Best Glamping near Aurora, SD

Recent Glamping Reviews near Aurora, South Dakota

150 Reviews of 10 Aurora Campgrounds

• J

  Joan

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 10, 2021

  Sioux Falls KOA

  Easy off 90, clean, friendly

  There’s a fair size staff working; you could see 3-5 people at any given time. Good selection in store open 8am to 9pm in July. Nice size pool and laundry room. Store seemed well stocked with a variety of items. The mini golf was the only thing run down but the kids played it 3 times and didn’t care.

  There were 2 bathroom/shower houses both nice. The one by the laundry and game room seemed newer.

  Laundry and bathrooms open 24 hours. Game room closed at 9pm.

  Everyone was extremely nice and customer oriented there.

  We upgraded to a patio so as not to drag everything out for one night. Very nice. I can’t comment on the grill as we “glamped” on our 5th night from PA and ordered Uber Eats. A friendly worker escorted the driver to our site via golf cart. There are also trees throughout and fences to give you a feeling of privacy. We pulled through the space and used risers to level it.

  I used the laundry room and shower. Both were nice. They even had a full length mirror in the shower area. We’d stay there again and recommend.

  Edit: My grandsons loved this because there was enough to do but “peaceful” too. Their words so we stopped on our return back from Yellowstone.

• 

  Steve & Ashley G.

  Legend

  

  May. 28, 2019

  Blue Mounds State Park Campground

  Small State Park in Farmland

  We stayed here for one night on the way to the Black Hills in South Dakota. The campground is in the far south western corner of Minnesota about 30 minutes for Sioux Falls South Dakota. The site is in the middle of grasslands and cornfields. They have very organized park staff that have an efficient check in process. The campground has some nice ponds and bike routes. It’s located next to a bison range and tours are available. Unfortunately the camp sites are packed in on top of each other with no privacy. You have a lot of local large RV users using loud generators and playing music until after midnight. They have good facilities with showers and dump stations. During our stay, the water in the camp tested positive for bacteria and the camp was giving out free drinking water. Since you don’t have many options in the area, this may be a good choice. The overcrowding was our main issue.

• J

  John N.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 19, 2020

  Big Sioux Recreation Area — Big Sioux

  Eastern South Dakota Gem

  South Dakota State Park, Brandon SD. Great stop. We spent 2 days. Very nice campground with lots to do and see. Big spacious sites ours backed up to the bike path and river. New bathhouse entire park was very clean. About half hour to Sioux Falls. Worth the trip to see the Falls and the bike/hike trail around the city.

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 26, 2019

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Nice stay in a state park

  We passed through Palisades State Park earlier this year and spent some time in the day-use area so we knew it was a good place to camp as we passed through South Dakota on another trip. One main (clean) bathhouse with two showers plus two pit toilets for those camping farther away on the loop. A mix of cabins, tent, and electric sites. Lots of trees. LONG driveways and some sites (such as 34E) are very large. The website allows you to view sites, so you know in advance what to expect. Nice walking trails and picnic areas.

• T

  Tammy A.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 6, 2021

  Big Sioux Recreation Area — Big Sioux

  Shady and relaxing

  Beautiful campground! Sites are well spaced. Lots of trees for great shade in the hot summer. Very nice bathroom and shower house. Easy drive in to Sioux Falls. Several trails around the park. This was our final stop on our South Dakota trip. It was a wonderful and restful campground for us. After we arrived, Park staff came around and shared maps and info on things to do in the area. The first night a storm rolled through and the host drove thru and knocked on doors to check on people and let them know where shelter was just in case. Definitely will keep this campground on our list for future trips.

• M

  Marie B.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 18, 2022

  Big Sioux Recreation Area — Big Sioux

  Clean and Dog Friendly

  Such a nice campground. Nice big shady trees and manicured lawns. They sell campfire wood for 6$ a bundle on site so we had some great campfires going. They have nice long paved trails for walking and biking. We got to walk our dogs on it to avoid tick contact from the grassy trails. There was a cool suspension bridge that was fun to walk on. The showers were very nice and hot without a lot of traffic. 

  There is no sewage hookup or water hook ups. They do that 50/30 amp sites available. There is a dump station right at the entrance to dump when you leave and it also has a separate fresh water station if you want to fill up right when you get there so youre not traveling with a bunch of water in your tank. 

  It was a great campground and the falls were close by and palisades state park was also in the area with a nice hike. 

  There is an extra $8 car fee per night that you have to pay on top of any camping fees. If you are staying longer than 5 days it better to just get the annual parking pass for $32, which would cover parking for all state parks and recreation areas in SD. 

  They have great discounts if you are a veteran and south dakota resident.

• 

  Corinna B.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 17, 2018

  Ingalls Homestead

  Magical Must-See for Kids & All Little House on the Prairie Fans

  This is a truly magical place, and if you’ve ever read any of the Little House on the Prairie books and are anywhere near De Smet South Dakota, do yourself a favor and swing by.

