Why RVers stay here
Mount Rushmore KOA Resort at Palmer Gulch is the flagship campground of South Dakota's Black Hills, a large private resort on Highway 244 between Hill City and the Mount Rushmore monument. It is the biggest, most full-service campground in the Hills, and it is built for families: multiple pools, a waterslide, a jumping pillow, mini-golf, a climbing wall, nightly movies and a seasonal shuttle to Mount Rushmore. If you want everything on site and the shortest hop to the monument, this is the place; nothing else in the area competes on amenities.
On the practical side, many sites are full hookup with 30/50-amp service, with water/electric and dry tent options as well, and the resort is big-rig friendly with pull-throughs available. Site inventory runs to several hundred RV sites plus cabins and lodging, and summer rates land roughly in the $60-$110-plus range depending on site and date, so book directly with KOA and quote your dates. The trade-off is scale: in July it can feel like a busy small town, and couples looking for a quiet forest campground should look elsewhere in the Hills.
- ✓The most full-service campground in the Black Hills: pools, waterslide, jumping pillow, mini-golf, climbing wall, nightly movies
- ✓Seasonal shuttle to Mount Rushmore, the shortest hop to the monument of any campground
- ✓Full 30/50-amp hookups on many sites and pull-throughs for big rigs
- ✓Several hundred RV sites plus cabins and lodging for mixed groups
- ✓On Highway 244 between Hill City and the monument, central to the Hills
- !Sheer scale means summer crowds; July can feel like a busy small town
- !Rates are at the top of the Black Hills range, roughly $60-$110-plus in summer depending on site