KOA-Mount Rushmore

Great location for touring the Black Hills - Date of Stay Sept. 2016

Everyone has their own idea of a "perfect" RV Park. We all like different things. I've come to learn there are people who flat out dislike KOA's. I'm not in that camp because I feel like I know what I'm getting with KOA. I could give this RV Park 3, 4 or 5 stars. 3 stars for the person at the check-in and other staff, 4 for the site/pad and 5 for location and amenities. I'm settling on giving this 4 stars. The location is excellent if you plan to stay a few days in the Black Hills and tour Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer N.P., The Badlands, Deadwood, etc.

This is a KOA Resort. It has car rentals, bike rentals, restaurants, horseback riding, lots of level sites with hookups, both pull-in and back-in. It has tent sites, restrooms, laundry, propane, cabins, security gate, a pool, slide, games, horseback riding, and other stuff for kids. We don't have kids, but this is definitely a great spot if you do. It also has some great, fairly private spots along the back edge - great views. It also has premium sites with concrete patios with a grill and metal table and chairs, if that interests you.

That said, I don't care so much about activities and rentals...I care about location, access into and around the sites, whether or not the RV's are packed in like sardines, security and whether or not the other campers look like they cook meth or cook hot dogs. I prefer the latter (i.e. this is a hot dog kinda place), and this spot met our criteria for this trip. Our gravel pull-through site was fairly level, had full hook-ups, a picnic table on grass, a fire-ring and was a respectable distance from our neighbors. We were towards the back and had no wifi or cell service. One of us has AT&T and the other Verizon. We didn't get any cell service until we were closer to Mt Rushmore. Well, AT&T kinda worked up near the entrance. We have come to expect sketchy to no cell service in valleys (such as this) or mountains. We didn't get WiFi at our site, but assume that was because we were very far from the front...I don't think we've ever had good wifi at any campground ever though. Thankfully, without cell service or wifi, our satellite worked like a charm in our open site, so we were spared electronic withdrawals. :-)

Getting around was easy and there were plenty of big rig friendly sites here. Towards the front, there were sites with a swing and patios...and there was a large group of touring RV's staying together. The sites are relatively close to one another...they pack 'em in pretty good. Still, enough room to breathe.

We didn't use the restrooms or laundry. We took advantage of the restaurant for breakfast and the food was just "okay" and our service was slow. In her defense, I think most everyone in the entire area was "over it" and ready to get the heck out of dodge as it was the end of "the season". There is a plethora of seasonal workers in the area, and it had that "last week of school" vibe.

We paid $57.24 each night, for 3 nights, mid-Sept 2016 with a KOA 10% discount for a pull-through with electric/water/sewer.