South Dakota RV Parks: The RV parks in South Dakota You Want to Visit!

RV parks in South Dakota are virtually absent from some portions of the state, but you find them pretty much where you need them. South Dakota RV parks are abundantly located in and around the beautiful Black Hills and along the main east-west travel corridor across the state.

My wife and I spent nearly three weeks knocking around South Dakota as part of a 30,000-mile road trip that we had begun the year before from our home in the Pacific Northwest. We had undertaken the trip as a journey of discovery; a search for America and for ourselves. We found both in South Dakota.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the book that give glimpses of life as lived by South Dakotans:

“The first thing I noticed about the bank was its floors. They were covered with soil. Patches of it. Streaks of it. Clods of it. Rich, black eastern South Dakota loam. It was spring, and this was mud season, and the product of the season walked in and out on everyone’s boots. Mud was everywhere; on the streets, in the buildings, in our vehicles. In a week or two the relentless South Dakota wind would dry the mud, and it would turn to airborne grit, finding its way into people’s homes and hair and eyes.

“So I was standing in line in front of the teller’s cage, contemplating the mud on the floor, when a siren began to scream. The sound of it startled me. It seemed to be coming from the roof of the bank. No one in the bank batted an eye.
“The wailing continued. Finally it was my turn at the counter, and I stepped up to the cage. I knew I was going to hate myself, but I had to ask. I raised my voice a bit to be heard above the noise.
“ ‘What’s the siren all about?’
“The teller fired me a ‘gotcha’ look.
“ ‘It’s no big deal,’ she said. ‘Just the tornado warning. They test it every week in the spring.’
“Ah, yes. I’d forgotten. From mud to tornadoes. The natural progression of the seasons in South Dakota. No big deal at all.”

And another:

“As soon as we see the family across the street haul water cannons and a tub of water balloons down their driveway to the street, we figure this is not going to be your average Fourth of July parade.
“We’re in Belle Fourche, a typical little South Dakota cowboy town ‘pushing 5,000’ population, in the northwest portion of the state. The name means ‘beautiful forks,’ they tell us, and refers to the coming together here of Hay Creek, the Redwater River and the Belle Fourche River. The country is beautiful; rugged, rolling plains that extend south about 10 miles to the edge of the Black Hills, and north, east and west into infinity.
“Thousands of people have packed themselves into town for the parade and the Black Hills Roundup, Belle Fourche’s annual Fourth of July rodeo, backing up traffic on the highway for several miles. Karen and I have set up camp chairs on the parade route, which runs through a residential neighborhood, and are waiting for things to get started.
“They’re about to. In spades.”

The South Dakota RV parks where Karen and I stayed were:

Sioux Falls Yogi Bear, near Sioux Falls. This RV park provided gravel interior roads, 112 gravel sites, 98 of them pull-throughs, 98 with full hookups and the rest with water and electric. It also provided wireless Internet access, laundry room, groceries, RV supplies, LP gas sales, a heated pool, hot tub, recreation hall and planned activities

Ponderosa RV Park & Motel in Kadoka. This RV park provided paved and gravel interior roads, 10 graveled sites and 10 grass, four of them pull-throughs, all with full hookups. It also provided cable TV, laundry room, heated pool, hot tub and game room.

Black Hills Jellystone RV Park near Rapid City. This RV park provided gravel interior roads, 82 gravel sites and 10 grass, 39 of them pull-throughs, 57 with full hookups, 25 with water and electric, and 10 with just water. It also provided a laundry room, heated pool, hot tub, game room and planned activities. We were fortunate here to obtain a site at the end of the campground away from the highway, with a gorgeous view of the Black Hills.

If you’re considering exploring any South Dakota RV parks, I hope you’ve found these descriptions helpful. If you know of any other RV parks in South Dakota that I should add to this list, e-mail me at searchforamerica@msn.com

To read a great book about life on the road, including my travels through some of the great RV parks in South Dakota, grab your copy of In Search of America’s Heartbeat: Twelve Months on the Road.