Black Hills South Dakota

I am looking to plan a trip to the Black Hills this summer to climb. My goal is to backpack in and climb for a couple days. I am decent at climbing trad. Does anyone know if you have to Camp at designated camping sites or can you just Camp anywhere? I am looking for ideas on trails and climbs to do.

The Black Hills are a great place to go cragging. Most of the classic climbing (that I know of) is a short walk from a paved road. Maybe someone who lives in the area can point you towards something obscure you could hike out to though.

I live in the Black Hills. There is free camping at Wrinkled Rock Campground. You can camp for free in the Black Elk wilderness too. As far as trad goes I like the Cathedral spires and some of the climbs around Sylvan Lake. Of course we have Devils Tower too, but there is a voluntary climbing ban in June which sucks. If you get the Needles of Rushmore climbing guide you will have no problem finding awesome climbs. For backpacking I usually go to the bighorns about 2.5 hrs farther west. Spearfish has really good climbing too but its mostly sport. Have fun!!!

There is also a cheap(10$) guide book for sylvan lake that you can buy at Granite Sports in Hill City. Its made up of 100 or so great routes and the maps are spot on. well worth the buy. Theres tons of good camping anywhere so it just kinda depends on what your looking for. I lived in Custer for 8 years so i have tons of bata if ypou got questions. Might even see you there.