Mount Rushmore KOA at Palmer Gulch

This  is a giant KOA with great check in procedures. They lead you right to the space and guide you in. It is a resort class campground, centrally located to everything you want to see in the Black Hills. The pools are nice, the play area got raves from our 9 yr old. Bounce pad, splash pad, playground, some ball pit game I can’t remember....and a movie every night. He went to bed tired every night. 😃
There are plenty of pull through spaces but they are TINY. We had to adjust our camper over a bit so our awning didn’t touch the neighbors camper, and even then I felt it hung out too close to the road. (With the massive number of first time amateurs in their rental motorhomes I wasnt very comfortable with that) No chance of putting up our pop up shelter either. 
It is very clean and well patrolled. There is a rodeo on the property as well as a chuck wagon dinner show. 
There is virtually no cell service here. 
The campground has a small strip of stores, ice cream, pizza, and the like. There is also a big camp store with plenty of supplies and souvenirs. Also an ok restaurant, just ok. 
This campground is minutes from Mt Rushmore, and close to Custer State Park, Custer, the Jewel cave, Wind cave, Needles Hwy, and lots more. Not always a big fan of KOA’s, but it is nice to be able to spend the day away touristing and not worry about your camper. The security there is good without being overbearing. Also, sorry for sounding snobby, the price keeps the riff riff out. There are some beautiful campgrounds all around the area, but for doing the tourist stuff this KOA works out great. 

Location, location, location!

Stayed at the KOA Rushmore on an impromptu trip to Mt. Rushmore with my girlfriend.  This was our first experience with a KOA and we were impressed.  Glamping is not a term I use often, if ever, but I can safely use it to describe this experience.  The visitor center sells handcrafted soaps, anything remotely associated with camping and has a solid beer selection.  Prefer wine with your camping?  There's a wine shop, next to the fudge shop.... next to the laundromat...  

Plenty of things to do for kids as well, lots of playgrounds and basketball courts.  Don't expect privacy or solitude but if you're looking to camp near Mt. Rushmore and want a few amenities, try it out.  

Three dollar pancake breakfasts to help after the one-dollar shots in the Mountain Pub the night before.  For the rock climbers out there... just up the road towards Mt. Rushmore, there is a scenic pulloff near a lake with some fun bouldering.  

Great place to camp near Mt. Rushmore

While the campgrounds are very nice, I'm not very impressed with Mt. Rushmore overall. I visited during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. If you go during this time, be prepared to tourists. Lots and lots of tourists on loud motorcycles. Don't get me wrong, every single person I encountered was over the top friendly and just out to have a great time. The motorcycles are very loud though and it does tend to get pretty crowded. If you do come to the Mt. Rushmore area be sure to drive up to WY and check out the Devil's Tower and also head out to the Badlands!

Nice but meh

One of the most beautiful places I have been!

Amazing!

We had a great time on our Mt. Rushmore trip. The parks were beautiful and the scenic drives unforgettable.

Great family trip

we have stayed in quite a few KOA’s over the years and this is one of  the top 3. There is a ton of things to do at the campground, my kids especially enjoyed the rock climbing wall. Location to many of the Black Hills destinations was close and convenient. The shops and choices for food right at the campground was great

One of the best so far

We stayed here on a long road trip this summer and really enjoyed it. It is a large campground with a variety of sites. This is a resort KOA so they have a lot of things to do. They offer ATV rentals, car rentals, and bikes. The location of the KOA is within minutes of Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. The area is one of my favorite places that I have ever stayed. There is a ton of stuff to do in the Black Hills and surrounding area. The campground had plenty of bathroom and shower facilities. They were clean and well maintained. Overall it was a very pleasant experience.

Large Campground with everything you need. 

One of the largest KOAs in the US. It’s basically a small town with two pools, a village of shops and restaurants, tons of activities, and a large horse stable with trail rides. We had a nice back in site on the edge of a hill with plenty of privacy. However most the full hookup sites were really tight and had no shade. 

Very close to Mount Rushmore and within about 30 minutes of most of the Black Hills attractions. If you want the resort RV experience  it will be tough to find somewhere better. 

Huge KOA with tons of activities 

We desperately needed showers and a place to park for the night. We knew what KOAs had/have to offer, so we had the right mindset.  We were packed in like sardines and up against the small cabins(thinking they might have been disappointed with their view). Showers were warm and the amenities were plentiful. We took advantage of the bar for a drink and salad.  In the morning we enjoyed a coffee and toasted bagel. The surrounding mountains were beautiful and the people watching was spot on. 

