South Dakota camping around Mt Rushmore suggestions

[3rdTimesaCharm]

We stayed a week at Beaver Lake Campground this past July as part of our 94-day tour of 9 western states. It's a nice campground with a great staff. There are a couple of play areas for the kids with a water slide and pool. However, we're on Verizon & had to walk up to the office area to have cell reception. WiFi is also spotty. No matter where you ultimately choose to stay, please don't overlook The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota - my personal favorite tour of the whole 3 month trip.
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[Tyrel Sackett]

Rushmore Shadows is our favorite. On Rt 16, roughly halfway between Rapid City & Keystone with plenty of shaded sites.

Tyrel Sackett
Denver, CO

[UpAndDownTheWest]

We enjoyed Custer State Park for Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Wall Drug and the Badlands. All easy driving day trips.

[kins83]

My wife and I stayed here for a week;


Heartland RV Park
24743 Hwy 79, Hermosa, SD
605-255-5460


Really nice campground with like 200 sites, WES, 50 amp, lots of long pull throughs. We visited Devils Tower, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the Badlands, and many more places from that home base.





605-255-5460

[Wannabe123]

Last summer we stayed at Palmer Gulch KOA in Hill City. Wonderful place but very busy in July. Hopefully the month of May is less crowded.


Only a few miles to Hill City for the train ride, 10 minutes +/- to Mt Rushmore and if you need Medical help like I did at 2am for Kidney Stone ATTACK the Custer Hospital is 11 miles away or about 6 minute drive


The worse thing in the Black Hills area is phone service.... well maybe that was the BEST thing

[Oltimer13]

We stayed at the Spearfish KOA in summer of 2018 in Spearfish S.D. It was ok. While in the area, stop at the Spearfish fish hatchery. It's pretty interesting.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Oldbears

We stay at Custer State Park and nowhere else when we visit that area. We camp in Bluebell campground. It has electric sites, drinking water available, clean bathrooms/showers, but no dump station. There are two dump stations elsewhere in the park but you won't be able to tow a tote to them. (When we stay we just use their showers and our tote is small enough that we can lift it into the back of the truck if we need to empty before the end of our stay.)

No playground at this campground that I can remember... But, your kids will be too worn out to play after a day of riding around the park watching bison, pronghorns, deer, big horn sheep, elk, and prairie dogs!

But, even if you don't camp in the state park, have it on your must see list because it shouldn't be missed.

We have reservations at Custer State Park May 25-30 this summer. Staying in the Game Lodge Campground.

Same Electric and I think water, or at least the ability to fill our holding tank with fresh water with a dump station in the campground.

Looking forward to it a lot! It is the first destination in a 6 week trip around the western US.

[ChrisParise]

Was there in 2019. Did lots of exploring and sightseeing. Closer to the monuments and Custer State Park is Angostura Recreation Area. Beautiful, breath taking campgrounds with RV campsites. Checked it out last year, it's in Hot Springs SD.
We stayed though at the Rapid City destination KOA. You can rent a car right at the campground which was perfect for us as we have a MH and dont tow.
If I go back I am staying at Angostura. The Walmarts are only 20 minutes away in Rapid City for any supplies needed and Hot Springs is that much closer to the monuments. Its close to gas and right off the main interstate.
The KOA in Rapid City is ok especially if you are sightseeing all day anyway. We typically don't camp at KOAs preferring more natural and quieter settings.
The only drawback of Hot Springs is it puts you further away from Sturgis, Spearfish, and Devils Tower Wyoming, but they are all driveable.
Be aware, violent weather in the area may keep you from sightseeing every minute or whole days so I learned it might be nice to plan on a day or so of just hanging out at the campground taking a break from sightseeing at a really beautiful campground like Angostura.
Chris

[TheRoosterCA]

You didn't say what type of camping you were up for, so if you are not concerned about hookups, Horse Thief Lake Campground is my choice. We stayed there for 6 nights in a thirty foot travel trailer. This is a well kept Forestry camp ground with many level concrete pads and plenty of room. It is situated right next to the lake which is full of nice size trout. It is only ten minutes from Mt Rushmore on highway 244. Also, only $25.00 a night! If you search it, don't get it confused with Horse Thief RESORT. I attached a picture of the lake so you can see what I woke up to every morning.

[steve2000xj]

Good morning.
Several years ago we stayed at the Echo Valley campground just outside of Custer.
We could see Crazy Horse as we drove into the campground.
Full hook up and great hiking (605) 673-3368 is their phone number

[Red Roadrunner]

Originally Posted by MrR2500

Looking for suggestions of places to camp around Mt Rushmore, up to 30 minutes away. Looking at going mid May. would like to find full hook ups, any suggestions of places to camp. Will be traveling with a 4 year old and 18 month old. Family friendly, ie play ground.

