Wife and I are currently at Rushmore Shadows Resort in Rapid City, boy what a sardine can!Any suggestions about places without so much "cozyness"

You should check out RV Park Reviews http://www.rvparkreviews.com/ It's a great site to see what "real" people think of the campgrounds and you also will find places not listed in the big directories. We use it all the time and also enter our opinions of every campground we go to. BTW, we're up to 226 in 3 1/2 years.

Darn, just missed ya! We were there about a week ago. Agreed, pretty cozy with the neighbors. You might drive around and check out the other parks in the area, there are quite a few. Just don't leave Rushmore Shadows without visiting site #245 for a braut sandwich or breakfast burrito. Really good!

Try Rafter J Bar ranch, it's just south of Hill City. about 15 mile from where you are give or take. My pick is in the island area. Great place and in the heart of the Black Hills. http://rafterj.com/


-- Edited by Niles and Deb on Thursday 23rd of July 2009 03:54:47 PM

To be fair, many of the sites here would be fine I just happened to get a extremely tight one.Would be o.k. for 30 footer with a couple slides.I have a 38 footer with 3 slides.My fault, should have asked for different spot.Did check rvparkreviews before coming.Mostly good reviews only a couple bad so thought I would be ok.As we move forward we will probably get better at this.Still enjoying our stay.The breakfast burritos are good as are the brauts.Could not get into Rafter J Bar,Did look like a nice place and will try in the future.

We just stayed at the Black Hills National Forest - Pactola Reservoir Campground on Hwy 385.  It was quite pleasant there - spacious site with a view of the water.  There weren't any hookups though so not ideal for extended stays.  I heard that the Rafter J resort was also nice from a local who had also done extensive RVing.

-Colleen

One thing I would like to add to Fred's post. Be sure if you use a campground go to the Review and put in your thoughts of the facility. Be sure to explain why you did not like it or why you did. We all have different needs and ideas so it would be helpful to give a detailed review...rather than Hey what a great place period... This Campground Review site is great if everyone reviews the campgrounds.

What a nice area to be in! A few years ago we stayed at two campgrounds out there. The best of the two was Heritage Village Campground‎ 24827 Village Ave, Custer, SD‎ - (605) 673-5005‎ with a view of Crazy Horse. Very reasonable rates and took our Good Sam discount too. had a little restaurant/bar with music, and a gift shop. Overlooking a field of sheep and next to a field with horses and mules from a trail ride business. Could see Crazy Horse from almost every site, and at night the light and music show was amazing. The sites were still kinda close, but not as bad as Heartland Campground near Hermosa (which was nothing more than a gravel parkinglot with hookups next to a highway) Heartland Campground & RV Park, Highway 79, Hermosa, SD‎ - (866) 4455778‎ Got pics of our stay at Heritage Village on my picassa site link in my signature....scroll down to the VACATION OUT WEST Album