Disney Camping

A perfect location to enjoy all that the Blackhills area has to offer.  A perfect campground to keep your kids entertained and having fun all day long. 

Absolutely a perfect family campground in every way. 

If you want a ton of activities for kids and family this is the place. Water park. Trail riding. Car and ATV rentals. Restaurants. Tap room and much more. Be advised if you want peace and quiet though, this is not the place. 

Great place for families

This campground has everything your kids will need or want for a memorable camping experience. If your traveling with out kids it’s a bit busy/noisy and tightly spaced. Overall it’s a very good place to stop for a night or two if seeing Mt Rushmore. On the first night, after we finished hooking up, it was a welcome to have a hot meal right on the property. We enjoyed tacos and margaritas in the Prospectors tent while watching all the families come and go from the camp activities.
It’s a huge campground, and they lease all manner of transportation for your stay, bikes, four wheelers and dune buggies. They have a full stable of horses and guided horseback tours. They also have two pools, one with a water slide, mini golf, a snack and ice cream stop, a few little stores for your firewood and camping needs, play grounds, basketball courts, a sand volleyball pit, activity pavilion, bounce pit, water fun zone and so much more. The views of the mountains are beautiful and the grounds are kept spotless. I’m sure with a campground this large that’s no easy feat. The abundant staff were friendly, and helpful and on their collective toes to make sure all this ran smoothly. We are empty nesters, so we didn’t take part in the activities much and moved on after our two nights, but would highly recommend this campground if you have kids and are looking to create some memorable days in camp. I will add It’s very pricey and the spaces are extremely tight... we’re a 36’ so we got the pull through costing 130 a night. Over all a nice experience, but a looking for a less expensive, less crowded spot next time we come through. We had no Verizon service here and the internet was very spotty. Overall Technology failure. 

Kids will have a blast

One of the nicest KOA's we have stayed at with SO many amenities! However, it was VERY crowded and almost felt like we were stacked on top of each other (reason for 4 stars). We were so tight in our RV site we barely had room for one tent and  we really needed space for two.....but next time we would reserve a bigger site earlier in the season.

But the bathrooms were nice and clean, there was plenty to do like a pool, nice store, breakfast, horseback riding, games and movies and even a chuck wagon dinner (reserve in advance).  It also was is the best location to visit a variety of historical and nature sites like Mount Rushmore, Black Elk Peak Trail, the Needles drive in Custer SP along with various caverns, the 1886 train and nearby Wall Drug &amp; Badlands NP. By far my favorite thing every morning was the "cowgirl wake up call" when they rounded up the horses and herded them to the front of the campground along a channel near our campsite.

Perfect Location for Black Hills!

This campground has something for everyone including everyone: tents and campers, cottages, hotel rooms Extremely close to the entrance to the park. Less than 3 miles I believe. Lots of activities for families with and without kids. Playgrounds, mini golf, a water slide, ATVs and bicycles. Biggest KOA I’ve ever seen. Each RV platform also has a chair swing, grill, firepit and patio furniture.

Everything and more!

This campground is very clean, well kept, and VERY Large! There are UTVs that you can rent to go out on the trails, there's a fun zone for the kids that has bouncy houses, the pools, Mini Golf and more! There are over 500 sites at this campground plus cabins, a restaurant, a hotel, riding stables etc. It is also just 5 miles from Mount Rushmore and 15 minutes from Crazy Horse! 

Quiet, Lots to do!

We really enjoyed our stay at the Palmer Gulch KoA. We have two kids ages 3 &amp; 7 and we never ran out of activities at the campground. We rented a full day UTV, rented “banana bikes” and utilized all of the fun zone. Unfortunately, all the horse rides were booked for our weekend. 

We had site 303 which was a patio pull-thru, there was plenty of space between our neighbors and right by the fun zone. Our kids were able to play on the playground or basketball court while we watched from our campsite. 

If you have children, highly recommend this KoA. 

