Me and the family stayed here during our time in the black hills I absolutely love this campground however it’s very busy! Tons to do with kids of all ages, they have something going on pretty much every night durning the peak season in the fun zone for the kids, all you can eat pancakes for $3.50. The only down side is the price per n...moreMe and the family stayed here during our time in the black hills I absolutely love this campground however it’s very busy! Tons to do with kids of all ages, they have something going on pretty much every night durning the peak season in the fun zone for the kids, all you can eat pancakes for $3.50. The only down side is the price per night. It’s a bit much but understanding since you are in the heart of the black hills and 8-10 min from Mt Rushmore. 10 min from hill city and 15 min from keystone. Absolutely zero cell service ( kinda nice but frustrating if your trying to look something up) the park has WiFi but it’s public and an open network works best at the entrance. Just a side note if your tow rig or drivable RV is a diesel fill up before coming down because there is NO diesel in keystone! There is diesel in hill city and outside of hill city to the north, also in Custer.

Not your typical KOA. Packed in like sardines. Site was almost too small for our 27 ft Class C. Picnic table had rotted wood. Exhaust fans in bath house not working. No hot water. WiFi system was overloaded therefore no connections were available. Management did not care. On the plus side, the pancake breakfast was good. Would not stay...moreNot your typical KOA. Packed in like sardines. Site was almost too small for our 27 ft Class C. Picnic table had rotted wood. Exhaust fans in bath house not working. No hot water. WiFi system was overloaded therefore no connections were available. Management did not care. On the plus side, the pancake breakfast was good. Would not stay here ever again.

Never again! it wasn't fun or relaxing, dirty, crowded, although the sites are a good size, the sheer amount of people makes it feel like everyone is on top of each other. Despite of the rules "no crates for the dogs", our neighbors, probably the loudest people ever, had three 3! bloodhounds in the cage who would start barking at 7 am ...moreNever again! it wasn't fun or relaxing, dirty, crowded, although the sites are a good size, the sheer amount of people makes it feel like everyone is on top of each other. Despite of the rules "no crates for the dogs", our neighbors, probably the loudest people ever, had three 3! bloodhounds in the cage who would start barking at 7 am and wouldn't stop until midnight. It was a nightmare. For 85$ a night and with over 500 camping spots they had only one 1! damping station that of course created a long line on the way out. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place!

I have never seen a pool that dirty in all my life! The bathrooms were terrible, smelled of dried urine and looked like they were never cleaned. The first shower I tried had dirt or rust or something coming out, the next one was better. Very little shade. The other amenities were nice though, mini golf, movie, wagon rides, etc. The ...moreI have never seen a pool that dirty in all my life! The bathrooms were terrible, smelled of dried urine and looked like they were never cleaned. The first shower I tried had dirt or rust or something coming out, the next one was better. Very little shade. The other amenities were nice though, mini golf, movie, wagon rides, etc. The breakfast was very good. The food was good too. Zero cell reception and poor wifi.

This is a great place if you have kids and like the RV resort lifestyle if you do not there are so many better choices in the area. The site we reserved after I got the trailer leveled out and set up I went to hook up the grey and black tank hose and the KOA pipe was literary 6 inches higher then the hook up on my trailer and sh*t does...moreThis is a great place if you have kids and like the RV resort lifestyle if you do not there are so many better choices in the area. The site we reserved after I got the trailer leveled out and set up I went to hook up the grey and black tank hose and the KOA pipe was literary 6 inches higher then the hook up on my trailer and sh*t does not go up hill. In this camping trip I stayed at 8 campgrounds KOA was the biggest disappointment and the most expensive.

