Sioux Falls KOA Journey — Hotel in Mapleton Township

We just needed a place to stay for the night. What we got was honestly pretty terrible. Its way too expensive for what you get and make sure you check your bank statements for extra charges.

The people were nice and the shower and bathroom facilities are clean and well maintained however....

Im sure this is a great place to stay if you have a camper, however if you plan to stay in a tent then I would absolutely avoid this place at all costs.

The tent sites were obviously an after thought. They are on the little strip of grass that isn't occupied by playground equipment. They are right next to the main roads to get in and out of the campground as well as the main office, so at all hours there are head lights/tail lights and the sound of cars on a gravel road. The office has lights that stay on all night and point directly at the tent sites so no matter what you do your tent is lit up. There is a loading dock across the street, so there are trucks backing up and slamming into dock doors early in the morning. There is an airport near by so you get planes arriving or departing the entire time. It sits on the side of a major highway.

I understand that they can not control what pops up around the grounds but if you are going to offer tent sites, position them on the interior of the grounds so there is some natural barrier from the noise and lights. For what we paid we were extremely disappointed. It was almost $50 for our tent site. Had we known what we would be dealing with we would have just slept in our car and showered at the local gym.

After our stay I reviewed my bank statement and found a separate charge for $7.50. I called and was told we had firewood delivered to our site, we never had a fire. We showed up, set up our tent, got dinner and went to bed. So on top of our terrible time they apparently just charge firewood to whoever without verifying that it is going to the correct account/cardholder.

I called and they did get it sorted out within a coupke hours without issue and were...

We placed a same-day reservation on our way back home, with intentions of being a late check in. Placing the reservation online was easy and the confirmation email explained how our check-in information would be in the after-hours registration desk. It was getting late and we were still two hours out so I called the campground to see if we could transfer our reservation to a closer KOA as we were getting drowsy. We were told this wasn't possible and if we didn't show we'd forfeit our $53 fee. We've never stayed at any KOA site, I assumed they were all associated which isn't the case fyi- but anyways- aside from being drowsy it wasn't a huge issue. We decided to keep going and stay as planned. We finally got to the campground around 11. I walked to the check in desk and our reservation info was there as described. We started toward our site and immediately had issues traveling through the facility. Everyone was crowded in like sardines, turns were tight and extremely stressful. I feel like there was a lack of signage for how crowded the place was, we didn't know what "street" was what. We finally found our site and could not successfully back in due to a cabin and car being in the way. The lot was also very unlevel, the camper was at a concerning tilt. Ultimately, the ground was so unlevel we couldn't even get the truck unattached from the trailer. We ended up having to book a different campground in town last minute and drive there. The kids were very tired. My husband called the KOA this morning requesting a refund as we had to pay to go elsewhere. He got attitude from the KOA employee who insisted that they didn't know whether we stayed there or not. We had to prove we stayed at a different RV park in the area to get a refund. We ended up going to Yogi Bear Jellystone park and let me tell you, it was night and day maneuvering through that park. They allowed space for wide turns, nice, big spots, super level. Probably our first and last KOA if that's how...

First, the good.

The staff was very friendly and the bathrooms were kept as clean as possible (even though there were some slobs who insisted on messing it up by leaving garbage around and even peeing on the floor).

It's very close to Sioux Falls (if you like that idea)

Has a small pool, a half basketball court, and an area for mini-golf.

Now for the bad.

Very crowded and VERY noisey. Earplugs only help a little bit, and not consistently, due to the amazing variety of noises this is exposed to.

This is literally a stone's throw from the interstate. there is no wall between the campsites and the interstate so be prepared to hear all kinds of noise.

There is a huge flag on a metal pole nearby. If you're on that end of the park, and if it is windy, you'll hear loud clanking often.

It is also close to an airport. Huge jets fly over occasionally, which can be very loud.

The garbage truck showed up today around 8 am so again, more noise. It's basically non-stop.

There's barely enough space to turn around in the changing area outside the shower.

Campers are packed in very tight. If other people smoking is going to cause you problems, this is not the place for you. Pets are allowed, so again...

We left early because it was all just too much to bare. Lost a night's payment, but seriously needed to get some sleep after two nights of noise. Weren't very happy having a chainsmoker and a rottweiler within 50 feet of us either.

The staff was very nice. I want to restate that. Had the place been a few blocks North it would have improved the score. Still wouldn't have been great, but more tolerable.

Would have given this one star if it weren't for the staff. This was an awful experience for my son and I, unfortunately. We are back in Minnesota two days early...