Quiet, Comfy Black Hills Cabin; Within 10 Mi of Mt. Rushmore & Custer State Park

Keystone, South Dakota
$241 avg/night Minimum Stay 2 Nights
Bed 1

Bed

Bath 1

Bath

Home Cabin

Property Type

Sleep 4

Max Sleeps

Night 2 nights

Min Stay

The Carol Jean is a historic cabin getaway that we renovated a few years ago. The Carol Jean includes a kitchenette with granite countertops and all new appliances. The bath includes a large natural rock shower. The cabin sleeps four, with a king bed on the first level and two twin beds on the second level (loft). There is an all redwood deck with a swing for outdoor relaxation.

All cabins include Wifi, 32 Roku TV, air conditioning, heating, and outdoor dining facilities with access toa barbecue grill. Cell service can be spotty all through the Black Hills. However, we have recently, (Spring 2022), upgraded to Starlink satellite internet.

This cabin has a swing set and other outdoor equipment in front of it for children to use. There is a large meadow on the property and if you walk to the end of it you can see Mt. Rushmore through the trees.

McDonald Mountain Ranch is in a very convenient location. Center Lake is nearby, which is a swimming/fishing lake with picnic tables, barbeque grills, showers and restrooms; located 2 miles away from the ranch. The Black Hills Historic Playhouse is also within a few miles. The beautiful Iron Mountain Hiking Trail is right around the corner. The Wolf Camp outdoor restaurant which serves barbeque ribs, burgers, pizza, etc is 1/2 mile away. The entrance to Custer State Park is also right around the corner. In our opinion we have the best and most beautiful property and location in the hills!

Minimum age requirement is 3 yrs old.

We do not have guest laundry facilities. There are laundromats in Keystone and Hill City.

Unfortunately due to many considerations and despite the fact that we are huge animal lovers, we do not allow pets in our property. If a guest arrives for their reservation with an animal they will NOT be given a rental key NOR issued a refund.

Check in is at 4:00pm MST. Because we have a full house and are small staffed please do not arrive early. Late check in is fine, just give us a call to arrange it.

Driving and Parking Info: The Ranch is located directly off of a well maintained and paved county road. Our driveways are hard packed dirt and gravel. We have limited parking near each of the cabins and suites. We have an additional parking area at the rear of the main lodge. We have a large, well kept meadow beyond that for overflow parking of motorcycle trailers, side by sides, etc. We ask that you please do not block the main driveways or the two car garage at the front of the property.

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  • Feature Features
  • Map Map
  • School District Availability
  • Review Review

Feature Features

  • PETS

    No Pets Allowed
  • DINING

    Dining Table
  • SAFETY

    Carbon Monoxide Detector Not Reported (host Has Not Indicated Whether There Is A Carbon Monoxide Detector On The Property; Consider Bringing A Portable Detector) Fire Extinguisher Smoke Detector Installed (host Has Indicated There Is A Smoke Detector On The Property)
  • BEDROOM

    Bed Sheets Provided
  • GENERAL

    Unit Size: 448 Sq Ft (42 Sq M)
  • KITCHEN

    Coffee/tea Maker Cookware/dishes/utensils Microwave Refrigerator Toaster
  • PARKING

    Car Required Onsite Parking RV, Bus, And Truck Parking On Site
  • INTERNET

    Free WiFi
  • OUTDOORS

    Barbecue Grill Deck Or Patio
  • BATHROOMS

    1 Bathroom Hair Dryer Shower Towels Provided
  • LANGS SPOKEN

    English
  • THINGS TO DO

    Cycling Nearby Fishing Nearby Golf Nearby Horse Riding Nearby Mountain Biking Nearby Mountain Climbing Nearby Power Boating Nearby Swimming Nearby Winery Tours Nearby
  • ENTERTAINMENT

    Smart TV
  • CLIMATE CONTROL

    Air Conditioning Heating
  • FAMILY FRIENDLY

    Playground
  • LOCATION HIGHLIGHTS

    In A Rural Location In The Mountains Near A Zoo
  • SUITABILITY/ACCESSIBILITY

    5 Stairs To Reach Property Area Rugs In Public Areas Hardwood Flooring In Public Areas If You Have Requests For Specific Accessibility Needs, Please Contact The Property Using The Information On The Reservation Confirmation Received After Booking. Smoke-free Property

CheckIn Check-in : 04:00 PM CheckOut Check-out : 11:00 AM
No Wheelchair No smoking No pets Children allowed
Occupancy Max occupancy : 4

Map Map

School District Availability

Review Review

  • terry

    Submitted Jun 22, 2025

    Stayed Jun 14, 2025

    Wonderful!

