Planning a trip to the badlands

[HammersD]

Hey guys, looking for some input on campgrounds in South Dakota. Would like to take two weeks and hit south Dakota and possibly hit Yellowstone as well. Any info on experiences would be a big help.

[BuzzWolfAR]

Last year I stayed at The Roost RV Park and loved it. Very small, but great people.

Easy for Custer State Park (2 or 3 days), Rushmore, and many other fun places.

Restful place to center activities from.

[Schvarak]

If you're a vet, Ellsworth Afb has a nice campground. In any case Mount Rushmore is a must, especially the evening lighting ceremony.

[RSBivings]

Just returned from a week in the Custer area many nice rv parks. Custer state park also nice. So many things to see in Badlands or Blackhill's. If you stay at air base set up to take a tour of missile silo you need to make reservations I didn't and was unable to go onto site as they are booked so call in advance. Deadwood/Lead are great little old west towns to visit and gamble if you want to. If you take the tour in Deadwood use the one owned by Kevin Costner really good. It is busy in summer but the week after labor day the crowds drop and the weather is very nice in the low50 at night and 70 during day

[hotice]

was in Custer last year stayed at Big Pine Owners were great hosts. beautiful campground no cable but we didn't go to watch tv. Deer were on the grounds every day.

[gectisme]

We stayed at Hart Ranch RV Park near Rapid City 2x in the last 6 months. It's close to Mt Rushmore and not too far from Badlands NP. Very nice RV Park.

[Linnemj]

We did a similar trip 2 years ago. Here are my thoughts.
Badlands is a 2-3 night stop maximum. We stayed at a nearby KOA in Interior that was fine. We really enjoyed touring the Minuteman Missile Historic Site. Get there before they open and you can sign up to tour an actual underground launch bunker. They limit the tour to 6 people at a time and it fills up fast.

We loved Custer State Park. There is a lot to do in the park and it serves as a good base to tour the entire area. We liked Game Lodge campgrounds. You can do Mt. Rushmore, Hill City, and several cave tours from the park. You can easily spend a week there!

[PhoneDude 8289]

We stayed 3 nights at Badlands/White River KOA RV park in the Badlands. Nice park making it easy to take in the Badlands. We were there in July 2017.

[timfromma]

No trip to Badlands is complete without a stop at Wall Drug.

[Bikersarge]

Originally Posted by timfromma

No trip to Badlands is complete without a stop at Wall Drug.

You got that right.....oh, the homemade Ice cream and good restaurants.

[kraftengr]

We stayed at Mystery Mountain Resort in July 2016 and really enjoyed it. Clean with friendly staff. Nice wooded sites!

[jrowe0521]

we entered yellowstone from the south after staying in Jackson (not Jackson hole, that's the name of the airport)WY in a nice campground 5 mi north of town. they have only a few full hookup site. (they are new and very nice), so call ahead for these. there is a parking lot in the center of jackson for rv's. snow on the peaks in june was nice. camp sites in yellowstone have no hookups. we went to rapid city to walmart (south of city on the road to mt rushmore) then headed east on rt 44 towards badlands which is very stark yet scenic. in about 35 miles on left is entrance to badlands natl park. by the way, if you can get a senior park pass for $10 + $5 shipping, you will save a bunch. the road up to mt rushmore is very (very) steep both up and down. parking is good in park if you have a senior park pass. we have seen tv shows on the making of mt rushmore which gave a lot of meaning to the park. I don't know of camp sites near badlands, because we didn't need any. if you leave yellowstone from the north (both east exits are over mountains) into montana then east to rapid city, you might enjoys Custards battle field on the way. it is a long (long) drive in with no place for an rv to turn around until the end and the beginning. in montana go west first to bozeman for a great natural history museum. have fun and take your time.

[Jo-D]

Tourist trap rip off and horrible RV parking. There is lots of space but no organization to it. You can easily get trapped. Corn Palace a much better venue.

[spock123]

Senior park pass is now 80 bucks

[CDRJML]

There is a great campground just NE of Belle Fourche. Just about 6 miles off hwy 83. Only about $21 a night.
Also two of the Forest Service campgrounds between Cody WY and Yellowstone are very nice.
If you come over on I-94 the Teddy Roosevelt Badlands in Medora ND are much nicer. There is also a musical about TR in Medora that has a great steak before the show.

[matwiyj]

I've got both of your destinations covered:

2010 trip to Badlands/Black hills
2017 trip to Yellowstone

[Chaplain Kent]

We stay just outside Yellowstone east entrance. National Forest campgrounds. Less crowded.

[Celicabob]

If your staying in the Custer area (the town), a great place to eat is the Captains' Table. They serve a prime rib that is to die for!
My girlfriend only eats beef once every other week but had their PR 2 nights in a row...
Hope it has the same owners as 4 years ago, they were a great couple.

[mule]

Originally Posted by HammersD

Hey guys, looking for some input on campgrounds in South Dakota. Would like to take two weeks and hit south Dakota and possibly hit Yellowstone as well. Any info on experiences would be a big help.

Rafter J’s
EXCELLENT!!!

[johnbryanpeters]

Originally Posted by Schvarak

If you're a vet, Ellsworth Afb has a nice campground. In any case Mount Rushmore is a must, especially the evening lighting ceremony.

Is Ellsworth unique in this regard? I'm a vet, but would never think that a military base might offer camping...