angostura recreation area

We boated here and fished and sunned on the sandy beaches. Also picnic tables and camping are available. All around great facility.

A great summer recreation place to cool off on a hot summer day. The one issue this last summer was there was so much snow the prior winter and such a rainy early summer the water level was way above normal, making lots of the great sandy beaches 'disappear'. This caused some overcrowding on weekends. But it is still fun to go if you can get away from some of the party elements.

This park is beautiful. I traveled both the Shep's Canyon road and the Angostura Road. Shep's Canyon access is via a gravel county road which is common in this area. This is mainly a boa ramp area, but there are some campsites available. You can see the dam from across the reservoir from the Shep's Canyon area. The roads are better in the central park. Since it was off season there were no other people around. The campsites are beautiful. The beaches are too. I saw a Black Angus on the Shep's canyon road and deer in the main park. It was well worth the drive for the photo opportunities. It was too cold today for any flies.

We recently stayed a night at the Angostura Recreation Area on our way back to Colorado. It was pure luck that we found it as I had seen there was a large lake and figured surely we could find a place to camp with our motorhome. It was mid October so we weren't sure. However we followed the signs to the lake and found the best campsite of our entire 10 day Mt. Rushmore trip with our kids. Perfect lake view. Level site. Electrical hookup. Clean and easy to find. We will stay there again should we ever venture anywhere near Hot Springs. This was perfect and easy to book right on the spot. Thank you SD for doing a good job!!!

Happened upon this area from a Black Hills area tourism map. Will initially say that the camping reservation process in South Dakota is a bit more intense than initially thought. Needed one more night to finish our trip, then finding that the Cheyenne Campground had some open sites. This is one of the cleanest parks we've been in to date. Just a nice, tidy place to enjoy. THE best shower house we've been in to date; this includes over 28 years of camping experiences.One thing keeping this from a 5-star rating; a rampant fly population. While our site was right across from a pit toilet, flies were EVERYWHERE in the park. Stop on the bike trail for a sip, flies. Ride to the beach house, flies. Would expect that cleaning fish would be interesting, even though the fish cleaning station was clean enough to eat from. It would be thought that the park could have some luck installing fly traps; and while they'd need scores of them, it may well help. This will heavily impact decisions for future visits, but the rest of the park is SO nice, it would be a shame not to visit again. Tom from Iowa

This was our first family camping trip and it was a blast! We chose this location because of the amenities and location: close enough to Mount Rushmore and the badlands to the East. The showers were clean and in good working order, since I am NOT a camper this was a priority for me. My kids (12 and 7) loved the playground. There were tons of trails for biking or running. There was a couple serving as "camp hosts" who live in the camp, and they chatted and answered any questions we had. The online reservations and 1-800 number were a breeze to use. The staff answering the local number were very helpful as well. Unfortunately, you can't see the topography of the campsites when you reserve them. However, when we arrived the staff said we could switch to an available site if we wanted. (We stayed during the week. I've seen it completely booked on the weekend.) Good thing- our tents wouldn't have done well in Chyenne's hilly, pine tree campground. We switched to one in the flat Cascade campground without a problem. The "swim beach" is not much of a beach at all. It actually has concrete steps that lead to the water instead of a nice gradual sloping beach. There was a few feet of sand, but the steps were the main entrance. Be warned that in order to get to the Recreation Area you drive a few miles through ranch land and there will probably be cows ON the road. They will move out of the way if you honk, but proceed with caution, especially at night!! (We didn't smell them in the Cascade campsite at all.)Overall our experience was great! We will definitely return if we are ever in the area again.

Swimming, fishing, kayak and canoe rental, camping, electrical hook ups only, recommend reservations for camping

Even though we took our boat there on Labor Day weekend, we had a great time. It is so fun to pull the boat right up to the beach or to anchor out on the lake. Most boaters were respectful and there was a lot of fun had by all!