We arrived the week following Labor Day eager to experience the many and unique amenities this KOA has to offer. Imagine then our horror to discover that all amenities are only available Memorial Day through Labor Day. The KOA app makes no mention of this, and their website only reveals this information if you manually click on each ...moreWe arrived the week following Labor Day eager to experience the many and unique amenities this KOA has to offer. Imagine then our horror to discover that all amenities are only available Memorial Day through Labor Day. The KOA app makes no mention of this, and their website only reveals this information if you manually click on each amenity. Even with that, less than half mention a time restriction; but in the booklet they give you at checkin, it clearly says that all amenities are only available Memorial Day through Labor Day. I'm disappointed that we had to learn this the hard way and surprised that no other reviews mention this. Oh well, I hope we can help someone else avoid disappointment. We were within 5 spots of one of the bath houses so we had great WiFi, which was a surprise. This was the first KOA, no strike that, first RV park we've been to anywhere that the WiFi worked flawlessly at all times of day. This is important here because there is no cell service, so with WiFi calling enabled we were able to place and receive calls etc. Other than that it's a typical KOA. Clean, sites close together, friendly staff. Oh yeah the gravel needs a refresh since most sites were just dirt aka mud puddles within 36 hours of rain falling.

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.

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 50...moreJust 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.

We spent $130 for a premium site with patio on a Wednesday night the second week of June. After taking us past ample empty, quiet locations, our premium patio site (nicest the park has) was directly across from the “fun zone”. A massive area for kids to enjoy their adventure. We checked in as a couple with no kids. I would have tho...moreWe spent $130 for a premium site with patio on a Wednesday night the second week of June. After taking us past ample empty, quiet locations, our premium patio site (nicest the park has) was directly across from the “fun zone”. A massive area for kids to enjoy their adventure. We checked in as a couple with no kids. I would have thought some attention to this gap in placement would have been recognized. Additionally, the most expensive sites in a park should be directly across from the loudest spot in the entire park. WiFi in the park is lousy at best.

If you are taking a trip to Mount Rushmore, may I suggest you stay at least one night at the Palmer Gulch Resort? I’ve now stayed there on two occasions and found it to be an exceptional spot with amenities not found at your typical campground. Check-in is easy and stressless, due to the GIANT pull in area. They then guide you to yo...moreIf you are taking a trip to Mount Rushmore, may I suggest you stay at least one night at the Palmer Gulch Resort? I’ve now stayed there on two occasions and found it to be an exceptional spot with amenities not found at your typical campground. Check-in is easy and stressless, due to the GIANT pull in area. They then guide you to your spot and will even help you park if you ask.I wrote a complete review with photos on my blog at:http://odysseycamper.com/odysseycamper/review-of-mt-rushmore-resort-and-lodge-at-palmer-gulch/My blog covers travel in a Honda Odyssey minivan camper conversion.Situated behind Mount Rushmore, it makes a great base to visit other area attractions. They have restaurants, horseback riding, a pancake breakfast, two pools, a coffee shop and wine bar...the list goes on and on. I highly recommend staying here if your trip plans include the Mount Rushmore area!

First off, this KOA is huge and is geared to families - I would not recommend staying here if you don’t have kids. We don’t have kids, but we knew what we were getting into before we made our reservation as we had stayed here before.What I disliked about this park and why I gave it a 2 star is that we have a 39 foot fifth wheel and...moreFirst off, this KOA is huge and is geared to families - I would not recommend staying here if you don’t have kids. We don’t have kids, but we knew what we were getting into before we made our reservation as we had stayed here before.What I disliked about this park and why I gave it a 2 star is that we have a 39 foot fifth wheel and the spot they put us in was not made for our RV. I knew we were in trouble when the guy who was supposed to escort us to our space gasped when we told him our space number and his eyes got real big. Then he said “wow, I can’t believe they put you in that spot” as he looked our very large rig up and down.At first he was not even going to escort us to our space, which I thought was pretty lousy since the woman inside had said we would get an escort. Then when he looked over our rig and realized where they had put us, he thought better of it and escorted us there.We were literally with the tents and small RVs. The space was a pull-through, so getting into the spot, although tight because the escort left his golf cart on the side of the road once he got close to the site and then moved another customer’s pop up camper to the other side of the road since the woman was having issues getting it into her space, was not the issue. The issues was how to get OUT of the space. We had a tree on one side of us, a tent site in front of us to the right and another small camper to the front of us on the left. We had no way to get out except to hope that the site to the left of us was empty so we could back up our RV and pull through that site (which is thankfully what happened).We spent five nights there wondering why they put us where they did (and it was a busy weekend - but still, be aware of what you are doing when you place someone in a site) and how we were going to get out of our space.In addition, there is NO internet access and the WIFI was terrible - too many kids on it and we could never connect to it. So five days with no internet access - which kind of sucked!The only good thing about this KOA fwas that there was air by the dump station - something I think that more RV parks should have for their customers.