  • Lori K.

    Submitted Oct 7, 2025

    Stayed Sep 23, 2025

    We loved this cabin! It was perfect for our 3-night stay in the Black Hills. Cabin is very well supplied and perfectly clean. We were greeted by four deer in the yard our first morning! Thank you for your beautiful property and great hosting!

  • Amy S.

    Submitted Aug 29, 2025

    Stayed Aug 25, 2025

    Great location to use as base for visiting Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave NP, and the Crazy Horse Memorial. The small kitchenette was well equipped and made it easy to grill out and watch the deer in the evening grazing in the pasture. Enjoyed the front porch swing every morning with a cup of coffee. Highly recommend!

  • Jeff W.

    Submitted Jul 24, 2025

    Stayed Jul 8, 2025

    It is a beautiful area. Will likely spend additional time at this place in the future.

  • Jessica F.

    Submitted Jul 21, 2025

    Stayed Jul 18, 2025

    My kids wanted to make sure I gave a review - they absolutely loved staying at the cabin! It was clean and had anything we could have needed. The setting was peaceful and relaxing and in great proximity to everywhere we wanted to visit.

  • Joey M.

    Submitted Jul 16, 2025

    Stayed Jul 13, 2025

    Wonderful 3-night stay. Great location and we saw wildlife every day. Very clean and comfortable. Wifi signal was strong. Exceeded expectations

  • Darlene B.

    Submitted Jun 26, 2025

    Stayed Jun 22, 2025

    The cabin was perfect for our family trip to South Dakota. It was clean and had the necessities we needed. Very quiet and peaceful. Enjoyed seeing the deer and turkeys in the morning roaming outside our windows. Great location for all the sites we planned on our trip.

  • Ashley M.

    Submitted Jun 9, 2025

    Stayed Jun 5, 2025

    We stayed in the Carol Jean cabin and had a fantastic experience! Very clean accommodations with everything we needed for our stay. We hiked back to Lakota Lake one day which was beautiful! This property is secluded, quiet & a peaceful retreat for a black hills vacation! Thank you for sharing your property with us and hopefully we can come back some day!

  • Chad H.

    Submitted Sep 6, 2024

    Stayed Aug 29, 2024

    We really enjoyed our stay in this cute and clean rustic cabin. Great location. Unfortunately we didn't get to visit with the owner in person but everything was as described and better. Very clean bathroom and well stocked cabin. We did do the private trail walk to the lake behind property which is a must. Loved our stay. 5 stars

  • Rob M.

    Submitted Aug 26, 2024

    Stayed Aug 19, 2024

    Perfect stay for my wife and I to celebrate our 30-year anniversary.

  • Benjamin F.

    Submitted Aug 26, 2024

    Stayed Aug 11, 2024

    Everything was perfect for our Family of 4.

  • Steve J.

    Submitted Jul 26, 2024

    Stayed Jul 22, 2024

    Arrived about 430 pm. Check in was supposed to be after 4pm. We walked into the cabin to find the bed not made, full garbage bag on the floor. Didn't appear to have been cleaned at all. Went over to the residence and rang the doorbell. Owner came to the door so I told him the cabin wasn't ready. Appeared to be a communication problem as they thought it was ready. We then drove down the road a bit to give them time to get the cabin ready. Came back like 35-40 minutes later and it was ready. Giving them the benefit of the doubt but disappointed it wasn't ready. Surprised also that they didn't do anything for me after the rough start. After that things were fine. So hopefully they have put a process in place to ensure this doesn't happen again.

  • Tara K.

    Submitted Jul 17, 2024

    Stayed Jul 7, 2024

    We came with our two young sons and stayed for a week and the cabin was just perfect!!! Very clean! Property was well taken care of. The host was great, and even let us know we left our van door open =) We got to watch deer from the porch and windows every day. Our two sons LOVED getting to be in the loft and play cops and robbers. It was so peaceful and so very close to all things Keystone / Custer and Black Hills parks. AND Very close to the playhouse! highly recommend and will come back if we have the opportunity!

  • Matthew L.

    Submitted Jul 3, 2024

    Stayed Jun 29, 2024

    It was a tidy cabin, nicely appointed, maximizing the space. Access to Rushmore and Custer state park was easy.

  • Frank F.

    Submitted Jun 15, 2024

    Stayed Jun 9, 2024

    Fun little cabin to stay in near Keystone. Tucked away so you have peace and quiet. Our kids enjoyed seeing the deer come right up onto the property. Quiet little cabin with a loft the kids could stay in. Wood cabin so you get the outdoors fell, but also all the amenities we needed. Would definitely stay here again!

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Total

Includes taxes and fees
$241+
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