  The Campground

  The Ingalls Homestead consists of two main parts. First is the "campground," which is a basically a large grassy slope where you can set up your tent for just $10. It includes hot showers, flush toilets, and a few picnic tables and fire-pits throughout the field. There's also fairly basic RV parking for $30 with electric and water hookups and a dump site as well as some basic but cool covered wagons for $60. We arrived just as the sun was setting, found a lovely spot for our tent, and then paid in the shop the next morning. The bathrooms were clean, the showers were a little strange but also clean and hot (basically a large room cordoned off by several shower curtains).

  The Homestead

  De Smet is where the Ingalls family lived during the "Long Winter" of 1880-1881, and the Ingalls Homestead is a "family run business" that brings to life many activities from the 1880s such as visiting a one-room schoolhouse, making a corn on the cob doll, going on a covered wagon ride, etc. It's truly hands-on and some of our favorite time was spent hanging out in "Pa's" lean-to barn with the barn kitties and riding horses and ponies. My oldest son also learned how to drive the covered wagon to the schoolhouse down the road (another treat). Each station on the self-guided tour has an activity with incredibly nice and informed hosts. Most of the buildings are based on the original plans and descriptions from the Ingalls family, though no original buildings remain on the site. Visiting the homestead is an additional $15 per person over the age of five, and while you could camp without visiting the homestead, it was definitely worth a half or full-day visit.

• L

  Lisa

  Traveler

  

  May. 23, 2021

  Norwegian Creek Co Park

  Nice spots by the lake

  Electric and water hookups. Spots are very close together. Luckily several people cancelled for the weekend and we were allowed to pick any spot. Shower houses are nice. I'd stay again, although a lady in town said the hole in the mound county park nearby is much quieter. The ice cream man made a loop through the grounds.

• 

  Shelly S.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 12, 2020

  Maxwell Park

  Adequate

  A very utilitarian campground in Arlington, SD. Best feature aside from the shade is there is a laundrymat in the same lot! Electric, shade and a shrub row separates you from the road. This would be an ideal spot to stop overnight or stay at to attend a local event or visit relatives in the area. Stop by the Municipal Bldg\ Firehall at 202 W Elm St to pay your fee , after hours use the drop box.

• A

  Audrey F.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 7, 2024

  Lake Thompson Recreation Area

  Great beach & campground

  This campground has both electric standard sites for campers and tent sites. Two shower houses and multiple vault toilets throughout the campground for accessibility. Walking trails in grass or gravel. Three walkways down to the water’s edge with one being a large swimming area. Boating is permitted as well. Be sure to use bug spray as mosquitoes were all over- maybe due to wet weather. This is a natural lake formed by farmland that flooded in the 1980s.

• 

  Lynn A. C.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 12, 2021

  Camden State Park Campground

  Camden State Park

  Pros: lotsa trees. Cons: Go to the lower park, more to do, more to see. Upper camp, not much to see, plus our site was really steep

• P

  Pete H.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 23, 2021

  Camden State Park Campground

  Camden State Park = Nice Campdround

  Nice, secluded and wooded sites.

• 

  Kyle B.

  Guide

  

  May. 9, 2018

  Camden State Park Campground

  Great Quick Getaway

  We visit this place for a quick getaway a few times a year. Great hiking and biking trails, swimming pond and right on the redwood river. The Camden Regional trail is 14 miles of paved trails between Camden State Park and Marshall, MN.

• 

  Emma V.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 1, 2018

  Camden State Park Campground

  More than camping

  Great trout stream, swimming, tubing, camping, horse trails, hiking... my kids loved it

• 

  Makayla B.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 9, 2019

  Camden State Park Campground

  Nice campground on the prairie

  There are two campgrounds in this park - the upper one is on the prairie while the lower one is situated among trees along the river. We stayed in the lower campground in site 30. The lower campground is close to the playground and swimming pond but it rained the whole time we camped so we didn't use either.

  Sites in the lower campground are fairly close together and we didn't have cell service (Verizon), which wasn't a big deal.

  I brought my fat bike and bike the Bluebird and Dakota Valley trails. Both are mowed paths that go through prairie and wooded areas. The actual mountain bike trail was disappointing, it was overgrown, narrow, and hugged a high ridge.

  Our site, 30, sloped away from the parking pad. You wouldn't be able to set up.chairs under your awning at this site and the picnic table sat in a low spot that got muddy after 2 straight days of rain. There is a river that runs behind the sites in this loop. Our boys played on the rocks and had a great time.

  There are nearby train tracks and trains ran by several times a day, though luckily they don't blow the horn so we didn't notice them much.

• S

  Shelly E.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 12, 2019

  Camden State Park Campground

  Nice bathroom, nice hiking trails.

  We stayed in the lower campground. It is very opened. The campsites are medium size and close together. The bathroom was well taken care of. There are train tracks really close to the campground. The trains didn't seem long nor did they blow the horns. The swimming area looked nice, but it was too cold to use.

• 

  Anup Ś.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 27, 2016

  Camden State Park Campground

  Great camping place to take your kids

  Pretty spacious seperated by lots trees, good place for camping with kida as well. has a swimming pond and beach. Clean restrooms.