We go there often as we have grandchildren in Spearfish. We have stayed in several RV parks and National Parks. If you want full hook ups Chris Camp in Spearfish is nice. Has 2 heated pools with nice laundry with video games for kids, and bath facilities. A farm animal petting zoo is also fun for the kids. There are always lots of kids at the family pool. One draw back is they do not accept credit cards for space rental, checks are okay. Another nice full hook up in Spearfish is the city owned RV park, one of the main attractions there is the historical fish hatchery ,reservations are recommended as they have events there like arts festival. Of course national parks for boon docking. Custer State is very nice Sheridan Lake and many others to choose from. A full hookup in Hills we like is Fort Welikeit Family Campground.

[Two dogs and us]

Watching this tread. We to will be going there the first week in May up from Texas. We will be staying at the KOA. Already plan to see Mt.Rushmore, Crazyhorse, riding the train through the black hills and seeing Deadwood. Any other neat things that people who’ve been there can recommend to do? We are really looking forward to this trip. Sorry op for the derail.

[TheRoosterCA]

Originally Posted by Two dogs and us

Watching this tread. We to will be going there the first week in May up from Texas. We will be staying at the KOA. Already plan to see Mt.Rushmore, Crazyhorse, riding the train through the black hills and seeing Deadwood. Any other neat things that people who’ve been there can recommend to do? We are really looking forward to this trip. Sorry op for the derail.

You should try to include at least Badlands (awesome!). Also Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument (awesome!) and try to get to Custer State Park.

[ValleyRoad50]

Originally Posted by Two dogs and us

Watching this tread. We to will be going there the first week in May up from Texas. We will be staying at the KOA. Already plan to see Mt.Rushmore, Crazyhorse, riding the train through the black hills and seeing Deadwood. Any other neat things that people who’ve been there can recommend to do? We are really looking forward to this trip. Sorry op for the derail.

I recommend Lead and Spearfish Canyon in the northern Black Hills. Lead has a new visitor center by the huge open pit mine and offers tours of Lead and the Homestake gold mine. The steep streets of Lead are also interesting. There are waterfalls in Spearfish Canyon and the Devil's Bathtub hike is great for the adventurous! Rent an ATV at Recreational Springs and explore the many miles of trails and you may see elk, deer, cattle, and possibly a mountain lion. Drive up Terry Peak Summit Road or up to Cement Ridge for majestic views. There is so much to do in the Black Hills that you'll never run out of activities!

[ChrisParise]

Thanks for the tip. We prefer these kinds of campgrounds, and have a favorite COE campground, on our trips for extended stays. Will check it out, I believe I saw the signs for this last year on our trip. Not sure if you read my post but the Angostura recreation Area in Hot springs sd might interest you. On a huge reservoir with a few loops many overlooking the water from hills or on the water. Have not stayed there, was attracted to explore it because of the reservoir and stumbled upon the rv camping. I am sure its a little further out from this one but it is a state facility and looked extremely well groomed but natural

[rscribner]

My family took a road trip this year to North Dakota from California. We spent two night in South Dakota at Rushmore View Campground in Keystone. The campground is part of the Magnuson Grand Rushmore View Inn. There is a shuttle stop right in front of the campground which will take you up to Mt. Rushmore. Keystone is a cute little mining town and has a lot to see which you can walk to.

[ChrisParise]

Nice pics and tip. We had lunch in Keystone last summer on one of sightseeing days and drove through it several times as well

[Two dogs and us]

Thanks for the tips guys. They definitely will put more things to see and do on the radar.

[67L48]

We stay at Custer State Park, Stockade Lake. This is an extremely convenient location, as it's close to the town of Custer and all of the various attractions. There is power at the site and water in the campground. There are a handful of $10 dump stations within a 5 minute drive ... or you can drive about 30 minutes to the Custer State Park dump station.

We have deer come through every night. It's very picturesque and benefits from being in one of the prettiest state parks ever. And, it's pretty darn inexpensive to camp there.

Reptile Farm and Bear Country are family favorites, as are the National Monument caves.

[sharon]

I may be a bit prejudiced since I work at the KOA Palmer Gulch, for 12 years now. But we love it there. It can be pricey if you want all the bells and whistles like concrete patio, BBQ, flowers, swing etc. If all you need is water and electric then very reasonable. Dump station on property. All kinds of activities for the whole family. They do get very busy so make reservations in advance. If you are planning a May trip keep in mind that almost all campgrounds in the Black Hills area are seasonal. Most are open in May but with limited activities and sites, depending on the weather. Usual opening for campgrounds as well as tourist attractions is Memorial Day. Can get chilly at night still. Even had 2 feet of snow there on May 14th last year!!!! Have a wonderful time. Oh, several campground, RV parks in Hills City as well.