Devils Tower - Black Hills KOA Journey

The campground was fine. Normal KOA. Good view of Devils Tower. Good playground. Nice open areas if you are in a tent or on a motorcycle.

I was walking our dog on a leash at dusk, and he was attacked by 2 other dogs who were not on a leash. The owner was very mean and not concerned with what was happening. I was trying to protect my dog (an Australian Shepherd). We had 2 witnesses of what happened. Normally I wouldn’t hold this against the campground (dog owners being dumb), but management did nothing when I reported it. The next day another set of 2 dogs were off leash at another campsite with in 40 yards of us. These dogs were German Shepherd mix and they attacked a very small dog who was on a leash. Once I saw that I put our dog in the truck and we left.

Our site was over $100 (slightly under with Good Sam discount) because it had unobstructed views of the tower and it was Sturgis week, so presumably paid a premium for timing, too. For that $$, I expected some kind of decent customer service, but it was not so.

Our first slap in the face was that the pool was out of order. When I protested that I didn't get any kind of an alert or warning about that when I booked or since then, the staff member said that it has been unavailable for THREE years and that she doesn't have any opening date, but that there was a pop-up message on the web site that stated that the opening date for the pool had been pushed back. (Three years?) After three years, the amenity of a pool should NOT be listed on the KOA web site. One of the main reasons I was splurging on a KOA was to let my child have a zero-day of pool fun with other kids.

Second, the electrical hookup did not work for me. I tried to call the after-hours number, but it was not in service! This became an even bigger problem when it was apparent that no one shut off the VERY LOUD film that plays every night, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which was on repeat for the entire night. Since we were in site V1, right next to where the movie plays, it kept my 10 year old from falling asleep for a long time. Again, it would have been helpful if the after-hours number printed on the welcome brochure/map worked, but calling it just gave the "The number you have dialed is not in service at this time." So we had to put up with that noise all night.

When the front office opened in the morning and I let them know that we had trouble sleeping because the film was playing all night, they blamed it on other guests, saying someone who watched the film should have turned it off using a button on the wall after it was finished. She offered no apology or any kind of empathy.

I give the place a couple of stars for having clean bathrooms and for its location. The breakfast in the attached restaurant was good, and the restaurant staff was friendly and nice. But camp staff really soured the experience for us, as if expecting an advertised pool to be in service or to be able to sleep without a movie blaring all night is an unreasonable expectation.

I think that KOA went from just being a campground to being an entertainment campground. I'd rather have the lower rate without all the other distractions, which is apparently the way others feel as the other campground in the area of Devil's Tower was booked full up.
If you just want a campground with electrical/water/sewer hookups, this is not for you. A LOT of stuff going on.

We arrived with our 38’ Super C and Ford Ranger Tow to find our reserved FHU site a mud hole. While they “escorted” us to our site, the guy was pretty clueless in thinking we could make some of the turns he routed us through the park. We ended up driving through unoccupied sites to make it to our assigned site. Apparently they had a huge rain storm earlier in the day which flooded the roads and some of the sites. We were just unhappy that they decided parked us in a very muddy site where we couldn’t enter/exit onto the wet, muddy grass easily. Having 2 dogs it turned our RV into a huge mess. The park wasn’t full so we should have insisted they move us - but after a long days drive we were just tired and wanted to relax. In hindsight, we should have moved. Location is right outside the entrance to Devil’s Tower, it couldn’t have been closer. The pool is closed while it’s renovated. Miniature golf (which we didn’t use) is free while the pool is out of service. Large trading post across the road for any souvenirs you might want. Overall I didn’t like the attitude of the guy who routed us to our mud hole and expected us to make hairpin turns with a tow vehicle or his lack of awareness of the mud hole he parked us in. I don’t think I’d stay again.

We come from the Netherlands. Campendium is very helpfull for us. So we want to help others. (Sorry if my english is not perfect)

We were here 13 september 2022.

We did’nt make a reservation.
There was place enough. The price is high. 75 inclusive costs and taxes etcetera

Toilets and showers oké!

WiFi: it seemed to be oké But after 5-6pm (when there were more guests) it was bad!

We prefer Belle Fourche above these campground. Here not much privacy. And not many trees for shade and cosiness

The view of Devil’s tower out our front window of the van and the campsite was amazing. The facilities are very nice, individual lockable shower rooms, bathrooms, laundry, and if you haven’t seen Close Encounters for a while, watching it in the evening with the Tower in the background was memorable. After the last 4 days boon-docking and enjoying the Blackhills, this was a welcome refreshing stop. Highly recommended.