Mount Rushmore KOA Resort at Palmer Gulch General Information

The flying or use of Drones or any unmanned aircraft are prohibited at Palmer Gulch. Pursuant to FAA rules, part 107, August 2016.

• 4 Person, Hardtop, Headlights.
  
• $70 a day plus tax/fees.
  
• A $74.20 deposit is required to book. No refunds if canceled within 7 days of rental reservation date.  
  
• Pick up at 1:00 PM.
  
• Return by 11:00 AM
  
• No pets allowed.
  
• Must be 18 or older and bring your valid Driver's license.
  

Golf Cart reservations are booked based on the day you are picking up the golf cart.  For example: if your reservation is for Tuesday driving, you can pick up the golf cart no sooner than 1:00PM on Tuesday.

Your animal friends are welcome at the Mt. Rushmore Resort at Palmer Gulch. We ask that you comply with the KOA official National Pet Policy. We ask that you not bring any animal known to exhibit aggressive or protective behavior. We ask, PLEASE do not leave your pet(s) unattended at anytime and they must be on a 6 foot, or shorter, lead whenever the animal is outside the owner's trailer, vehicle, cabin or motorhome. Pet(s) that incessantly bark day or night are not permitted. Pets are only allowed inside designated "Pet Friendly" buildings. You are required to pick up after your animal friends. Violators of any of these policies may be asked to exit our campground.

We pride ourselves on being a safe and healthy place to vacation. Smoking is not permitted in any building, pavilion, cabin, lodge, store or any other building on the property, this includes the group tent. We also ask that you do not smoke in the Fun Zone or around any buildings or their entrances. Smoking is only permitted on your site or in open areas where others are not being effected.

One of the greatest attributes of the Mount Rushmore KOA at Palmer Gulch is that it is quiet and remote. However we do have WiFi through approx 60-70% of our 100+ acre resort. If you happen to be in a site where WiFi does not reach, all of our common areas have great WiFi signal, these include: 

• Grapes and Grinds/Turtle Town
  
• Fun Zone in the center of the campground
  
• The Lodge at Palmer Gulch
  
• Rodeo Grounds
  
• Main KOA Registration Building
  

Each RV site is designed for a maximum of 1 Recreational vehicle and 1 tent. Tent sites may have a maximum 2 tents but must stay within site boundaries.

Cell phone service is hit and miss on the resort. You may find small pockets of Verizon service but it can be intermittent and unreliable. AT&T has more pockets of service but they are still spotty. We tend to have good luck with service near the Palmer Gulch Lodge in the front of the Campground, near the water slide in the Fun Zone area and in the top of the big recreation field.

Just in case you were wondering what time to check-in or what time you need to pack up and hit the road, here you go.
Check-out time is before 11:00 am
Check-in time for RV and Tent sites is after 1:00 pm.
Check-in time for KOA Camping Cabins and Deluxe KOA Cabins is after 3:00 pm.

Our Quiet Hours start at 10:00pm and go until 7:00am. This doesn't mean you have to go to bed at 10:00pm, but we want you to try to keep the noise down while our campers start to settle in for the night.

Campfires are part of camping but they can be dangerous. Please put all fires out before retiring for the evening and please follow all fire restriction if they are in effect.

We love having children with their bicycles. We do ask that parents supervise their young children and encourage them not to ride near the check-in area as RV traffic is the heaviest near the entrance. This is for their safety.

We work very hard to maintain our campground landscaping; please follow all signs and stay on the designated walk-ways.

1. We have a ton of kids on the park and so we have a 10 MPH speed limit. Please watch your speed and don't be upset if we ask you to slow down. 2. Washing your car, bike or RV is prohibited on the campground but Hill City has a nice wash facility. 3. RV, tent and cabin spaces are designed to accommodate one vehicle, if you have additional vehicles please ask a staff member where you can park. NEVER park in an unoccupied site without asking first, there is a good chance it will be occupied by another guest.

"The Mt. Rushmore KOA at Palmer Gulch is the place where you can do as much or as little as you please."

Welcome to the Mt. Rushmore KOA at Palmer Gulch! The 2024 camping season is here, and we would like to help you experience the "Sites" and Sounds of our wonderful KOA Resort. We want to help you make this camping season a memorable one!

The General Manager, Dylan Cutler, would like to personally welcome you to one of the largest KOA campgrounds in the country. Dylan is from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and he has assembled a great supporting team to help 2024 run like clockwork. Jenny Getman is our Campground Operations Manager, overseeing our registration and recreation team members; Jenny is also in charge of group sales and coordination. Our Lodge Manager, Billie Getman, leads a great team at the Mt. Rushmore Lodge at Palmer Gulch.  Staci Anderson is our Retail Manager and handles all the buying, setup and operations of our GREAT retail outlets at the resort. Last but not least, Garrett Moss is our Facilities Manager for the resort. You will find Garrett out on the resort, ensuring our beautiful resort is safe and working properly.

Maintaining the rich heritage of Palmer Gulch while providing a first-class experience for our guests is an enormous responsibility that Dylan and his staff take very seriously. If there is anything we can do to help make your stay more enjoyable, please don't hesitate to ask. Travel safe and we can't wait to see you around the campfire!