Rushmore Shadows Resort, RV Park & Campground South Dakota — Hotel in Rapid City

Have stayed at this park on two occasions. 1st time when I won a prize for 4 days free stay if we listened to a sales pitch to buy into the park. On that visit they put us in a full hook up site for our 26ft travel trailer in a spot next to a fence of a neighborhood and the electric hook up was on a tree on the opposite side of the trailer hook up and we had to use our own power cord. Just recently visited again in June 2015 for a 4 night stay that I also won. I called the office while in route to get directions as we were coming a different way and was told that our spot was in a shady area with trees and since we were arriving late we would not disturb other campers as there were not that many in that area. I was asked again what was the size of our unit and I told her it was a 26ft travel trailer and she confirmed that it would fit in that area as it was a back in as they had no pull thrus available. When we arrived we located our spot only to find out that where they had put us was for tent trailers and in no way would our travel trailer and truck fit in that spot. We located a security guard who verified that we would not fit there and took us to a overflow area with pull thrus, full hook ups, grass but no trees. We were out in the open field. I went to office in the morning and was told that we were put in our original spot because I did not tell them the size of my unit. They let us stay in that spot but after talking to several other campers with trailers, motorhomes and tent trailers they too were put in spots that their units would not fit in as well. All I can say is it is a beautiful campground if you are a member if not you get the crappy spots. It is quite evident that if you are not a member you are treated very poorly. I still have 18 days left on my free passes and I can tell you that I will never stay there again and will never...

This is a membership Park. If you have a membership you can stay free. You can also stay free at four other parks over in Minnesota. Plus you get big discounts at Coast-to-Coast parks around the nation. Plus you can get cut rates on condos around the world. Plus cheaper rates on cruise ships. Plus you can pass your membership down to your children and your grandchildren. That is what you get. It is a little bit complicated and I can see why some people can't understand how it all works. If you are not a member the one night rates are pretty high. Look at it this way, many RV parks have long-term tenants. They are in older trailers or motorhomes, skirting around the sides, propane tanks out front, and junk stored near there sites. It looks pretty tacky. Those long term people are the ones that pay the bills and the mortgage for the RV Park. Those parks make their money on the short-term vacation rentals. With a place like this they pay their mortgage and bills with the membership program. You can come and stay free. But you can only stay for two weeks at a time and then you have to take a one-week break. So you do not see older RVs and motorhomes parked at sites with skirting around them and propane tanks out in front and junk stored everywhere. The entire park looks nice. And because the motorhomes and RVs have to be moved out the park has time to fix the piping and electrical and take care of the lawn at each site. You end up with a very very nice park that does not look like an old-time trailer park. I figure I get my money back just by staying at this park for two weeks each year. It's a good deal for me and my family so I am happy with my decision to buy...

Check-in was easy and staff was friendly. Good location for many attractions, but comes with a cost. There are many campgrounds to choose from in the area, and after staying here, we would probably pick another park. While checking in, we were provided a list of rules, but discovered this campground does little to enforce said rules. Very large park, which includes cabins and tent areas. Campground has large pet play area, mini golf course, and holds events for its guests. Wifi was weak and not reliable. Wifi only allows so many users, so we were unable to use it until other campers left the park. We complained to office a couple times, but the problem continued. DirecTV (free standing satellite) had no issue. Campground off highway 16, but we never heard traffic within the park. Gas station is less that 1 mile from the campground, which includes diesel. Roads throughout the park are wide and easy for big rigs. Super Walmart just 20 mins, away. Bear Country drive, Reptile Garden and Fort Hays just down the street. While here we also visited Keystone, Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park. Our price included a discount for attending a required membership meeting, and this is where our experience changed. A lady conducting the meeting made a couple scary comments; we were not able to leave the building to discuss or think about their membership, or the price goes up… but the most awful comment was made about the comment card we received during check-in. This lady states these comment cards are not considered for evaluation for non-members. It seems this campground only cares about members and if you are a non-member you...