Wonderful for families

Would've give 5 stars but they don't pay attention to the size of the trailers and the size of their spots. They just throw you in anywhere. Took us a good hour to park and set the trailer ground was so uneven we ended up having to dig out a hole for our tires to sit in to level out the trailer. The park is very large over 400+ site plus many cabins, deluxe cabins, and executive cabins to rent. Many things for the kids to do pool water slide splash pad a long with many playgrounds around the park for them to play at. Activities in the pavilion restaurants snack huts horseback rides, rental bikes golf carts and ATVs. Lots to do in one place. Don't forget it about 7 miles from Mt. Rushmore and about 10 miles from Crazy Hores Memorial. Other then the crappy spot we got place was great. If your coming here either say your trailer is bigger then it is our pay for the deluxe pull throughs

KOA Mt Rushmore Palmer Gulch

Pulmer gulch is a awesome place. There are many things to do. There is a mini golf course, a playground, a Tiny gift shop, and my more. One cool thing is there are big boulders scattered across the campground which kids love to climb on. There is also a pool and water slide that is free to get in. The campground is really big too. I loved camping there I hope to go back again.

Awesome place. One of my favorite

The campground is huge—maybe too big for it’s own good. There are hundreds of sites, tents and campers are all mixed together. There are lots of different site designations—some have water/electric but no waste, etc…

There’s a lot to do here—trail rides, cookouts, and lots of programs each day and evening geared towards the family. 

The place is huge! I can imagine kids wandering a getting lost. 

The bathrooms and showers could be more abundant, and def cleaned better/more often. 

Check in was smooth and the store is very well stocked. 

So large! 

The Mount Rushmore KOA at Palmer Gulch was our first experience at KOA and really set the bar for activities and organization. From what I can tell, this is a very large KOA with a wide variety of sites. 

  

Upon arrival, you can tell right away that they operate the campground well. We were directed to a staging area while we checked in. The buildings are all well maintained, and there is plenty of staff on hand throughout the campground.

  

One recommendation is to look for the horses when they are brought to the corral in the morning (usually between 6:10 and 6:30 am) and then returned to where they bed down for the night (usually around 6:30 pm). It's quite the site to see roughly 30 horses running free and being guided by two people on horseback!

  

The only issue that we had was with our connectivity to the outside world. We had NO cell connectivity anywhere in the campground (Verizon) and their Wi-Fi was essentially useless unless you were right next to the bathrooms. Even at the main building, there was no connectivity through Wi-Fi. Trying to connect to work was impossible, and we ended up leaving a day early because of it.

  

Clearly, if you can be disconnected for your time there or are fine with trekking to Grapes &amp; Grinds in nearby Keystone, then this is a fabulous campground. 

  

3 stars only because of the Wi-Fi (cell coverage is out of their control) and only until Starlink goes live for us RVers.

Nice KOA but be prepared for NO cell and useless Wi-Fi

Great place to keep a family entertained! They have it all at this resort, if it weren’t for the beautiful scenery that surrounds the resort you wouldn’t want to leave! Only down side is un-usable WiFi and no cell service (we have Verizon)

Great family camping!

The best KOA I have ever stayed at. It is definitely a resort: they have everything for everyone. Amazing play and pool area. Restaurant, wine tasting, deck bar with local brews on tap, OHV trail access and rentals, stables. List goes on…

This is a resort!

Very large campground with a lodge and amenities. Large camp store with necessities, food, camping supplies, and souvenirs. We came in on Saturday which was loud and busy. We ordered food from their take out restaurant which was very poor quality. The fudge shop had a great latte the next morning. Unfortunately their restaurant was closed due to lack of ability to hire workers from the pandemic. The pancake tent had decent, quick breakfast food. 

The kids loved the small, cold water slide as did I. There is also mini golf, a pool, splash pad and variety of games for free as well as scheduled activities, sone with a fee. We made marshmallow guns and rented bikes too. You could rent all terrain vehicles and golf carts. The latter required reservations a day in advance and were in short supply since the campground is so large. 

The bathrooms and showers were decent and clean. 

It’s nice and the kids would stay again. It was quiet enough in an RV. 

We did think that the way the “ shuttle” was stated there was one throughout the day. There is only one at night. 

There are too many items to list. I liked it a lot but we were hoping for better food to buy to make or purchase as this was day 6 and 7 of our journey. 

Great for kids

Campground is located in the heart of the black hills and provides several amenities that are perfect for being in a remote area. Back spots are spacious and tree covered 

Great location and some solitude 

There aren't many other amenities in the surrounding areas. Town is 20+ minutes away. The location had a little place to make burgers and pizza. A small row of shops for coffee and horseback riding. Helpful staff. Wifi was terrible everywhere except the Lodge. Campsites fluctuated from .01 mbps down to sometimes 5 mbps. Closer to the .01 most of the time. Zero cell reception on all devices. Nearest cell tower is 2 miles away. 

