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.

Santa Rosa Campgrounds

Great place to stay when passing through

We overnighted at Santa Rosa RV Park in late June 2017 when passing through the region. I have a vacation home in Santa Fe, so am pretty familiar with NM and this campground is quite typical of the region, meaning desert topography. It was nice to see they have quite a few trees on the property, as shade can be scarce in NM. The campground was easy to find and access to our pull-thru, FHU site was not a problem for our motorhome with tow vehicle (25' motorhome with toad - 42' overall). We did not have to unhook our toad. I saw another review mention there are no sewer hookups...that is not the case...we had a sewer hookup. The interior streets were easy to navigate and there seemed to be several pull thru sites, so I'd say this campground is big rig friendly.

We reserved a spot earlier in the day while on the road and the owner was nothing but professional and friendly. We arrived after hours and had several pull throughs to choose from. It was quite dark and the site numbers were hard to read. We found a spot that was fairly level with full hookups. All sites are hard pack dirt. There were some grassy areas that were well watered and taken care of...which our dogs appreciated. The park was fairly full, but not completely booked. There is a pool, tent sites and a restaurant. The next morning we were bummed the restaurant was not open. Oh well. We would stay here again if passing through. We paid 38.75 including tax and discounts.

Elk Meadow Lodge & RV Resort

Not the best. Not the worst.

Date of Stay: September, 2016 - $65.00
Overall Rating: 3 stars. (2 stars for value. 3 for staff. 4 for cleanliness)
25' Motorhome with tow vehicle (42' overall) - didn't need to unhook

We stayed here 2 nights in Sept 2016. We came in after the office was closed and chose one after looking at the options. Unfortunately, we chose one that was rented the next night, so we had to move. My bad for not noticing. The after-hours process was very clear and easy. We didn't want to unhook our tow vehicle, so chose pull-thru sites. All sites are dirt. We had E10 and D9.

The good: Location, clean bathrooms, modern laundry facilities, Great views - 360º with mountains and beautiful sunsets. Easy to get around the park and into most sites. Several sites that are suitable for big rigs or RV's with toads. Pull-throughs and back-ins. Satellite friendly at many sites.

The bad: Didn't find the staff overly friendly or accommodating - that may be due to their weariness due the season nearing the end. It's pretty expensive, but close to a National Park so that is somewhat expected. Laundry room hours NOT convenient for everyone...esp if you tour around during the day as doors are only unlocked between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. (last load must be started by 6:30). We don't usually do laundry, but we got there after hours and after dinner, we found out we missed the window. We really needed to do laundry and our last option was our final day/night. We didn't want to stay around until almost 11 a.m. since we were going to Rocky Mountain N.P., so planned on it our last night. Unfortunately, the water to the whole park was off when we returned due to it being repaired. Once the water was back on, the girl who answered the emergency phone was nice enough to come unlock the doors, even though it was after hours. Sites are dusty and not very level, but we survived. The utilities are oddly spaced at some sites. The sewer was a problem at our 2nd site as it was in an odd spot and we had to park just right so everything would reach. The bigger issue is one I've never encountered-the opening faced sideways rather that up towards the sky, and our hose had a hard time staying inside. Thankfully, we only used it to dump gray water.

I don't think we'd seek this place out next time we're in the area, but would stay here again if other choices were full. It has its merits, but needs some TLC to be a really great park. I would want to choose my site though as there is quite a difference from site to site. We camped at Elk Meadow Lodge & RV Resort in a Motorhome.

Tips for other Campers:
I think choosing your spot is key here as they are quite varied. There are bears in the area so it's important to keep food properly locked up.

Lake Mead RV Village (Boulder Beach)

Beautiful sunset over Lake Mead!

We stopped here for an overnight in April 2016. We considered the pretty and shady state park right next door to this spot (so close, we walked through it on way down to the beach), but the no generator rule and no electricity kept us away...it was hot enough that we wanted our A/C! Our concrete pad was level and had ample space (packed gravel) around us had there been other campers next door. There was a picnic table on the gravel area. I downloaded a photo for anyone wanting to see what the Lake View sites look like. We chose a head-in site, with FHU, right on the water and the sunset view was spectacular! Very peaceful. We walked around the park and noticed a good bit of full-timers. There is an area with permanent motorhomes with decks, but no residents during our stay. Don't let that scare you off as this is pretty typical in this part of the country...they were all well-maintained and "cute". The streets are wide and the park is easy to navigate. It's also very clean. There weren't any trees in our section and few in the park, so I imagine the sun gets pretty intense during the heat of the summer. Thankfully, that wasn't an issue when we were there (April). We walked down to the "beach" to check things out, but it was/is a longer walk than it looks, so it may be a bit too much for some folks. We were very impressed with this park and would definitely stay here again when out that way. We paid about $40 with Good Sam and were in a 25' Motorhome.