Recommendations near Mt. Rushmore

[nmorgan]

We visited the Custer / Keystone, SD area many years ago and loved it. Now we want to take our youngest there (original trip was before her time) on an RV trip and was hoping for recommendations on campgrounds. We will soon have a 38' motorhome and looking for great campgrounds with shade, electricity, and water.

Where have you stayed and had a great experience?

 

[Skookum]

We were driving through and wanted to see Rushmore and were trying to book whatever we could find. Just so happened Rushmore KOA had a site available.

KOA's for me are a place to park for the night and get going the next morning on a long trip when trying to make good time. But wow...Rushmore KOA is incredible. I call it "Disneyland of South Dakota". So many attractions, sports, games, fishing, fun rentals, and things to do with a billion other kids and families. Excitement everywhere...and very very busy!

We are childless and weren't quite expecting what the park was going to be. Definitely not our bag, but I realize that is specific to us as a childless couple! lol. But I think it would be awesome for families - judging clearly by the number of families there having fun!

The staff were wonderful, and the park was in order. Decent accommodations, but with a little less privacy and space than we'd prefer. Full hookups. We also booked last minute and didn't have any choice in sites. YMMV!

 

[Larry N.]

We stayed at Hart Ranch a few miles south of Rapid City on a couple of occasions, and were very pleased with it, but we were there with members. I've not been back to check on what it's like just coming on it cold -- nice campground though.

 

[vaughisa000]

We also stayed at the KOA when I went a few years ago. Great experience and location. You have to go see Sylvan lake while you are there. It is beautiful!

 

[rjwilliams11741]

The Rushmore KOA is a pretty good place. Make sure when you are at Rushmore that you take the time explore the back side (North West) of the monument. Not many folks take the time to go over there but it's really kind of interesting. LOL

 

[Old_Crow]

We stayed at Custer's Gulch campground, east of Custer. They have full hookups, a water/electric section, and a tent section. It was pretty nice and it was close to town. I'd go back.

 

[X-Roughneck Strike 3]

We also Stayed at Custer Gulch RV. We stayed in RV Spot #60, Huge Pull thru Sites. You can actually see the Custer Park Entrance from our site (3 Miles away), after entering the Park you are a couple miles from the exit to take the wild life loop. Close to the visitor Center also. Here is our site at Custer gulch RV.

Great Place to stay. We loved it.

Great location to see all the iconic stuff in the Area!

RV Park and Campground | Custer's Gulch | Custer, South Dakota

Welcome to Custer’s Gulch RV Park where we have 60 spacious full service sites near the west entrance of Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota!

www.custersgulch.com

 

[Old_Crow]

We also Stayed at Custer Gulch RV. We stayed in RV Spot #60, Huge Pull thru Sites. You can actually see the Custer Park Entrance from our site (3 Miles away), after entering the Park you are a couple miles from the exit to take the wild life loop. Close to the visitor Center also. Here is our site at Custer gulch RV.

Great Place to stay. We loved it.

Great location to see all the iconic stuff in the Area!

RV Park and Campground | Custer's Gulch | Custer, South Dakota

Welcome to Custer’s Gulch RV Park where we have 60 spacious full service sites near the west entrance of Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota!

www.custersgulch.com

We were tent camping at the time, but wanted a water/electric site so we could charge our laptop and phones. Their wifi was so good we watched a couple of movies on the computer at night...until the bugs found us.

 

[nmorgan]

We were driving through and wanted to see Rushmore and were trying to book whatever we could find. Just so happened Rushmore KOA had a site available.

KOA's for me are a place to park for the night and get going the next morning on a long trip when trying to make good time. But wow...Rushmore KOA is incredible. I call it "Disneyland of South Dakota". So many attractions, sports, games, fishing, fun rentals, and things to do with a billion other kids and families. Excitement everywhere...and very very busy!

We are childless and weren't quite expecting what the park was going to be. Definitely not our bag, but I realize that is specific to us as a childless couple! lol. But I think it would be awesome for families - judging clearly by the number of families there having fun!

The staff were wonderful, and the park was in order. Decent accommodations, but with a little less privacy and space than we'd prefer. Full hookups. We also booked last minute and didn't have any choice in sites. YMMV!

Thanks! We did just book at the Rushmore KOA. Looks like a fantastic spot to spend time with the fam while exploring the area.

 

[CharlesinGA]

The Black Hills is a rather small area and so picking a place to stay that is not in the Custer SP/Rushmore area is not a do or die situation, provided you have a toad to go with that Class A. When I was there, I was in my Class C and no toad and so i stayed on the north end of the Black Hills area at Spearfish so I could rent a car. Here is my trip report of that visit. You may find some links in there that are useful. https://www.rvforum.net/threads/my-black-hills-badlands-and-solar-eclipse-trip-in-august.110023/

Charles

 

[Dragginourbedaround]

While you're in the area you should see the monument to Crazy Horse. We stayed at Heartland RV Park.

 

[X-Roughneck Strike 3]

While you're in the area you should see the monument to Crazy Horse. We stayed at Heartland RV Park.

Love the Poem. LOL

 

[nmorgan]

The Black Hills is a rather small area and so picking a place to stay that is not in the Custer SP/Rushmore area is not a do or die situation, provided you have a toad to go with that Class A. When I was there, I was in my Class C and no toad and so i stayed on the north end of the Black Hills area at Spearfish so I could rent a car. Here is my trip report of that visit. You may find some links in there that are useful. https://www.rvforum.net/threads/my-black-hills-badlands-and-solar-eclipse-trip-in-august.110023/

Charles

Great information in your trip report, Charles! Thanks for pointing me to that!

 

[CharlesinGA]

Forgot to add, time permitting, visit the Journey Museum early in your trip. It will help you understand the history of the Black Hills and the whys and where fors of exploration and settlement of the area.

Other thing is when driving the Iron Mountain highway, drive it from south to north, in the morning. There is one tunnel that frames the faces of Rushmore as you pass thru, but you need the morning light on the faces. I did it in the afternoon when you could not see diddle.

Also, when driving the wildlife loop in Custer State Park, (something like $20 for a one week pass) do it in the evening (or possibly in the morning) as the wildlife will be out and about. Again, I did it in the afternoon, they were all off hiding somewhere.

Charles

 

[Dragginourbedaround]

Love the Poem. LOL

Sorry, but it took me THIS long to figure out what poem you were referring to!

 

[viceprice]

We were pleased with our stay at Beaver Lake Campground in Custer.

 

[BoiseRules]

We have a trip planned for mid-June to Spearfish SD with reservations at Elkhorn Ridge Resort.

ELKHORN RIDGE RESORT | Spearfish RV Campground & Tents

Come to scenic Spearfish for the best RV camping, cabins and tent sites available in the Black Hills. Make Elkhorn Ridge Resort your home base for visiting Spearfish Canyon Scenic, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, historic Deadwood, and Devils Tower.

elkhornridgeresort.com

 

[John Stephens]

In 2019, we stayed at Fish N Fry, north of Mt. Rushmore and south of Deadwood. It made a very good home base for a week of exploring the sites around the Black Hills area, close enough to make day trips out of Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer SP, Devils Tower and the Badlands. The sites at the park are decent sized. Although we tow, we chose a back-in site next to the creek that runs by the park and feeds the pond where you can catch your dinner for a reasonable fee. The park was quite beautiful and afforded a good number of photos.