Stockade Lake is the largest lake in Custer State Park, a 129-acre reservoir in the southern Black Hills managed by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. It sits about four and a half miles east of downtown Custer, just inside the park's west entrance. GFP's lake map lists a mean depth of 16.8 feet and a maximum of 46.2 feet. The park allows swimming at four lakes (Center, Legion, Stockade and Sylvan), and at Stockade the designated swim beach is on the east shore along Stockade Lake Drive, with a playground, restrooms and small gravel parking lots a few steps from the water.

From Custer, drive east on US 16A to the park's west entrance station, then follow Stockade Lake Drive to the day-use area on the east side of the lake. Check SD511 for road work before you go.

The beach is a zoned swim area with no lifeguards on duty, so you swim at your own risk. Park rules ban pets and glass containers from the designated swim beaches, and jumping from cliffs or rocks into any park lake is illegal. Stay inside the swim zone. Stockade is the only lake in the park where all boats are allowed, motorboats included, so expect powered traffic on summer weekends. This is a mountain reservoir, and the water stays cool well into June. Water temperature and beach depth are not posted, so wade in before you commit.

There is no separate beach fee, but the beach is not free. Every vehicle in Custer State Park needs a park entrance license: $25 per vehicle or $20 per motorcycle for one to seven consecutive days, or an annual license at $40 for South Dakota residents and $60 for nonresidents. The license is good at every South Dakota state park, and you can buy it online ahead of time or at a park entrance booth. The park is open year-round. The beach itself has no posted hours.

The Qury Fire burned near the lake and briefly closed Stockade Lake Drive, the day-use area and the Stockade Lake Trail. Expect fire-scarred slopes around the lake, and call the park office at 605-394-2693 if you want to confirm that the trail and every parking lot are open.

Across the road from the beach is the trailhead for the Stockade Lake Trail, a 1.5-mile loop with a short rocky climb on the first half. The lake also has a boat ramp, fishing piers and shore fishing, and a South Dakota fishing license is required. Stockade Lake North and South campgrounds, camping cabins and a group camp sit at the lake's west end; reserve through campsd.com. Near the west entrance is the Gordon Stockade, a rebuilt log fort on the site where gold seekers dug in illegally in 1874 and 1875. A state historical marker below the dam credits a Civilian Conservation Corps camp of the 1930s with building the dam, a 1,500-foot beach, a campground and a picnic area.