South Dakota Public Lands
5.4% of South Dakota is federal land: 2,645,668 of its 48,881,920 acres (2024 data). The largest federal land manager in South Dakota is the U.S. Forest Service, with 2,006,708 acres, 4.1% of the state. Dispersed camping is generally allowed on BLM land for up to 14 days, after which you must move at least 25 miles. This guide covers 14 state parks, 5 National Park Service units, 3 national forests, 2 wilderness areas, and 5 national wildlife refuges.
Explore South Dakota public lands by type
- South Dakota state parks 14 parks, 1 with camping, 6 with swimming
- South Dakota national parks 5 National Park Service units, 1 with developed campgrounds
- South Dakota national forests Custer Gallatin National Forest, Black Hills National Forest, Nebraska National Forest
- South Dakota wilderness areas 2 areas
- South Dakota national wildlife refuges 5 national wildlife refuges
South Dakota public land map
- National forests
- National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS)
- National wildlife refuges (FWS)
- State parks
- Wilderness areas (dashed)
Land managed by (switch layers on or off)
Land ownership: USGS PAD-US 4.1, dissolved by manager and simplified (parcels under about 2 square km not shown). Unit boundaries simplified. Not for navigation or legal boundaries.
List of all 29 places on this map
State parks (14)
- Bear Butte State Park
- Custer State Park
- Fisher Grove State Park
- Fort Sisseton Historic State Park
- Good Earth State Park
- Good Earth State Park at Blood Run
- Hartford Beach State Park
- Lake Herman State Park
- Newton Hills State Park
- Oakwood Lakes State Park
- Palisades State Park
- Roy Lake State Park
- Sica Hollow State Park
- Union Grove State Park (South Dakota)
National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (5)
National forests (3)
Wilderness areas (2)
Who manages South Dakota's land
| Agency | Acres | Share of South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 275,738 | 0.6% |
| U.S. Forest Service | 2,006,708 | 4.1% |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 207,116 | 0.4% |
| National Park Service | 148,022 | 0.3% |
| Department of Defense | 8,084 | 0% |
| All federal land | 2,645,668 | 5.4% |
Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), 2024 data, checked 2026-09-30.
Camping on South Dakota public land
Dispersed camping is generally allowed on BLM land for up to 14 days, after which you must move at least 25 miles. (BLM South Dakota, checked 2026-09-30.)
National Park Service land has its own camping rules, set by each park unit: see Mount Rushmore National Memorial for campgrounds, fees, and backcountry permits.
1 of South Dakota's state parks have developed campgrounds on record; compare them in the South Dakota state parks table.
Common questions
- 5.4% of South Dakota is federal land: 2,645,668 of its 48,881,920 acres (2024 data).
- 275,738 acres, 0.6% of the state (2024 data).
- The largest federal land manager in South Dakota is the U.S. Forest Service, with 2,006,708 acres, 4.1% of the state.
- Yes. Dispersed camping is generally allowed on BLM land for up to 14 days, after which you must move at least 25 miles. Individual conservation areas and monuments set their own rules; check each unit.
- This guide lists 14 South Dakota state parks and recreation areas, 1 of them with camping on record.
- congress.gov (accessed 2026-09-30)
- blm.gov (accessed 2026-09-30)
The sentences on this page are generated by software from the sourced records above, not written by hand. How this content is made.