Big, friendly, charming

Campground is clean but very close quarters and crowded. lots of amenities for families especially during summer months. Awesome views from some campsites. lots of areas for pets. 

Mt Rushmore

•	Resort that was not as advertised, arrived late was told security would be there to assist in getting to our site but we could not find anyone to help after getting lost we finally found out spot that was tiny and not level, water hook up was broke, staff was not helpful or friendly. Pool was tiny, slide was not working and pool too crowded to use. Very disappointed in this campground. Also no cell service and wifi was terrible. Only positive was the beautiful views.

Not as advertised...

Yes it is a big RV park with all the amenities but at certain point it’s too much. The staff was friendly enough but a lot of the campers are kinda rude, it’s equivalent to being at a big resort or a theme park. Also the phone service and Wi-Fi are very spotty. 
My wife said the dryers at the laundry mat were not efficient and cost more than usual.
On the bonus side of all of this the park is in a great location and has a great hiking trail across the highway up to Black Elk Peak.

Too big and commercialized 

Our stay was fine. No serious complaints but I will point out some things that don’t seem to align with the “resort” ambiance you pay for here. 

First I was not expected to be nickeled and dimed.  Bread in the campstore was $6+ dollars - if it were good bread maybe. But it was Wonderbread. 

The breakfast provided is an amazing concept but the delivery is sub par. The food was gross. They don’t have any real syrup for the “all you can eat pancakes” for $3.50 and they basically give you Karo syrup. Biscuits were hard and the small yogurt cup was $6+. 

After all that I look at my bill and see a pet fee per night on top of the resort fee per night. I get this is a tourist trap area, but come on y’all, let’s keep things classy. 

The young foreign staff working at the restaurants and eateries are confused, annoyed, and rude. 

The WiFi is awful. Just awful. You will never connect to it. We didn’t once and I have a king antenna repeater installed in our rig. And I get it if you’re saying to yourself right now, “it’s camping, lady! Disconnect and enjoy nature” but the problem is we’re full time, I work remotely, and I depend on WiFi for my job and income. Without reliable internet I cannot stay at a campsite. This works sometimes if there’s good cell signal but here at this KOA there’s NOTHING. If there’s no cell signal on the campground then you MUST put effort into making your WiFi better across the whole campground. I do not have an option to stand in the gift shop or campstore to take video calls with my CEO. That’s not going to work. 

And lastly the shower curtains in the bathhouses were full of mold. Shower curtains are like one dollar. Change them out! 

My biggest pet peeve is that they don’t have recycling. Especially with the campstore being full of cases with single use plastic drinks. They don’t recycle! How is this even possible in 2022? 

Expected more for the cost

Arrived on 9/4 (labor day 9/5).  Was packed day we arrived, but most left the next day.  When the crowds left, most of the extras shut down for the season.

  

Staff was friendly and property was mostly clean.  First night felt a bit overcrowded.  They rent golf carts / gators, and there was alot of people noise the first night.

  

Second night was better.  Most of the crowd had left and we got to enjoy a quiter night that felt more like camping.  The pools all closed, and most of the on property food options closed for the season on labor day.

  

Being a KOA Resort, this place felt like it would be a great place to stay if you have kids, and/or a large rv.  There are many ammenities on property (before they close for season).  It is very close to Mount Rushmore (we drove right by it to get here), and a pretty location (especially when the crowds left)

Big KOA, Pretty Location

We stayed here twice on our trip out west during August 2023.  The first time we ate at their restaurant sitting on a hill. The staff was more concerned with talking to our friends while we waited to see our waitress. It got to the point where I had to go over and ask how to place and order and she totally forgot about us (although we were like 10 feet away). We did the chuck wagon. I took the wagon and the rest of my family rode the horses. It was a good experience. The food was excellent but the entertainment was eh . It really wasn’t long or anything special. But I would say it was worth it for the food and the ride. I got no cell reception here between Xfinity, Verizon, and t mobile.   The first time we came we got a pull through and it was really tight for our 42 footer.  The second time we got the patio pull through and it is a little better. We were nervous the first time about the space to pull out but we were ok.  The second visit we rented the side by side. We did the 3 hour rental. Because everything is so far apart here we could have easily had it for the whole day. The location is about 1/2 hour from 90 but close to Mount Rushmore.