Mount Rushmore KOA at Palmer Gulch

Picked this campground based off the pictures. The front of the campground is nice, and then once you’re past registration, it falls off fast. We had a back in site and although several sites were empty, they put you in the next available spot so you’re still on top of people despite there being 10 empty sites next to the clump of people. My kids wouldn’t touch the pool in the fun zone. I thought they were being dramatic when they said it was dirty, so went to look for myself. Literally brown with scum on the sides. The pool by the lodge is nice though. They have mini golf, but only had one broken putter available and two golf balls for the four of us to use. The course was horrendous. The camp store is nice and the showers and bath house were clean, which kind of saved this place. Would book elsewhere next time for the price.

Swimming, hiking near by, and horse back riding, and plenty more.

Stayed 7-30-24

If you like KOAs, you will love this place. Big, super clean and nice, all you can eat pancakes for $3.50 and play grounds for the kids (big kids also)

If you don't like KOAs because you want to camp by a quiet lake back 20 miles back on a dirt road, that's great but you don't want to stay here.

To me with our RV this is a luxury camping for us! Anything you can imagine, right here and if not there is something close by! The pools, activities, all around people.... Great place highly recommend! The showers are great and hot however they all need new curtains and a 1 store stool and hooks on the wall would be great

More expensive than we usually pay per night but a TON of amenities. Two pools and live entertainment. Restaurants/bars/coffee/ice cream shops. Downside is it’s a crowded and our site had the dog park behind it.

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)

I’ve been to this KOA in the past, but not for a number of years. It still lives up to the hype. The amenities are endless. Too many to list here. The kids loved the splash park, bounce pillow and ice cream shop. We were visiting when they hosted one of their rodeos too. Overall a great place to stay. As some reviewers have mentioned, it is a pretty busy park. Cell signal is virtually non existent as well.

This KOA is massive! They have tons to do and even have horseback riding which was really fun. The only bad thing was the size and how busy it was. There were tons of people. RVs were packed in like a parking lot. We were in a tent and the tent sites were very nice but a little far from bathrooms. The bathrooms and showers were clean and the shower was really warm. Bring bikes or something to get around camp.

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.

• 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.

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.

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.

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

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…

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)

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.

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.

This campground is awesome! With views of Black Elk Peak, a 30 minute drive to most attractions near Mt Rushmore, you can’t beat it. The kids loves the pool area, splash park, and mini-golf. Multiple activities each day for the kids to do.
Sites are mostly level and easy in and out, many pull-thru sites. Bath houses are clean and modern. Staff is courteous and helpful. We enjoyed the horseback rides into the Black Hills National Forest from the on-site stables. I definitely recommend staying here for a Black Hills vacation.

Verizon cell coverage was non-existent, which admittedly is outside of their control. But there was absolutely no Internet access through their WiFi, which is within their control. Their suggestion: drive 10-15 mins to nearby town to find their library. Sorry... that just doesn’t work in this day and age. Fix the Internet access, and I’d bump it up to 4 stars

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

We really enjoyed our stay at the Palmer Gulch KoA. We have two kids ages 3 & 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.

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!

We stayed here for a couple nights and it was pretty nice! It’s got a “Lodge” type vibe with the ability to rent cars, UTVs and stuff like that. It’s super clean and very well kept. They’ve got a giant play area for the kids.

We tent camped, it was nice, flat grassy area! Campsite had firepit, 2 picnic tables, 1 was covered and had light and outlet! Lota of trees, pretty spread out from other campers! Nice convenience store on site, 2 restaurants! Pool was closed for renovation! Unfortunately the bathroom in the tent area was closed with no notice! Closest bathroom was in the middle of all the RV spots, but the bathrooms were clean! Another con was all the workers hovering over us making sure we checked out before checkout time! It was very annoying!