Billings KOA Holiday

We traveled with our 4 kids (ages 14, 8 and 5 year old twins) as our last camping trip of the season. I would've rated it higher, but because we went in October, the amenities were limited.

The campground was maintained really nice. I'd give it a 4/5. There was a beautiful mini-golf course, that we played endless rounds of. The park was new and clean. There was a pool and hot tub, but it was closed for the season. The store was very bare, really nothing left, again end of the season. The bathrooms and showers were extremely clean. I had hot water the whole shower, though the pressure wasn't very high. The laundry facilities were great. Half of the campground was completely shut down because of the season. Many times the air would smell like pure sewage. The camp was next to the Yellowstone River. We fished and enjoyed the breathtaking views. There was a really nice dog park for people who need that type of thing. The staff was nice. The wifi was incredible!! Super fast and able to stream YouTube TV with no problems. I'd give it a higher rating if it were fully operational.

Our camp site was ok, I'd give it a 2/5. We had a back in, full hookup site. They're pretty level, but small. They included a fire ring, patio, and bench swing. The reason I rated it so low is because our site was next to a private residence and there was always people coming in and out. Many times WAY too fast, especially with little kids running around or riding their bikes.

All in all, I would try it again during the peak season and NOT in the site we were in. We still had a great time and would recommend the "first ever KOA" to anyone traveling to Billings!

Billings KOA Holiday
1st KOA in chain
547 Garden Ave
Billings, MT 59101
800-562-8546
Site 134 - $73.33/ night Elect./ water/ cable only - no sewer
The fact that there was no sewer was not clear upon booking - map doesn’t differentiate sewer/non-sewer sites. They play up that they were the first KOA and the homes in the front of the campground indicate that they have done very well for themselves.
Very Tight sites, expensive for what you get in that section (90-139) Sites 1-60 looked nicer and had sewer. Nice pool and hot tub. Too expensive - won’t stay there again!
ALLSTAYS

This is the campground that started the KOA franchise, but you wouldn’t know that except for the billboard on the road leading to the campground: it is well-maintained and surprisingly they don’t sell any souvenirs that celebrate that fact. The park has three sections to it: the section east of the office building is the newer sections with full hookup sites and a number of premium sites with patio furniture and swinging chairs. The section west of the office (on your right as you drive into the park) has the older RV sites with just water and electric hookups, along with several cabins, and finally the western end of the park contains the majority of the tent camping sites.

We stayed in the west section, in pull-through site 134. Unlike most KOAs, they do not guide you to your site but just provide you with a map and directions. The sites in this section were fairly typical for a KOA but some sites are trickier to get into than others. Most folks simply needed to assess the situation and enter the site slowly, but one fifth-wheeler had to get a little creative due to the street light at the back of his site: he ended up pulling through the empty neighboring site and then backing his way into the pull-through. The sites in this section are gravel and separated by grass, and ours at least was pretty level. Every morning staff members set up sprinklers to water the grass at vacated sites.

This KOA has quite a few amenities. The office contains a convenience store with a decent variety of food and drink items, as well as some RV supplies and souvenirs. The office is also the place to go to check out (at no charge) golf balls and clubs to use on the simple but elegant mini-golf course across the street from the office. The east side of the office has a few bathrooms and changing rooms for the pool and hot tub located on the other side of the mini-golf course, and behind the office is a small laundry building and a single hoop basketball court. There is a larger bathhouse on the west side of the campground. Next to the pool is a brand-new playground for smaller kids. Strangely one typical KOA amenity was absent: propane refills.

The campground has its own permanent food “truck” in the form of a Jayco fifth-wheel occupying a site across from the office. It specializes in breakfast sandwiches but also serves burgers. Campers can either place an order online or via a laptop on the porch of the RV. On certain mornings a food truck serving coffee will park behind the office, and every evening ice cream is sold by the scoop in front of the office.

The campground does have a dog park but it’s small, frankly too small for a campground of this size. So when we needed to take our dogs for a serious walk, we ended up using the short trail that leads from the back of the campground down to the shore of the Yellowstone River (the river is not visible from the campground): that area has plenty of open space for walking dogs.

In terms of cell service, the best speeds I got on my Verizon Jetpack with MIMO antenna during our stay were 45Mbps down and 12Mbps up, and we had no trouble steaming video at any point during our stay. The one speed test I did with my AT&T phone showed 54Mbps down and 17 up.

We would stay here again if we return to this area.

On way to Vancouver wa and traveling through snow and -10 temps! Stopped here to hunker down til roads improved. Pull thrus available. Our toad’s hitch was encased in ice so we didn’t want to disconnect. Park was nice, close to interstate. We did have to leave and com back to get propane refilled as there were no mobile business open on weekends
WiFi was pretty good

The sites on the South side of the park(see the campground map) and along the river are WAY too tight to enjoy "camping". Our slide-outs were almost hitting the picnic table on our left side and the people with the class A on our right side kept apologizing for their slides encroaching on our site. That said, it wasn't a problem because we didn't spend much time milling about our campsite area. We went for walks along the river(there is a nice path from the campground to access the river), swimming in the pool and playing mini golf. The mini golf was really nice, and a major upgrade from the shoddy mini golf at the Rushmore KOA we had just left. Pool was OK, hot tub was hot but would not bubble, it happens. Laundry facility was good. There's definitely no 10 year rule here either, as there were some "interesting" campers on the backside near the pond area ;-)
The sites on the North side of the park with the patios are more like what you would expect. Know also, that the sites along the river do not have a view of the river. I'd call it a little pricey for what you get, so if you're going to spend the money, spend the extra $15-$20 and get sites 1-12, those were very nice. It was quiet and we overslept because the campground is shaded by trees and the bluff to the east.

This KOA was a disappointment. It’s slightly nicer on one side of the campground although all gravel campground. Expensive and they charge an additional $5 a day to use the amenities even if you don’t use. The “ deluxe” sites on one side are a little nicer, but the older section has miserably tight roads/spots and don’t offer sewer hookup. In this older section up against the river is for full time guests. Several trailers are in deplorable condition with tar paper on roofs and one trailer has a wooden roof atop of the trailer. There space around some of the trailers has junk/trash all outside. The campground doesn’t seem to care and allows this unsightly filth that obviously has been there for awhile. Would not recommend this campground!

Just and average park with smaller gravel spaces. Our picnic table was right next to the neighbor’s sewer hose. There was mud right outside our door from the sprinklers. The park is older so it is not easy to get in and out of sites. This sort of thing normally wouldn’t bother me for $40-50 a night. I expected a lot for $94. Overall, the park was clean. Close to downtown.