robmccauley

Just look at the map and you can see what you're getting into. Unless you get a spot off in the back, this place is busy all day, every day, in the summer. Why? Because the weather is beautiful, it's proximity to Mt Rushmore is unmatched, and it's full of amenities. We've stayed here twice now and luckily both times were in the high 500's area, which is quiet-er than a lot of the spots. If you plan on staying a while and have kids, it's great. If you don't have kids, then this place will be way too busy and loud to relax. All you can eat pancakes? I'd like to see anyone stuff down a 2nd stack. lol. Mini golf could stand an upgrade. Shop is well stocked, on-site restaurants are good, if a little expensive. Do yourself a favor if you're towing a large rig like I was, enter from the west. DO NOT take your camper down that HUGE grade that ends at a stoplight in the town of Keystone. 55mph, then warnings about the grade, more warnings about the grade, and it keeps going and going, then the warning of 25mph ahead near the bottom that's actually a stoplight with 4 pedestrian crossings in the first block, all at the bottom of the hill. After all that, the descent from Mt Rushmore down to the KOA ends with a hard right(like 120 degree) turn back into the park at the bottom of a hill. Cell service is crap because you're in a valley, WiFi didn't seem to work for us either.

Pretty good free option for your trip across South Dakota. No power, no generators running but some rowdy young folks making noise very late Other than that there was plenty of room for my 35’ rig. When the rowdy people finally got quite it was very quite. Beautiful location on the water. Road to this spot is long and gravel And wash boarded. Overall great for boondocking.

Nice park with a lake. RV Park was larger than I expected and there was a office with an attendant. The site I used had elec/water but they let me pull through one of the full hookup sites to dump the tanks when I was leaving. The tent campers were a little loud but that wasn’t a big problem

Overnight parking was allowed so we stopped here to sleep on our way to South Dakota. We needed to run our generator so we parked out by the big rigs since they were all noisy anyway. Not level but we didn't care, it worked out good for us. Restrooms were clean.

The sites on the South side of the park(see the campground map) and along the river are WAY too tight to enjoy "camping". Our slide-outs were almost hitting the picnic table on our left side and the people with the class A on our right side kept apologizing for their slides encroaching on our site. That said, it wasn't a problem because we didn't spend much time milling about our campsite area. We went for walks along the river(there is a nice path from the campground to access the river), swimming in the pool and playing mini golf. The mini golf was really nice, and a major upgrade from the shoddy mini golf at the Rushmore KOA we had just left. Pool was OK, hot tub was hot but would not bubble, it happens. Laundry facility was good. There's definitely no 10 year rule here either, as there were some "interesting" campers on the backside near the pond area ;-)
The sites on the North side of the park with the patios are more like what you would expect. Know also, that the sites along the river do not have a view of the river. I'd call it a little pricey for what you get, so if you're going to spend the money, spend the extra $15-$20 and get sites 1-12, those were very nice. It was quiet and we overslept because the campground is shaded by trees and the bluff to the east.

Stopped for some overnight truck-bed camping. Train noise is a factor since the park is right next to a railroad track. Toilet is an "emergency use only" situation. The light bulb in the bathroom was burnt out when we arrived at midnight, so we had to use our cell phones to take a leak. Kind of hard to locate the electrical outlets in the dark but we found one, and it worked great for our quick stopover. Not sure I'd recommend staying several days here, but for a quick overnight stop, it's "OK".

Closed. Boards on the windows kinda closed

Found it no problem. Good photo-op

First time I ever checked into a motel via a bartender. lol Themed rooms. We stayed in the Bordello room. It’s about the experience. It was all clean and comfortable. There was no breakfast at this bed and breakfast, but we enjoyed it none the less. Check-in/check-out was odd and we overlooked things like the cracked sink, one missing tile on the tub surround, and the water damage in the corner of the bathroom, because it was a neat place to stay. If you want something normal, there are 15 motels to choose from. This place was definitely unique.

It’s not much but they’re working on it. Ya gotta get the picture of the sign at least.