Hay Creek Ranch Horse Camp

Hay Creek Ranch is a true horse camp tucked into the Black Hills near Nemo, South Dakota. It’s surrounded by forest on all sides, so once you’re there, it feels like you’re right in the middle of the riding.

We’ve only stayed here once, and it was more of a last-minute stop for us—but they were able to get us in, which worked out well. The campground itself is beautiful and very well kept, and overall it has that laid-back Black Hills feel where you can settle in and focus on riding.

Getting in is manageable, but the final stretch into camp is a bit narrower, so you’ll want to take your time, especially with a larger setup.

Once you arrive, they check your paperwork right away before you unload, and they do ask that you arrive within a certain time window. After that, they assign you a spot—you don’t get to pick your site or your horse stalls, so you’ll want to be flexible with where you end up.

This place is set up well overall for horses, but there are a few things worth knowing going in.

The pens are spacious and the setup is functional, but not all of them are level. Where we were, the stalls had a noticeable slope. We were fortunate to be on the “uphill” side, but it was easy to see how that could be less ideal for horses on the "downhill" end of the run. You’re also not allowed to put down shavings, which could have helped prevent urine flowing to stall next to yours.

Everything you need is there—water, covered stalls, and a layout that generally works—but it’s not a perfect setup across the board.

The riding is still a big draw. You can ride right out of camp into a large trail system, and there’s plenty of terrain to explore. Just know that the trails are not marked, and even using apps like Gaia, they can be difficult to follow at times. We still enjoyed riding the area, but it definitely takes a little more effort to navigate.

The round pen is located at the far end of the campground near the general store. If you want to let your horse roll or work them after a ride, it’s a bit of a walk to get there.

The campground itself is very clean and well maintained, and the General store is a nice bonus—they even have ice cream, which is a nice touch after a long ride.

The hosts were friendly and helpful, and you can tell they care about how things are run. That said, some of the rules don’t seem to be enforced consistently. Dogs are supposed to be contained or on leash, but we saw multiple dogs wandering around, and one even came into our area and peed on a piece of tack.

Another thing to be aware of is smoking at campsites. We ran into situations where nearby campers were smoking, which made it difficult to keep our trailer windows open.

Overall, this is still a solid horse camp with great riding and a beautiful setting. Just go in knowing it’s more of a working horse camp with some inconsistencies, and not everything is going to be perfectly dialed in. For us, this was a once and done.