4 Nights in a cabin with 4 kids (ages 12, 9,7,4). Awsome place with beaches that are all to your self. We headed out to see the sights in the black hills and came back for fun in the beach. Clean bathrooms, clean cabins, clean water, watercraft, and fun for us Chicago folks. Purchased food at the local Hot Springs market store, along with visiting some of the sights in town. Overall a nice clean place if you want the Black Hills and beach fun. At bit far (40 min) from all the crazy tourist traps around mt Rush M., but beautiful sunsets and secluded beaches to come back to. Some flys and once in a while you can smell the cattle, but then again it's the "west". It's a bit warmer that the northern hills and perfect for beach and swim. Great facilities overall, will do it again and his time get a boat with a tube. Quiet place to enjoy your vac in a beach area in black hills, 20 min from the southern end of Custer St park. Other families stayed all day (beach and swim) and the next day they will hit the sights and return in the late afternoon for swim and beach time. Multiple beach areas, nice variety of beaches. At one point late in the evening a set of deer walked out to drink while we swam at the beach.

We love the sand beaches and warm water at Angostura... Check out Pirates at Longs Marina for everything you need.

We stayed one night in Cheyenne campground at the end of June, 2013. Inundated by house flies, and to make it worse the unmistakable stench of a (probably) near-by cattle feed-lot wafted over the area every time the breeze off the lake let up. Unless you are a die-hard lake-lover, camp elsewhere.

My girlfriend and I took a side trip while on a family vacation and we stumbled on this place. We only took a drive though to see the multiple beach and camping sites. Then we stopped at what I believe is the main beach. The water looked great, the sand was great. The place looks well maintained. We both agreed we will be making the 9 hour drive to return here with our fishing and camping gear.

We day tripped here from the Black Hills. It's hotter here and more like a desert (maybe it is???). The reservoir is huge and really quite scenic from the overlook we drove up to. We spent the day at the swim beach near the Cascade Campground. A few days prior to the 4th of July and the place was very empty considering the large number of campsites available and the great boating opportunities.Maybe there were 20 of us scattered along the long beach area. The water was nice. The state web site said "clear" water but I didn't think it was clear. The beach is very sandy but about waist deep or so there is a little bit of weed growth on the bottom. I grew up as a lake swimmer who detests weeds, so this caused me to jump around a little, but I realize I'm just being a baby. The bathhouse was very nice - changing area, toilets and outdoor showers to rinse off the sand.We stopped by the beach near the marina which seemed to have more activity. Boats had pulled in and there was large children's group there with adults. There is a concession stand on the beach that is open on weekends but on this day it was being used by people as a place to hang out (covered deck). I can't think of a better way - it felt very redneck. Hop on your tube with a can of beer and toss your cigarette in the lake. We will go back but know we will choose the other swim beach as our destination. All the campgrounds along the lake were sparsely filled (I think there are a total of 4 campground areas). I did overhear one of the rangers say a campground was full for the weekend (The 4th of July), but other campgrounds still had spots. There is little shade for the majority of sites, but it you are coming for the lake experience I don't think that's important and it is the area. The sites seemed very nice, level and many had electric and water. I wouldn't mind camping there (if it were full of campers it might be a very different experience). For all the years I've been to the Black Hills and how much I love hanging on the beach, I can't believe this is our first time venturing down here. Very fun, close to Hot Springs. Bring your swim toys, and lots of sunscreen!

We fish here quite often and wouldn't think about going to another lake. There are so many species of fish and you can usually get something to bite that we have yet to go home empty handed. We had never camped here but thought we'd give that a try. It was great. It was during the week, so not crowded or noisy. The campsite was clean, level and the bathhouse was spotless! The campsite hosts were friendly and helpful. We will be going back again to enjoy the sites and the fishing!

This is one of my favorite places to camp, fish, boat or just get away for the day to unwind. The campgroud host are wonderful they go over and above to make your stay the most enjoyable. I camp there at least 5 times a year.. Be sure to make reservations ahead of time if you need to camp. 3 months are advised