in · 6.9 km from Blue Bell · AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon
- Public land near Mirror Lake · rough road · 12.6 km from Jolly Dump · AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon
- Public land near Middle Kneebone Draw · rough road · 16.9 km from Oelrichs · AT&T, Verizon
- Public land near Dry Creek Reservoir · unpaved track · 12.7 km from Ladner · AT&T, Verizon
- Public land near Hop Draw · unpaved track · 20.1 km from Moon · AT&T, T-Mobile
- Buffalo Gap National Grassland · gravel road · 10.1 km from Wall · AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon
- Picnic Spring Campground · gravel road · 9.4 km from Ludlow · AT&T
Road access and wildfires
The map shows which roads in Western South Dakota are paved, gravel, rough or unpaved tracks, plus parking lots and trailheads, and live wildfire hotspots and perimeters while you're online.
Open Western South Dakota in the mapCosmic's Camp Map puts all of this on one map with land status, cell coverage by carrier, recreation sites, wildfires, services and road reports, and, with the Camp Map Pass, saves it to your phone for use without signal. See everything the map does.