Colorado & S Dakota RV Park

I'll put in a vote for Rafter J Bar near Hill City. In four years of RVing, that is still my favorite park. Convenient to the local attractions and has beautiful views. Variety of sites within the park - open, treed, hilly. If you like to hike, you can hike into the state forest just by climbing over a gate. If you like to bicycle, the park is on the Mickelson Trail. Hill City has a decent grocery store and some good restaurants.

Just got back from two weeks at Rafter J and loved it. We have also stayed at Big Pine in Custer and really like that park also. Rafter J is a full service park with swimming pool and nice large sites. We like the Island section. Big pine is a nice quiet campground set in the tall pines. They also have full hook ups but no pool. Lots of other good parks in the area. If you go during the Sturigs Rally then you will need reservations for sure. If you don't have them already you may be out of luck. We spen a lot of time in the Black hills and love it. Have a great trip

Paul1944 wrote:
Dear wife and I are planning a short trip (2 weeks) to the Black Hills and Rocky Mountains in August. We want to visit Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and probably the Estes Park area. We have never taken our RV there before so we are at a loss for knowing where to camp. We require FULL hookup site for our 35' motorhome. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

the Fort WeLikIt (pronounced We Like It) RV park in Custer, SD is our preferred spot. FHU + cable and wifi that works.

Never been to this one, but many people give it rave reviews: Rafter J Bar Ranch Resort - Hill City.

http://www.rafterj.com/

Many RV parks in & around Custer as well. RV Park Reviews Custer, SD

We have only stayed in the State Park campgrounds & at a Nat'l Forest CG.

There is also a private Horse Thief RV Resort which is also close to Hill City.
http://www.horsethief.com/

As for RMNP, RV Park Review Estes Park

We stayed in Loveland & did a day trip to Rock Mountain. http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Colorado/Loveland.html

We stayed at Loveland RV Park, about 3 or 4 blocks from I-25. Would need a tow to really be able to use & would take a lot of drive time. An older place, lot of trees.

Not sure why I gave them in Loveland (only experience, I assume), it would be best to find one in Estes Park. Seemed to be many up there. Next door to the Park.

We were there (Loveland) to pick up our Scamp (our son brought it down for us) on a Labor Day weekend. Not much time to see sights. But we did do a drive over the Ridge Line Drive to Grand Lake. Very neat country. Some color in September in the high country. Neat. 2005.

Don't forget the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Aug 5-11. A heavy use time in the BlackHills.

Routes Between Cheyenne, WY & Custer, SD. Taking US 85 all the way N from Lusk to Newcastle would be an easier route for a Big Rig, I would believe also. US 16 E from Newcastle wouldn't be as curving (if I am remembering correctly, drove it once) as doing SD 89 to US 385. Or in reverse Custer to Cheyenne. Still some hills to be climbed from Newcastle. But SD 89 to US 385 isn't a hard route, IMHO.

What I have on the Black Hills Area of SD.

Overnighting Sites & Sights in the Douglas & Wheatland Area. Includes Guernsey & Fort Laramie Area.

Guernsey State Park ------- Fort Laramie National Historic Site ------ Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliff

Post Edit: We really enjoyed the Glass Blowing Studio between Hill City & Keystone. Black Hills GlassBlowers - Keystone
We saw someone waving at a glass blowing shop when riding the Hill City Tain; we went back to see it, a neat place, friendly people.

Deadwood is northwest of Custer.....lot of History happened there, but is more of a Gaming Center now if into gambling. We stopped once years ago, when out kids were young; I wanted to see where Wild Bill Hickok was killed. We did go to a melodrama while there, but mainly just walk around some. It was just starting to become a gaming center at that time. Not stopped since.

As I write this we are at Big Pine campground in Custer SD. The new (2 years) owners are the nicest and most accommodating we have ever met. Set in the tall pines it is a great place to stay. It is more of a camping type park as opposed to the parking lot enviorment of many RV parks. Rates are good and it is centrally located in the Black Hills.

Steve

What date in august you will need to remember the Rally at Sturgis August 5 - 11 all RV camp sites for 100 miles will be booked.

As far as a full hook up I would recommend some of the RV parks near Rushmore for a central location to that and Crazy Horse. There is a camp at Crazy Horse too

JimR

Most likely you will need to stay in RV parks instead of campgrounds, in order to get full hook ups.
Enjoy the trip / Skip

We liked Custer's Gulch. Large sites and peaceful. Pretty good location for the Black Hills and a bit off the beaten path.

When in the area we always stay at Three Flags in Blackhawk. It's a good location for visiting everything in the area, just off the 90 and it has FULL hookups

The Mt. Rushmore KOA is located right in the middle of the hills surrounding Mt. Rushmore. They used to have an eatery onsite and a shuttle to Mt. Rushmore, which was great since there is limited parking. In Estes Park, the Manor RV Park is very convenient to Estes Park and Rocky Mt. National Park. It is along a river. The sites are big but open. There is another park outside Estes Park that has become a Jellystone Park. As I recall, it was nice, with big sites and trees. You can also camp in the National Park, which is very nice camping, but no hookups. Enjoy your trip!