Hot Springs SD / Black Hills KOA Holiday — Hotel in Hot Springs

Staff is super nice, very helpful. If you hang at the camp during the day (as opposed to visiting any of the various geological/educational/recreational attractions in the area), then you'll see the staff tending to fire pits that guests haven't properly put out, or smoothing the gravel roads, or picking up trash, or making themselves available for dumb camping questions like we had :-) The store selection is just as good for things you may have forgotten (e.g. toothbrush, grill tongs, etc) as nick-nacks and fun things... also has the best price for a bag of ice that we found, second best price for a bundle of firewood in the area. They keep their bathrooms noticeably clean - confirmed for both men's & women's (note: my non-binary spouse felt comfortable/safe in the women's bathroom). Multiple play areas for kids (including a pool). The included picnic table, grill, and cast iron fire pit [at least at the tent-with-electric sites like ours] are not affixed to the ground, so you can move them around if needed. Good distance from your neighbors [re: tent-with-electric sites]. Safe to drink (but hard water) from the community water spouts. The ponderosa pines smell amazing, especially when it first starts raining. No light pollution for stargazing. And the small wildlife are all thicc bois - squirrels, robins, frogs, rabbits - all thicc. Oh - BRING EAR PLUGS for sleeping (also sold at the camp shop) - semi trucks slow down via engine breaking on the adjacent highway at least 1-3 times each night [during sleeping hours], and some are...

This is actually my second stay at this KOA, the first time, summer of 2022, I was in a tent site traveling by motorcycle and this year summer 2023 traveling with a small camper.

2022: the "old man" that checked me in was super helpful. He made sure my spot was quiet and that I had what I needed to make sure my bike didn't sink into the dirt. My tent site was clean and flat, the drive to my site was less than flat. Would have been fine in a car but on the bike it wasn't much fun.

2023: "kids" working the counter were helpful and friendly. Hanna was particularly helpful and friendly and knowledgeable about the area. I chose a back in site for my teardrop camper so that I wasn't against the road while I'm trying to cook at the back of it. It was close to the bathroom but didn't have excessive for traffic. It was quiet with everything being just a short walk away. Electric, water and cable hookups were available at the site. Normally cable isn't a concern but on the 100+ degree afternoons, I appreciated being able to cool off in my air conditioned camper and not be totally bored.

Bathrooms were clean and the showers were okay. The store was helpful with necessities that were forgotten along with other things you might want. Early this morning I had a group of turkeys cross my camp....

Found this KOA last minute while traveling through SD. Getting there and checking in were super easy. Todd left us a map, park pamphlet, and his phone number for our late check in. Park is well maintained and roads are clearly labeled. Since we visited in the off season we were having a hard time finding firewood, we called Todd to see if he had any suggestions and we found out that he/the camp sells wood and he even delivered it to our campsite. Todd was extremely nice when we spoke with him over the phone, he asked if the map made sense and asked if we needed anything. The bathroom/showers were extremely clean and we saw the trash was changed every day we were there. Park was quiet and since it is coupled up against some private property we even got to see a herd of cattle grazing about 50 feet away. The park is also very close to the town of hotsprings, about a 5 minute drive. Overall we had a great time and will be staying here again when we're in the area....