This place is great IF you know what you are getting yourself in for. Huge place and crowded with tiny spots. But you do not come for quiet and getting back to nature. There are non-stop activities for kids with the last activity scheduled for 9:45p. A movie started at 8p. And the pool, playground, golf and other places close between 9...moreThis place is great IF you know what you are getting yourself in for. Huge place and crowded with tiny spots. But you do not come for quiet and getting back to nature. There are non-stop activities for kids with the last activity scheduled for 9:45p. A movie started at 8p. And the pool, playground, golf and other places close between 9 and 10p. Kids run non stop and bikes are ridden everywhere. It is a dream for kids but adults need to be very careful driving because kids have the right of way and will run or bike in the road. We have a 35 ft trailer and they assigned us a 37 ft spot and expected us to park the truck on the grass by moving the picnic table. They were very nice an upgraded us to a larger spot at cost but I recommend you report the size of your rv to match the site size you want. There are tons of pull thru sites but most of the back in sites had the most space so well worth considering. All the employees were friendly and helpful and made us feel welcome. Would love to come back and would have stayed longer if they weren’t booked.

(Review based on my experience in 2013)I've been to a few KOA's before and this has to be the biggest and busiest I've been to. If you're into the big huge socialized type of camping this is the place to be. There were so many amenities there, it didn't feel like camping. There are tons of activities including rental bikes/carts...more(Review based on my experience in 2013)I've been to a few KOA's before and this has to be the biggest and busiest I've been to. If you're into the big huge socialized type of camping this is the place to be. There were so many amenities there, it didn't feel like camping. There are tons of activities including rental bikes/carts, horseback riding, a huge playground, pools, you name it. They even have their own little fishing pond there as well. It's basically a KOA Resort. It's incredibly close to Mount Rushmore, which is the reason we chose this site. The hosts and support staff are very friendly and well coordinated. As mentioned every amenity is available at this location. The sites are decent sized considering how many sites are available. This is a great place to be if you're into this type of over socialized camping or need a break from dry camping or boondocking. If you're more into being in the secluded woods with minimal population, this is definitely not a place you want to be. Depending on your type of camping, this can be an oasis or a nightmare. That being said, any experienced camper should already know this.

Our site was right near the main lodge and collection of shops. The spot was level gravel with a concrete patio with a nice fire area and swing. Unfortunately, being that close to the main building we got to experience lots of traffic, everyone checking into the campground had to drive past our site along with all the delivery tr...moreOur site was right near the main lodge and collection of shops. The spot was level gravel with a concrete patio with a nice fire area and swing. Unfortunately, being that close to the main building we got to experience lots of traffic, everyone checking into the campground had to drive past our site along with all the delivery trucks (some semis parked in front of our site). That minor annoyance was compounded by lots of additional minor annoyances to the point that our stay was less satisfactory than we had hoped from the advertising. Some examples: water slide is across the street from the pool and splash pad, meaning parents have to sit around at the bottom of the slide while the kids go - and if multiple kids, split up the group to go to splash pad/pool. The water in the water slide is very cold, along with with the splash pad water - a worker told us at the splash pad that the water was 55 degrees. And probably the biggest annoyance was that there was absolutely no connectivity of any kind anywhere near our campsite. No cell coverage and the "three wifi hotspots" around the campground never worked for anything - if any of devices would even connect.Certainly, there were plenty of amenities that worked and convenient food options with the breakfast tent, the cafe and the restaurant on-site. The power, water, sewer and cable tv worked fine (although the cable was fairly limited - we didn't watch much). However, for the price and the little details, we did not feel that we got our money's worth and will not be returning.

If you have family and want lots of activities this is a spectacular KOA. Immaculate grounds, good restaurant on site. Small set of shops including ice cream.Downside is there is no cell coverage, at least for Verizon even with a booster. Sits in a bowl between the hills.