• 

  Anne G.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 1, 2017

  Camden State Park Campground

  Family Reunion Camping

  My family does a annual family reunion camping once a year! We stayed here and it was beautiful! Perfect for all the kids off all ages, adults, grandparents...we had a really good time ☺

• 

  Joe R.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 25, 2022

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Well Shaded Park

  We happened upon this park during the 50th anniversary of the park so there were lots of park events happening. This is a very clean and well maintained park. We tent camp so much of my observations are geared for the tent camper. We stayed at site 34E, a long but narrow and slanted site. We were lucky to find some awkward somewhat flat place for our two tents. This site would be just fine for RV camping but I’d steer clear for tent camping. I’d estimate that 50% of the sites are flat and suitable for tents.
  Here are some key take aways from our 3 night stay in late July 2022. -clean and well maintained park

  • fair wireless service for Verizon
  • well placed and clean shower / restroom houses
  • nice playgrounds
  • great options on the park for paddle boarding, kayaking, water play as well as additional options at near by Devil’s Gultch and Split Rock parks.
  • Very well shaded park
  • Grocery store less than 10 min away.
  • Mosquitos weren’t a problem during out stay with a little bug spray prevention.
  • Nice aluminum picnic tables at all sites. Standard fire pits with grilling attachments.
  • employees will enforce local approved fire wood use Negatives:
  • lots of biting flies
  • if you like private sites this isn’t for you The interesting:
  • this is easily the most heavily staffed state park I’ve ever stayed at. If you like a constant park employee presence you’ll like it. I found it to be excessive however. During a 30 min time period we counted 8 employee vehicles to two park visitors driving by. It seemed to create unnecessary road traffic and noise at times. Park employees walk the park on foot in the dark at the 11pm to enforce quite time. There aren’t going to be any site reservation mix ups there either. Park employees constantly check sites and make sure reservations are correct. The camp host was very nice and makes the round frequently.
• E

  Emilia

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 26, 2021

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Beautiful but loud

  The campsite was easy to find and close to the town of Garretson. There was a small grocery store there. We only stayed one night on our way West, the sites were nice and grassy with mixed sun and shade. It’s been a dry year so the mosquitos were minimal. We explored split rock creek which is a5 minute walk from the campsite- very beautiful rock formations and an old walking bridge built in 1908. Pictures don’t do the rocks justice, they are beautiful! However, the water was very brown and murky, smelled suspiciously like manure. We saw some people swimming but opted not to because of the color and smell of the water. We did see many large fish in the creek. There were also nice picnic areas on the creek with tables and fire pits. Last issue with the campsite was the noise. The night started out quiet with lots of insect sounds, which are loud but so great when you are camping! The unexpected noises were trains passing by (sounded super close in the middle of the night), planes flying overhead, and cars driving by. This is of course not the fault of the park but the surrounding area…still wouldn’t recommend a long quiet camping trip here if you want to escape the everyday sounds of humans. Overall a very sweet campground, good bathrooms and showers. Staff was very friendly and helpful.

• 

  Wilanrie B.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 17, 2020

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Perfect Get Away Spot

  We were at camp spot 12E it was very nice! The bathrooms and showers were okay and the people were very nice. It was my first time ever pulling and backing up a camper and I was struggling and one of the park rangers came and helped me. It has very pretty views and I definitely recommend going there for a weekend!

• 

  Sarah V.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 18, 2020

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Adorable and quiet

  We stayed here on our way out to Yellowstone from Chicago and again on our way back. It’s quiet and well-kept, very clean. The sites are well-spaced and very wooded. Lots of nice short hikes for the kids. Beautiful rock formations to explore. I highly recommend this place!

• 

  Kristen L.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 23, 2020

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Beautiful, quiet, fun to explore

  Had a great time here with our kids! The park is beautiful, clean, and easy to navigate. And you’re close enough to Sioux Falls to explore that area too.

  If you can choose, get site 14E! Felt like we had a backyard and our own private woods. Haha. Hope we get to go back!

• 

  Cate S.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 12, 2017

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Great place, close to neighbors!

  Palisades is a great state park! Everyone there was so friendly and informative-- you can tell they really enjoy where they work. The park itself is beautiful! The only downside was how close the tent campsites were to each other. I would have liked a little more privacy and better views, but the sites were well kept!

• 

  Clarke N.

  Guide

  

  May. 11, 2020

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Beautiful!

  Very nice campground with big sites. This area is very nice for hiking and pretty sure swimming and kayaking. We were there early spring so water was to cold to swim.

• 

  Jay K.

  Traveler

  

  May. 23, 2020

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Babbling brook

  Nice clean and very quiet midweek camping. There is a little creek that ran next to our camp it was very enjoyable.

• 

  Jennifer S.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 14, 2018

  Palisades State Park Campground

  Pocket of Quiet Beauty

  This is a sweet little tucked away oasis near Sioux Falls featuring trails, bluffs and climbing options. Great views and clean camp sites.