Overview
About Stockade Lake
Why stop
- A rocky bluff and pine reflections make a distinctive lakeside setting.
Heads up
- Swimming is unguarded at the beach.
Map
Where it is
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Custer Tour Guide
Your drive to Stockade Lake, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Custer State Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Custer audio tourRecorded for this place
Stockade Lake: Water or a Ridge Walk“Stockade Lake is coming up, with a pine-lined shore and a rocky bluff across the water. If you want to go boating, this is the park's only lake allowing every type of boat, including motorboats.”
Plays as you drive up to Stockade Lake in the Parkwolf Custer Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- How Water Striders Stay Afloat
- Doran Trail: Stone Paths Above Stockade Lake
- Gordon Stockade: Gold and the Treaty
- The President's Well-Stocked Stream
- 82 audio storiesacross Custer’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bison, Wapiti, Bighorn Sheep, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 40 trails, 49 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“We recently toured Badlands, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and more! We learned so much from this app as we toured each of these sites. The audio tours are worth the money.”
Guide
More about Stockade Lake
A lake for the waterStockade Lake is a reservoir on the west side of Custer State Park, edged by pines and a rugged…
Stockade Lake is a reservoir on the west side of Custer State Park, edged by pines and a rugged rock bluff. It makes a good water stop: there is a swim beach, a boat ramp and a picnic area, and the park allows every type of boat here.
Swim, boat or fishLaunch from the boat ramp or swim at the beach.
Launch from the boat ramp or swim at the beach. Swimming is unguarded, and pets and glass are prohibited on the marked swimming beach. The lake’s fishing list includes northern pike, bass, perch, crappie, bluegill and bullhead; you need a South Dakota fishing license.
Take a shore breakThe day-use picnic area has tables and a pit toilet.
The day-use picnic area has tables and a pit toilet. Stockade Lake North and South campgrounds are separate nearby destinations, with their own overnight facilities; don’t assume their showers or drinking water serve the day-use shore.
Look across the waterThe pine-lined shore and exposed bluff reflect across the lake.
The pine-lined shore and exposed bluff reflect across the lake. When the water is calm, frame the bluff with its reflection and reeds at the water’s edge.
How the lake was madeCivilian Conservation Corps crews built the dam that created the lake and developed a…
Civilian Conservation Corps crews built the dam that created the lake and developed a recreation area here. The lake was once called Doran Lake, after the family associated with the original homestead.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Custer
993 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
91 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
260 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
85 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
259 sightingsBurroMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
711 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Custer. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
